For a dealership the largest risk lies not in the workshop but on the forecourt: the trading stock stands there unattended at night and goes out on the road on a trade plate during the 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 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
For a dealer, motor trade insurance (garageverzekering) revolves around two sections that other automotive businesses barely need. The first is stock cover: new and used cars that you own or hold on consignment, usually insured at purchase value and not at the selling price. The second is the cover around the trade plate, used for test drives, collection and delivery runs and demonstration drives.
The difference from a workshop is the concentration of value at one address. A hailstorm, a fire or a theft at night affects not one vehicle but the whole row or the whole site. Insurers therefore impose requirements on fencing, camera surveillance, lighting and the way keys are kept; those requirements are not advice but a condition of payment.
For the wider picture of the sector and how it links to workshop, repair and detailing work, see the page on the automotive sector. Related specialisations are the car trade and the MOT testing station.
What does motor trade insurance cover for dealerships?
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.
Stock is paid at purchase value, not at the selling price
The margin you would have made on a car is not a loss and is not paid. Insurers use the purchase or replacement value at the time of the damage. More important is that the sum insured must cover the peak in your stock, not the annual average. If your site fills up around a launch or at the end of a quarter, you are underinsured at that moment and every claim is reduced proportionately.
Consignment stock and stock finance change who owns what
Cars registered in the name of an importer or a finance company are not your property but are your responsibility for as long as they are with you. Record who insures which part and whether the finance company must be named as an interested party on your policy. If you do not, two insurers can point at each other while the finance company simply comes to you. The same applies to part-exchanges not yet transferred.
Who drives on a test drive and what you are liable for
When a trade plate is used, liability towards third parties is arranged through the compulsory third-party cover under Article 2 WAM. Own damage to your own stock car lies elsewhere: it falls under your stock or care, custody and control cover, usually with its own conditions on who may drive. Check the minimum age, the driving licence requirement and whether a member of staff must go along. For each test drive, keep a copy of the driving licence and a record of the route driven.
Where the dealer policy stops
Theft using the vehicle's own key without signs of forced entry is declined if the key clause has not been complied with. Stock kept outside the site described on the policy, for example on rented overflow premises, is not covered unless notified. Warranty obligations under the sales contract and lost profit are not insured losses. Diminution in value after hail repairs is rarely paid, and intent falls away under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code.
What does your premium depend on?
Maximum stock value at any one time. The peak determines the sum insured, not the average over the year.
Split between indoors and outdoors. Vehicles on an open forecourt carry more hail, storm and theft risk than showroom stock.
Site security. Fencing, gate, camera surveillance, lighting and a connection to an alarm receiving centre.
Key management. A safe, a record of issue and separation of workshop keys from sales keys.
Number of trade plates and test drives. How often the stock is driven and by whom is weighed separately.
Claims history for theft and hail. Previous losses on the site determine both acceptance and the excess per event.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
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.
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.
Liability towards third parties runs through the compulsory third-party cover attached to the trade plate. Damage to the test drive car itself falls under your stock or care, custody and control cover, with its own provisions on who may drive. Watch the minimum age, the requirement for a valid driving licence and whether supervision is compulsory. If those are departed from, the own-damage claim can be declined while the third-party claim is still paid.
At what value should I insure my trading stock?
At purchase or replacement value, not at the selling price. The margin not yet realised is not a loss. Set the sum insured at the highest stock level that occurs during the year, because with underinsurance every claim is reduced proportionately, including a small one. If your stock rises and falls sharply, discuss whether a provisional premium policy with adjustment in arrears works in your situation.
Are customers' cars and consignment vehicles insured as well?
Only if the policy says so expressly. Customer vehicles in the workshop fall under the care, custody and control section and not under stock. Cars held on consignment or under stock finance are not your property, but you are responsible for them for as long as they are with you. Have it recorded who insures which part and whether the finance company must be named as an interested party.
What do insurers expect of my key management?
That keys are kept in a safe after closing time, not in the vehicle or in a cabinet in the showroom, and that you record who issues them. If a car is taken without signs of forced entry, the key clause is the first thing the loss adjuster looks at. Keep workshop keys separate from sales keys as well, so that a break-in in one area does not immediately expose the whole site.
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.
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