Injury and property damage
- Slips and trips in the practice
- Damage to a party's equipment
- Damage at a session on location
- Costs of legal defence
AVB · consulting room · advice
Public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) for mediators
A mediator works with words and with trust, not with machines. Public and employers' liability insurance therefore covers only part of your risk: the physical damage. A mistake in the substance of the work is expressly outside it.
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- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor mediators.
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.
In brief
Public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) covers legal liability for injury to people and damage to property that you cause to third parties, usually on the basis of the tort provision of Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. For a mediator these are practical situations: a party who trips in your consulting room and is injured, coffee over a lawyer's laptop during a session, damage to a meeting room you had hired, or damage during a session at a company's premises.
If you have staff or work with a practice assistant, you also have employers' liability added. Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to provide a safe working environment and places the burden of proof on you: if someone is injured at work, you have to show that you met your duty of care. Under subsection 4 that also applies to students on placement and hired-in workers. If you work alone, this part of the cover is of little relevance, but it is included as standard.
The risk that mediation really turns on is precisely what the AVB does not: a mistake in the settlement agreement, a tax or legal consequence that is missed, a breach of confidentiality or a party who says you were not impartial. That is pure financial loss and that belongs on a professional indemnity insurance. Registers and referring bodies often make that policy a condition.
What does the AVB cover for a mediator?
The cover is limited to physical damage in and around your practice, plus liability for any staff.
Employers' liability
Claims by employees or hired-in workers after an accident at work.
- Duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code
- Also for students on placement and hired-in workers
- The burden of proof lies with the employer
- Traffic damage falls outside this
Consulting room and care, custody and control
Sections you have to arrange separately and that have a limit of their own.
- Liability as a tenant
- Third-party property in your care, custody and control
- Hired meeting room
- Usually with an excess
What is covered
| Situation | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| A party is injured in your consulting room | Yes | Yes |
| You damage a participant's laptop | Yes | Yes |
| Injury to your practice assistant at work | Yes | Yes |
| Damage to a hired meeting room | No | Provided that |
| Financial loss caused by a mistake in the agreement | No | No |
| The cost of defending a disciplinary complaint | No | No |
Which sections are included and which limits and excesses apply is set out in the policy conditions and on the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) you receive before taking out the policy.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that determine whether you are really covered when a complaint or claim arises.
The AVB does not cover your professional mistake
This is the distinction that weighs most heavily for mediators. If the settlement agreement turns out to be a tax time bomb, a time limit has been missed or a party says you were not neutral, the loss is purely financial. Nothing is broken and nobody is injured, so the AVB does not come into play. Only a professional indemnity insurance covers pure financial loss from a shortcoming in your engagement, assessed against the standard of Article 7:401 of the Dutch Civil Code: the care of a diligent contractor.
A complaint is not yet a claim, but it is worth reporting
Mediation has complaints procedures and disciplinary proceedings. Such proceedings are not in themselves a claim for liability and their cost is not covered on an AVB. Some professional indemnity policies do pay them. Even so, report a complaint to your insurer at once. Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to give notice as soon as you know of an event that could lead to a loss, and a complaint is often the first step towards a claim.
What is never covered
Excluded are, among others: pure financial loss from a professional mistake, refunding or redoing your own services such as waiving your fee, fines and penalty payments, and damage caused by intent or wilful recklessness under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code. Liability you carry only because you took it on by contract, damage involving a motor vehicle under Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) and a data breach in your own files also fall outside the AVB.
Your terms of business determine the size of the claim
A mediator can limit their liability by contract, for example to the amount the insurer pays or to the fee for the engagement. That only works if the terms were handed over before or when the mediation agreement was concluded and were accepted by both parties. Refer to them expressly in the confirmation of the engagement. A reference on the website alone is vulnerable.
What does your premium depend on?
- Turnover: the usual basis for calculation
- Number of employees: including hired-in workers and interns
- Type of mediation: family, employment or commercial disputes
- Your own consulting room: whether or not the public comes in
- Sum insured: per claim and per year
- Claims history: earlier complaints and claims
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
- You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, risk 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.
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.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Is an AVB compulsory for a mediator?
Not in law. Registers, referring bodies and business clients do often make liability insurance a condition, and that usually means professional indemnity. The AVB is the cheaper addition that covers the physical risk. If you work with parties at your own premises, that addition is all but essential.
What if a party considers that I have breached confidentiality?
That involves financial and sometimes non-material loss without anything being damaged. The AVB does not cover it. Professional indemnity insurance can cover it, but check whether the policy includes breach of confidentiality and whether a data breach is dealt with separately. Also set confidentiality arrangements out in writing in the mediation agreement.
I work from home. Am I covered already?
Your personal liability insurance (AVP) expressly does not cover what you do in your profession or business. If you receive parties at home, that is business use and you need a business policy. Also tell your home insurer that you work from home and receive parties. Without that notification it can affect your buildings and home contents cover.
Does the policy cover a session at the client's office?
Yes, provided the activities are described that way on the policy schedule and the location is within the territorial scope. If you damage something there, that is ordinary property damage to a third party. If it concerns property you had in your own care, such as borrowed equipment, the care, custody and control exclusion applies and you need the separate care, custody and control section.
Read more
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Also relevant
AVB, BAV or both?
Request a quotation without obligation. We determine which cover suits your practice and what it costs.
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 written and checked by an adviser at Finass Verzekert. Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.