Nationale · compared independently · advice from Finass
Liability insurance for self-employed professionals through Nationale-Nederlanden
For a self-employed professional, liability insurance turns on a boundary that no client will draw for you: the one between damage to someone else's property and a mistake in your work.
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
Public and employers' liability insurance for self-employed professionals covers injury and property damage suffered by third parties through your work: the ladder that goes through a window, the pipe you hit, the customer who trips over your equipment. The basis is Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. It is about damage to people and property, not about disappointing results.
That is exactly where the dividing line lies. If your advice or calculation costs the client money without anything being damaged, that is pure financial loss and it belongs with professional indemnity insurance. Many self-employed professionals think they have covered everything with one policy and only discover that difference when the first claim comes.
If you work without staff but do work at other people's premises, two elements are decisive: care, custody and control cover for the property you work on, and cover for work you have someone else carry out. We test those points at Nationale-Nederlanden and compare them with the self-employed versions of other insurers.
Through Finass or direct with Nationale-Nederlanden?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Basic cover
The basic cover insures the core of your liability insurance as a self-employed professional. We show what Nationale-Nederlanden and other insurers offer in it.
Injury to persons
Property damage to third parties
Employees included
Retroactive cover (prior risk)
Extended cover
On top of that to damage to third parties, employers' and product liability and damage during work at the client's premises.
Employers' liability at the client's premises
Product liability
Agency workers, interns & volunteers
Care, custody and control (property in your care)
Complete package
The most complete cover. We compare Nationale-Nederlanden's extended version with the market.
Environmental impairment (unforeseen, limited)
Retroactive cover (prior risk)
Higher sums insured
What is covered
Situation
Standard
With extension
Your child breaks a window at the neighbours'
Yes
Yes
Your dog bites a passer-by (6:179 DCC)
Yes
Yes
Damage to a rented holiday home
Provided that
Provided that
Damage to property in your care (care, custody and control)
No
Provided that
Damage caused with a motor vehicle (Article 2 WAM)
No
No
Damage caused intentionally (7:952 DCC)
No
No
Personal liability insurance (AVP) covers damage that you or a member of your household cause to someone else in a private capacity. Damage caused with a motor vehicle is not covered: the WAM applies to that. The care, custody and control exclusion excludes damage to property in your care, unless the policy provides an extension for it.
What we do
What we do
At Finass
Direct with Nationale
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 Nationale 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.
Care, custody and control: the item you work on
The standard cover often excludes damage to the item you had in your care. If you damage the installation you are working on while fitting it, that is care, custody and control. If you damage the ceiling below it in the process, that is ordinary property damage. For self-employed professionals working in customers' homes or on site, this is the element that makes the policy useful or useless. Have it insured expressly.
Redoing your own work is not paid for
If your work turns out to be defective, the insurer pays the consequential loss to others, but not the cost of putting your own work right or delivering it again. A coupling fitted incorrectly that leaks: the water damage part can be covered, refitting it is not. That distinction comes up in almost every discussion about a self-employed claim and explains why a payment is lower than expected.
Hiring in and being hired in
If you engage someone for a job yourself, your client can hold you liable for their mistakes; Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code places liability for non-subordinates with the party that outsources the work. If you work on a client's premises yourself, conversely, you are under their direction. Declare both situations: insurers ask specific questions about this when they take you on.
What is not included
Fines and contractual penalty clauses are uninsurable. Damage caused with a motor vehicle runs through the compulsory insurance under Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM), even where it is a company van. Intent is excluded under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code. And delay costs because the project is at a standstill are not a liability loss within the meaning of this policy without property damage or injury.
Retroactive cover (prior risk)
Retroactive cover (prior risk) Included for your staff during work.
Defence & legal costs
What does your premium depend on?
Your activities. Work with naked flames, at height or on installations is rated differently from advisory or office work.
Annual turnover. Turnover is the usual rating basis for self-employed professionals, even if you work alone.
Care, custody and control cover. Insuring damage to the item you are working on is a separate choice with its own premium.
Engaging subcontractors. If you have work carried out by others, Article 6:171 DCC comes into play and the insurer will ask about it.
Working area. Supplying or working outside the Netherlands brings a different liability regime and a wider territorial scope.
Excess per claim. A higher excess reduces the premium but applies again to every separate claim.
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.
Is this insurance compulsory for a self-employed professional?
Not by law, but many clients require it contractually before you can start, with a minimum sum insured per claim. In some sectors that requirement is in the purchasing conditions or in the specification. We therefore provide a policy schedule that matches what your clients ask for, rather than one that is simply cheapest.
What is the difference from professional indemnity insurance (BAV)?
The business version covers injury and material damage: something or someone is damaged. The professional version covers pure financial loss caused by a mistake in your advice, design or calculation, without anything being damaged. If you can make both kinds of mistake in your trade, you need both covers; one does not pick up the other.
I have no staff. Does that make employer's liability unnecessary?
Not entirely. As soon as you hire someone temporarily, have a family member help out or are hired in yourself, the duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code can come into play, which under subsection 4 also applies to people without an employment contract. So discuss in advance how you deal with third parties working alongside you, even if that only happens a few days a year.
I damaged my customer's floor while working. Covered?
That depends on the care, custody and control provision. If you were working on that floor, it is care, custody and control and often excluded without an extension. If the floor was merely the surface you stood on while working on something else, it is ordinary property damage and falls under the basic cover. We arrange that extension as standard for anyone working inside customers' homes.
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.
