Garage insurance through Nationale-Nederlanden
A customer's car changes position several times in a single working day: on the premises, on the ramp and on the road. Each position belongs to a different section, and therefore to a different exclusion.
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In brief
Finass is an independent firm and compares several insurers objectively. Nationale-Nederlanden is one of the insurers with which we can place a motor trade policy. The choice follows from the sections your business needs, not from the insurer's name. You can read more about this insurer at Nationale-Nederlanden, and about the structure of the product at compare garage insurance.
In a motor business almost every dispute turns on the question which section the vehicle fell under at the time of the damage. If a customer's car is on the premises and burns out, that is the clients' vehicles section. If the car falls off the ramp, it is damage during work. If a mechanic takes it onto the road, the compulsory insurance requirement of Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) applies and damage to third parties runs through the trade plate or the customer's own policy. Without the clients' vehicles section, damage to that car falls under the care, custody and control exclusion of the liability cover and you pay yourself.
Three items almost always remain for your own account. The redoing your own work is not an insured loss but a business risk. The loss of turnover or replacement transport that a customer claims because their van was off the road is pure financial loss and not property damage. And fines, for example after a test certificate issued wrongly, are a penalty and not compensation; no policy pays those. For a shutdown in your own business there is separate cover: the business interruption insurance for garages.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare motor trade insurance.
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Get coveredWhy arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
What to look out for
Four points that lead to disputes in a garage business more often than the sum insured.
The error itself and what follows from it
If an engine seizes because a timing belt was fitted incorrectly, there are two items: refitting the belt and the damage to the engine block. Only the second is insurable in principle, and then only if the section for damage during work has been included. Putting your own defective work right remains excluded, however high the bill turns out to be.
Electric and hybrid vehicles
Work on high-voltage systems, disconnecting battery packs and charging on your own premises are risks in their own right. Insurers accept on the basis of the activities declared and often attach requirements: demonstrably trained staff, a designated location for a suspect battery pack, charging outside the building. If this work is not in your declaration and the damage arises from it, then Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code comes into play and the payout can be reduced or refused.
Collection, delivery and the test drive
As soon as a vehicle goes onto the public road, the compulsory insurance requirement of Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM)applies. Record who may drive, on which registration and whether the customer may come along. If someone drives without a driving entitlement or under the influence, the injured party keeps their right to compensation through the WAM, but the insurer recovers the amount paid from you.
Trading stock and cars already sold
Your own stock of used cars is a separate section, with requirements on securing the site, lighting and key management. What you have to put right for the customer after a sale is not an insured loss but a warranty and conformity matter. If a defect or an incorrect odometer reading is deliberately concealed, Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code excludes cover in any event.
What does your premium depend on?
- Mix of activities: servicing, accident repair, MOT testing, sales or dismantling
- Number of clients' vehicles on the premises: and their value on an average day
- Size of the trading stock: determines the section for your own vehicles
- Trade plates and drivers: who takes customers' cars onto the road
- Security of the premises and the grounds: fencing, lighting, cameras and key storage
- Claims history and excess: per event and per insurance year
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| A customer's car burns out while standing on your premises waiting for parts | Provided that | Yes |
| A car falls off the lift during servicing work | No | Yes |
| Hail damages the used cars on your sales forecourt | No | Yes |
| A mechanic hits a parked car during a test drive | Yes | Yes |
| Engine damage because the wrong fuel was put into a customer's car | No | Provided that |
| A customer slips on a patch of oil in the showroom and is injured | Yes | Yes |
Which sections you include determines the cover. Without the clients' vehicles section, damage to a customer's car falls outside the policy.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Is engine damage after a badly carried out repair covered?
The consequential damage to the vehicle may be covered under the section for damage during work, provided that section is on your policy. Carrying out the repair again remains outside the cover. If the customer also claims lost turnover or the hire of a replacement car, that is pure financial loss and the motor trade policy is not intended for it.
Do we have to report that we work on electric cars?
Yes. Work on high-voltage systems and charging or storing battery packs changes the fire risk of the whole building. Insurers attach conditions to it. If you do not report that activity, the insurer can rely on Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code when you claim and limit or refuse payment. Report an extension during the term as well.
A customer drives our courtesy car and causes damage. Whose insurance pays?
The replacement car is registered in your name, so liability towards third parties runs through the cover on that vehicle. Damage to the courtesy car itself falls under your own comprehensive cover or under the excess you agreed with the customer. Record in writing who may drive and what excess applies. Without that agreement, recovery from the customer becomes difficult.
A customer's car has been stolen from the premises. What now?
Theft of a client's vehicle falls under the clients' vehicles section, if that section is included. The insurer will however check the prevention conditions: was the site secured, where were the keys, was the alarm set. Report the loss as soon as you know of it; Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to do so and late notification can prejudice the insurer's interests.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare motor trade insuranceThe main page
- Garage insurance for a self-employed mechanicCustomer's car in your care, test drive, your own injury
- Insuring a garage business through OOM VerzekeringenWorkshop, outdoor storage, soil risk
- Garage insurance for automotive businessesCustomers' property, test drives, described activities
- Motor trade insuranceCustomer vehicles, test drives, workshop
Read more
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