Third-party liability insurance
- Damage to other vehicles
- Injury to third parties
- Damage to buildings and objects
- Damage caused by passengers
Paint damage · the installation · customer vehicles
Garage insurance for car wash businesses
A car wash is a machine that customers drive their own cars through, and that makes the installation itself as sensitive an insurance matter as the vehicles in it.
- several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Garageverzekering voor autowasbedrijven.
Calculate your premium or request a quote
Without obligation; a reply within one working day.
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 your own premium with the calculator.
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
In a car wash business, two things are at stake at once. The first is the customer's vehicle in the wash: scratches from dirty brushes, a mirror or aerial snapped off, a damaged spoiler. You have that vehicle in your care during the treatment, so this is care, custody and control and not the ordinary liability section. The second is the installation itself: gantries, brush shafts, drives, high-pressure pumps, the dosing system and the water recycling plant together make up the largest item on your policy.
For that installation, ordinary fire and contents cover is too narrow. What actually breaks in practice is not the building but a bearing, a frequency converter or a pump, and that is machinery breakdown. That cover is a separate module. If the wash then stands idle for days, the loss of turnover is only insured if you have added business interruption ; without that module you bear the shutdown yourself.
The third strand is the building. A car wash is a building with wet floors, roller doors and a drive where people walk. As owner or possessor you are liable under Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code for defects in that structure, whether or not you are at fault.
What does motor trade insurance cover for car wash businesses?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Third-party liability + fire and theft
Alongside third-party liability cover, protection against damage to your own car from external causes you cannot prevent.
- Fire and storm damage
- Theft and burglary
- Windscreen breakage and glass damage
- Collision with animals
Comprehensive insurance
The most complete cover, including for damage you cause yourself, theft and total loss. We compare Ansvar Idea's comprehensive version with the market.
- Hail damage
- Damage through your own fault
- Vandalism
- Unknown party at fault
What is covered
| What we do | At Finass | Direct with Ansvar |
|---|---|---|
| Comparison across several insurers | Yes | No |
| Advice based on your own situation | Yes | Provided it is declared |
| One point of contact for claims | Yes | Provided it is declared |
| Cancellation with your current insurer arranged | Yes | No |
| We determine whether Ansvar is the best choice | Yes | No |
| Advice fees for you as a customer | No | No |
What we do
| What we do | At Finass | Direct with Ansvar |
|---|---|---|
| Comparison across several insurers | Yes | No |
| Advice based on your own situation | Yes | Sometimes |
| One point of contact for claims | Yes | Sometimes |
| Cancellation with your current insurer arranged | Yes | No |
| We determine whether Ansvar is the best choice | Yes | No |
| Advice fees for you as a customer | No | No |
This overview concerns our service, not the cover. What is actually covered is set out in the policy conditions and on the insurer's insurance card (verzekeringskaart); you receive both before you take out cover.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Paint damage falls under care, custody and control, with its own limit
Scratches usually come not from the brush but from sand and grit left in it. The damage itself is damage to property you had in your care, so the care, custody and control cover is decisive, not the liability section. Watch the limit per event: if a gantry is faulty, it is not one car that is damaged but every car that went through that morning.
Aerials, mirrors and accessories are often excluded
Almost every car wash policy excludes parts the customer should have folded in or removed: aerials, wing mirrors, wipers, roof racks, non-factory spoilers and aftermarket accessories. Loose trim and paintwork that is already damaged or weathered are also outside the cover. Display those conditions clearly at the entrance and record that the customer has seen them; otherwise you are arguing without a policy and without evidence.
Machinery breakdown and business interruption are two separate modules
A burnt-out motor or a pump that has given way is neither fire nor burglary, so the fire policy does not pay. Machinery breakdown cover pays for repairing the installation, but not for the turnover you lose while it is being repaired. State in the application what the delivery time of your critical components is; that determines how long the indemnity period of your business interruption cover needs to be.
Water, chemicals and the floor your customers walk on
A leak in the dosing system or a fault in the water treatment plant can lead to an unintended discharge into the sewer or the soil; clean-up costs do not fall under the standard cover but under a separate environmental section. If a customer trips or slips on a wet floor or a broken drainage grating, Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Codecomes into play: as possessor of the structure you are liable, even without fault. Maintenance records are then your only defence.
What does your premium depend on?
- Type of installation — Rollover, tunnel wash with a conveyor, or jet wash bays only; each has a different claims pattern.
- Throughput per year — The number of vehicles treated determines the likelihood of paint damage claims and the wear on the installation.
- Replacement value of the installation — The basis for the contents and machinery breakdown cover, including pumps, controls and water recycling.
- Care, custody and control limit per event — Decisive where a fault damages several vehicles one after another.
- Maintenance contract and brush management — A contract with fixed inspection and replacement intervals counts in your favour on acceptance.
- Ancillary activities on the site — A filling station, LPG installation or shop next to the wash changes the fire risk materially.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
How we arrange it
- You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your 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
The questions we are asked most often about this.
A customer claims for scratches after washing. When does the insurer pay?
If the damage can be shown to have arisen in your wash and the part of the vehicle is not excluded, the care, custody and control cover pays. In practice everything turns on the evidence taken beforehand: many businesses film or photograph every vehicle at the entrance. Without that record it is the customer's word against yours, and that costs you claims you could have won on the merits.
Is a fault in my wash installation itself insured?
Only with machinery breakdown cover. Ordinary contents or fire insurance covers damage by fire, storm and burglary, but not the failure of a bearing, a pump or the controls through an internal defect. Wear and normal maintenance remain excluded under machinery breakdown cover too; that policy pays for the sudden failure, not for the part that is worn out.
What if the wash is out of action for a week?
Your loss of turnover is then only covered if you have added business interruption or additional costs cover, and only if the cause is an insured event. Watch the indemnity period: it must match the lead time on your parts. Where a control board takes months to arrive, a short period is of little use.
I also do hand cleaning and polishing. Does that change the cover?
Yes. Hand treatment and polishing carry a different risk from automated washing: burning through paint, chemicals attacking rubber and plastic, and higher vehicle values. Declare that activity separately, or it falls outside the declared business activities. See also motor trade insurance for detailing businesses.
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 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.