Insuring a food truck through OOM Verzekeringen
A food truck is a kitchen on wheels, and in insurance terms that is the most awkward combination there is: no building, but a gas installation and a deep fryer.
- Several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
This page in another language: Nederlands
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
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
In brief
Finass places business through OOM Verzekeringen among others, and also compares more than thirty other insurers objectively. With a food truck, the form of the object decides which insurer comes into view: a motorised truck is treated differently from a trailer or a movable kiosk. We establish that first and look for cover afterwards. A detailed comparison of the variants is set out on the page insuring a food truck.
What sets this apart is that there is no building. A food truck is movable property and usually a motor vehicle, so a buildings or business contents policy does not fit. If the truck is driven on the public road, third-party liability cover is required by law under Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM). You will also want to insure the truck itself against fire, theft and collision, and the fitted equipment separately: the griddle, the fryer, the refrigeration and the extraction system are often worth more than the van. If that equipment is not expressly insured as well, it falls outside the payment in the event of a total loss. If the truck is also used as plant and machinery, see a food truck as plant and machinery.
The third element is liability. A visitor who burns themselves on hot oil, a guest who falls ill from your product, or a parasol that blows over and hits someone: that is injury and property damage, and it belongs on a liability insurance for a hospitality business, not on the motor policy. If you are at a festival, the organiser will often set requirements; see liability at events.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare buildings insurance (opstalverzekering).
The same independent view, whatever insurer
We work with dozens of insurers and choose whichever fits your situation best — not whichever pays us the most. That means advice built around you, not around one brand.
Insurers
Independent
AdviceWhy 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 a claim or a refusal more often than a collision does.
Gas, deep-frying and inspection
Propane in a confined space next to a fryer full of hot oil is the biggest risk in this trade. Insurers and organisers require a periodically inspected gas installation, an approved hose and pressure regulator, a fire blanket and an extinguisher within reach. If a valid inspection is missing, fire or explosion damage is usually excluded. Also damage caused by overheating frying fat falls outside cover if the appliance was left switched on unattended.
Theft of the truck and of the fitted equipment
A food truck often stands overnight on an event site or at the roadside. Insurers therefore set security requirements: an approved immobiliser, a coupling lock on a trailer, sometimes a tracking system. If these are not met, the claim will be declined. Theft of loose equipment, the contents of the till and stock is also outside the own-damage cover on the vehicle and calls for a separate section.
Downtime costs more than the repair
If the truck is off the road during the festival season, you lose the weekends on which you earn your annual turnover. Own-damage cover pays for repair or replacement, not for loss of turnover, penalty clauses imposed by organisers or the cost of a replacement truck. To cover that, you need a business interruption section with an indemnity period that matches the lead times for fitted equipment; see business interruption insurance for hospitality.
Food safety and product recalls
If a guest falls ill from your product, that is a liability claim for personal injury. The cost of recalling, destroying or replacing your own product is not: that falls under the exclusion for damage to the goods supplied themselves and is not covered on an ordinary liability policy. Work with temperature logs and a HACCP plan, because that is the first question asked when a claim is made.
What does your premium depend on?
- Type of object: motorised truck, trailer or movable kiosk
- Value of the vehicle and the fitted equipment: the fitted equipment is often valued separately
- Gas installation and cooking method: deep-frying weighs more heavily than serving cold food
- Number of trading days and the season: all year on a fixed pitch or festivals only
- Storage between events: a locked shed or on the street
- Security: immobiliser, coupling lock and tracking system
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Third-party liability | Own-damage cover |
|---|---|---|
| You reverse into the bumper of a parked car while manoeuvring at the market | Yes | No |
| During that same manoeuvre your own tailgate is dented | No | Yes |
| The truck burns out overnight on the festival site | No | Yes |
| The fryer catches fire and the griddle and extraction system are unusable | No | Provided that |
| The contents of the till and the stock are taken from the truck | No | No |
| The festival weekends you lose while the fitted equipment is replaced | No | No |
The left-hand column is compulsory as soon as you take to the road; everything that happens while the truck is stationary is for you to add.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Why does a buildings or business contents policy not fit here?
Those policies assume a fixed address and a building. A food truck has neither: it moves, it stands in changing places and it is usually a motor vehicle. The basis therefore runs through motor cover with a separate valuation for the fitted equipment. Only a kiosk that stands permanently in one place and no longer travels brings an object policy into view.
Is the trailer insured separately?
While you are driving, a trailer is coupled and then falls under the third-party liability cover of the towing vehicle. Once uncoupled and standing on its own that is not automatically so, which is precisely when you are open for business. Damage to the trailer itself, theft and the fitted equipment need their own cover. See also the trailer insurance.
What if a visitor burns themselves at my truck?
That is personal injury and falls under public and employers’ liability insurance (AVB), provided the capacity of mobile catering is stated on the policy. As the operator you must, under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code, prevent visitors from reaching hot parts. A guard, a serving counter at height and clear signage all weigh in the assessment of the claim.
Do I have to report where I am trading?
Report at least the nature of your trading and where the truck is kept. Insurers distinguish between a fixed pitch, markets and multi-day festivals with overnight stays on site. If your actual use differs structurally from what you declared, Articles 7:928 and 7:930 DCC come into play. Trading abroad almost always has to be applied for separately.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Why we work with different insurersThe main page
- Insuring a tiny house for business use through OOM VerzekeringenMovable or immovable, relocation, off-grid
- Insuring a beach pavilion for the season through OOM VerzekeringenAssembly and dismantling, glass and terrace, short trading season
- Insuring hospitality premises through OOM VerzekeringenGrease extraction, flat above, tenant’s interest
- Insuring beach houses for letting through OOM VerzekeringenCommercial use, changing guests, seasonal income
- Insuring a coffee shop through OOM VerzekeringenTolerated status, stock, cash
- Insuring a clubhouse through OOM VerzekeringenVolunteers, canteen, hire to third parties
- Insuring a food truckVehicle, kitchen, pitch
- Insuring a mobile sales vehicleFitting out, pitch, stock