Business operations
- Contracts and deliveries
- Collecting your invoices
- A dispute with a supplier
Legal expenses insurance (rechtsbijstandverzekering) for self-employed professionals
With no staff and no premises, a self-employed professional's conflict almost always comes from the same direction: the client who does not pay or who afterwards says he ordered something else.
- several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
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- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
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The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert.nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
In brief
A self-employed professional needs no employment law and usually no tenancy law. What does keep coming back is the unpaid invoice and the discussion about what exactly was agreed. Both turn on the same file: the order confirmation, the scope, the extra work and whether your general terms and conditions were handed over in good time. Without that paperwork you lose the case before the merits are reached.
The second issue is your own position. If your assignment is reassessed by the Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax authority) or by the client as employment, that affects your rate, your business tax reliefs and the assignment itself. Tax disputes are excluded on most legal expenses policies or can only be insured as a separate module; do not assume this is included under contracts.
Finally, watch the threshold amount. Below a minimum interest the insurer will not take a case on, and self-employed invoices regularly fall below it. See also the insurance package for self-employed professionals and, for the liability side, professional indemnity insurance for self-employed professionals.
Independent, personal, sorted quickly
We compare your legal expenses insurance across dozens of insurers, explain where the real differences lie, and arrange the switch from start to finish — without you having to chase it yourself.
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What does legal expenses insurance for the self-employed cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Separate modules
What you add separately.
- Employment law and staff
- Rent of the business premises
- Tax and social security
What falls outside it
What the policy will not take on.
- A dispute dating from before the start date
- Below the threshold
- During the waiting period
What is covered
| Situation | Basic module | With extension |
|---|---|---|
| Dispute with a client about work delivered | Yes | Yes |
| Collection of an unpaid invoice | Provided that | Yes |
| Employment dispute with an employee | No | Yes |
| Dispute with the landlord of your business premises | No | Yes |
| Tax dispute with the Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax authority) | No | Provided that |
| A dispute that was already running before the start date | No | No |
Business legal expenses insurance has a waiting period and a threshold: a case is not taken on below a certain financial interest. Employment law, tenancy law and tax law are usually in separate modules. In legal proceedings you have a free choice of lawyer. A dispute whose cause already existed when the policy was taken out is excluded.
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover and average size of assignment. A few large assignments gives a different risk profile from many small invoices.
- Occupational group. Construction, IT and consultancy each have their own pattern of disputes and are rated differently.
- Modules chosen. Debt collection and contracts form the core; administrative law and tax law are added separately.
- Threshold amount per case. Determines from what value the insurer takes a file on. For self-employed people often decisive.
- Personal cover included or not. Traffic, consumer and home matters can be added separately and increase the premium.
- Working abroad. Assignments outside the Netherlands call for a wider area of cover and are assessed separately.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
- You request a quoteWe take stock of your activities, turnover and wishes.
- We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
- You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
- We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Why arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
9.5New policy
9.8Claims handling
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Debt collection only works with an undisputed claim
The debt collection module is meant for invoices your client does not dispute but leaves unpaid. As soon as he relies on defective work, it is no longer a collection case but a contractual dispute, with different handling and sometimes a different module. Make sure you have the hours delivered and the approval of extra work in writing. Without those documents the discussion shifts immediately.
Scope creep is the real contract risk
On individual assignments the work drifts as it goes without anyone amending the contract. Afterwards the question is whether the extra work fell within the original price. Legal expenses insurance pays for your assistance in that dispute, but never reimburses the unpaid invoice itself. If the client turns out to be bankrupt, handling usually stops because there is nothing left to recover.
Reclassification of your assignment
If your working relationship is treated as employment, additional assessments follow for your client and the assignment ends for you. This is a tax matter and an employment law matter at the same time. Check whether your policy has a tax law module and what exactly it covers. With many insurers it is limited to your own tax return and does not extend to the classification of your assignments.
The waiting period and the conflict you could see coming
There is usually a waiting period of three months, and a dispute whose cause lay before the start date is excluded. For a self-employed professional that means: an invoice that has already been outstanding for two months can no longer be insured. Switching to another insurer does not help either, because the new policy has the same exclusion.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Will my unpaid invoice be reimbursed?
No. The insurance pays the cost of the collection process and of any proceedings, not the principal sum. If your client turns out to have no means, for instance after a bankruptcy, handling usually stops because litigating further is pointless. You are then left with the claim, even though the costs were covered.
Is a conflict about reclassification covered?
Only if you have a tax law module, and even then on a limited basis. Many policies cover only disputes about your own tax return and not the question of whether an assignment is employment. Ask about this explicitly if you work long-term for a single client, because that is exactly the situation in which the discussion arises.
What if my claim stays below the threshold amount?
Then the insurer will not take the case on. The threshold amount differs per insurer and per module and is set out in the policy conditions. If you work with many small invoices, deliberately choose a policy with a low threshold. That costs premium but makes the difference between cover and no cover in your most common kind of dispute.
Do I need this in addition to professional indemnity insurance (BAV)?
Those two do different things. Professional indemnity insurance pays for the loss your client suffers through your mistake. Legal expenses insurance pays your legal costs when you want to enforce something yourself, for instance payment of an invoice. If a claim is brought against you, the liability insurer already arranges the defence. That does not run through legal expenses cover.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
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Ready to compare?
Request a quote without obligation. We will look at which insurer best matches your activities and your risk.
Prefer to call? 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 09:00–17:00.
Claim on the road? Emergency line 06 - 55 20 40 72.
About our service
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
You will find our licence, KvK and Kifid details and our complaints procedure at the foot of every page.
This page was compiled by Finass Verzekert. Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.