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
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
A publication can harm someone without anything being broken. An incorrect statement about a person or a business, a suggestive headline, a quotation taken out of context or a covert recording causes reputational damage, and that is a wrongful act within the meaning of Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. The court weighs the interest of free expression against the right to honour and reputation, and the outcome almost always turns on the same thing: did you have sufficient factual support and did you give the other side a right of reply?
Alongside the content there are other people's image rights and copyright. Footage from a photo library, music under an edit, a typeface you used, a face in a commercial message: every missing licence or release is a claim waiting to happen. If you design or register brands and logos yourself, there is also the question arising from trade mark rights and intellectual property.
The second axis is equipment. Cameras, lenses, sound kit, drones, lighting sets and laptops travel to locations, sit in vans and are left at unfamiliar addresses. An ordinary business contents policy covers property at the address stated; away from the premises you need equipment cover that names transport, storage in a vehicle and use by freelancers. Photographers will find this worked out on the page for photographers.
What does insurance for media and communications cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The basics
Liability
AVB for property damage and injury, BAV for professional errors.
Damage to third parties
Employers' liability
Care, custody and control as an extension
Your business
Assets and continuity
Business contents, goods and lost turnover during downtime.
Business contents at replacement value as new
Goods at cost price
Business interruption or additional costs
If you employ people
Staff
Sickness absence, accidents and the traffic risk.
Continued pay for 104 weeks
Group personal accident
WEGAS for traffic risks
What is covered
Situation
AVB
BAV
Cyber
Injury to a visitor or customer
Yes
No
No
Damage to a client's property
Sometimes
No
No
Financial loss caused by an advisory or calculation error
No
Yes
No
Downtime after a ransomware attack
No
No
Yes
Data breach involving personal data
No
Sometimes
Yes
Damage to property in your care
No
No
No
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.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Right of reply and source records are your real cover
In a claim about a publication the insurer looks first at your editorial file: what sources did you have, how were they verified, when was the person concerned asked for a response and was that response included? Record that for each production, including the occasions when someone did not respond. Without that file the assessment shifts towards careless publication, and the question then becomes whether you knowingly accepted the risk, precisely the line at which cover ends.
Correcting and taking material down costs money nobody pays back
The direct costs of a dispute are rarely the compensation. They are the recall of a print run, the reprinting, the reworking of a campaign already booked with media and the placement you miss. Those recall and repair costs for your own work are excluded as standard on professional indemnity insurance. Only a specific extension for repair or recall costs covers them, and you have to ask for it separately.
Equipment away from the business address calls for its own section
Theft from a parked vehicle is the most common loss in this sector and at the same time the most limited cover. Insurers normally impose requirements on the time of day, on storing items out of sight and on whether the vehicle was unattended; loading and unloading is a separate case. Read what the overnight clause says on each policy, and whether hired kit and the equipment of freelancers working for you are included.
Freelancers and contractors work on your file
If you use hired-in staff, you are liable under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code for mistakes by non-subordinate assistants carrying out your work. A photographer without their own cover, an editor who uses unlicensed images or a camera operator who damages the location therefore comes back to you. Ask for a valid policy schedule, record the transfer of rights in writing and declare the hired-in turnover to your insurer.
What does your premium depend on?
Type of output. Investigative journalism, opinion and comparative advertising carry a higher claims risk than corporate communications, internal video or technical documentation.
Reach and print run. The larger the audience and the longer a piece stays online, the higher the possible reputational damage from a mistake.
Editorial control. A recorded final editing stage, a right of reply procedure and a correction protocol are factors underwriters ask about expressly.
Value and type of equipment. Cameras, lenses, drones and lighting sets form a sum insured of their own. The share that is permanently on location counts more heavily.
Working area. Filming abroad or publishing in jurisdictions with a different liability regime calls for an extension of the territory.
Share of hired-in work. The turnover running through freelancers and production companies determines how many non-subordinate assistants ride along on your policy.
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.
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.
For incorrect or needlessly offensive statements, yes. That is a wrongful act under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. Your defence is the factual support and the right of reply you gave. Professional indemnity insurance with a publication section covers the compensation and the cost of defence, but not if you knew the statement was untrue or knowingly accepted the risk.
Is a copyright claim about an image used insured?
Unintentional infringement of copyright or image rights is included on some policies, but far from all, and often with a separate limit. Deliberate use without a licence is always excluded. Keep the licence evidence and releases for each production. When a letter before action arrives that is the first thing both the other side and your insurer ask for.
Is my camera covered if it is stolen from the car?
Only with equipment cover that names transport and storage in a vehicle, and only within the conditions of that clause. The usual requirements concern storing items out of sight, the time of day and whether the vehicle was left unattended. An ordinary business contents policy covers only property at the address stated on the policy.
Are the costs of a correction and of reprinting covered?
Usually not. Putting right and recalling your own work is excluded on professional indemnity insurance. The policy covers the loss the other party suffers, not the costs you incur to correct your product. Extensions for repair and recall costs do exist, but you have to ask for them expressly and they carry their own limit.
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.
