A mortgage as a self-employed professional (zzp'er)
As a self-employed professional you prove your income differently, and the lender weighs the continuity of your business more heavily than the profit of a single year.
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.
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 mortgage as a self-employed professional is possible, but the income used for the assessment is determined in a different way. Instead of an employer's statement you supply annual figures, usually covering several years, from which an average is derived. If your business has existed for a shorter time, an entrepreneur's income statement or a prospects statement can offer a way through. The legal form matters: with a BV your salary plus the result counts.
Where things really come unstuck for the self-employed is not the application but the years afterwards. You have no employer to continue paying wages during sickness and you build up no WIA rights. If you drop out, turnover stops while the mortgage payments continue. A disability insurance is therefore not a side issue with a mortgage for the self-employed but the very core of it.
Please note: borrowing money costs money. Finass Advies B.V. holds a licence for non-life insurance and does not act as an intermediary for credit or mortgages. This page is informative. For an application we refer you to a provider with a licence for consumer credit or mortgage credit. Every licensed provider consults the BKR (the Dutch credit register) for credit of € 250 or more with a term of longer than one month.
What does the mortgage as a self-employed professional cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
In advance
What you need
What a lender asks for.
Income details
Value of the collateral
Overview of obligations
In addition to the interest
What it costs
What is often forgotten.
Advice and arrangement fees
Valuation and notary
Property transfer tax
Conditions
What goes with it
What the lender requires.
Buildings insurance compulsory
Sometimes term life cover
Interested party on the policy
What is covered
Subject
Explanation
Advice is independent
Yes
We compare several providers
Yes
We arrange credit ourselves
No
Referral to a specialist party
Yes
A first conversation without obligation
Yes
Costs clear in advance
Yes
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.
Which income counts
Lenders normally work with an average profit over several years, where a downward trend weighs more heavily than an upward one. One-off gains and tax items are stripped out. Business lease obligations and credit reduce the result. With a BV they look at your customary salary and at whether dividend can be paid structurally without hollowing out the business.
Disability is the real mortgage risk for you
There is no continued payment of wages and no build-up of WIA rights. With an AOV you make three choices that determine everything: the waiting period, after which payment starts; the criterion, disability for your own occupation or for suitable work; and the end age, which has to match the term of your mortgage. A short benefit period is cheaper, but leaves uncovered precisely the risk you are taking out the insurance for: long-term absence while the mortgage payment continues.
What an AOV does not cover
Complaints that already existed when you applied fall outside it, and after medical acceptance the insurer can include an exclusion clause for, say, the back or mental health. There is also no cover in the case of intent or of high-risk secondary activities, and the policy does not cover a loss of turnover without a medical cause. An incorrect statement catches up with you through Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code.
A workspace at home and the private policy
If you work from home, that is a change of risk. A private home contents insurance covers no trading stock and usually only to a limited extent your business equipment. If you receive clients, your liability as the occupier of the space also comes into play under Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code. Report the business use and have the business part insured separately.
What does your premium depend on?
Profession and risk class. Physical work is placed in a higher class on an AOV than desk work.
Waiting period chosen. The longer you bridge the first period yourself, the lower the premium.
Annual amount insured. Set this against your fixed costs including the mortgage, not against your whole turnover.
End age of the cover. If the cover runs to your state pension date, the premium is higher than for a shorter term.
Criterion: own occupation or suitable work. Assessment against your own occupation is wider and therefore more expensive.
Age and health at acceptance. Decisive for the premium, exclusion clauses and any loadings.
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.
That differs from lender to lender. Traditionally an average over several complete financial years is used. If your business has existed for a shorter time, an entrepreneur's income statement or a prospects statement can be a solution. Make sure your records are in order and your tax returns have been filed; missing or inconsistent figures delay an application more than a lower income does.
Is disability insurance compulsory for a mortgage?
Lenders do not normally make it compulsory, but the payments do continue if you drop out. You have no continued wages and no WIA build-up, so your income falls away immediately. Match the waiting period to your financial buffer and the end age to the term of your mortgage, otherwise a gap arises after all.
What is an entrepreneur's income statement?
A statement in which an independent calculation expert establishes your assessment income on the basis of your figures and your prospects. Many lenders accept that statement, even where you have a shorter trading history. It replaces the lender's own calculation, but not the rest of the assessment: your obligations, the value of the home and the fixed-rate period still count.
Does Finass act as an intermediary for mortgages for the self-employed?
No. We advise and act as an intermediary in non-life insurance and refer you for the finance to an adviser with a mortgage licence. What we do: assess your disability cover, liability insurance and the buildings and contents cover, including the business use of your home and the equipment kept there.
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.
