Workshop · outdoor storage · soil risk
Insuring a garage business through OOM Verzekeringen
In a garage business the centre of gravity is not only the workshop. The site, the storage and the floor also determine whether a property insurer is willing to accept the risk.
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- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Garagebedrijf verzekeren via OOM Verzekeringen.
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
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Finass uses OOM Verzekeringen among others for buildings, sites and property that call for individual assessment. For a garage business that means the situation on the yard counts towards acceptance as well, not only the workshop. What this insurer offers is set out at OOM Verzekeringen; the structure of a motor trade policy is set out at garage insurance.
A garage business combines risks that elsewhere are spread across several classes: a workshop with naked flames and grinding work, business contents with expensive measuring equipment and lifts, a stock of parts and tyres, and often a sales display outside. That calls for a policy built up section by section. The biggest disputes are not about the level of the sum insured but about what was standing outside and what is in the ground.
Two things structurally fall outside buildings and contents cover. Customers' vehicles are not business contents; they belong in the clients' vehicles section and otherwise fall under the care, custody and control exclusion of your liability cover. And soil contamination from spilt oil, a leaking interceptor or firefighting residues after a fire is not property damage; there is environmental damage insurancefor that. Wear, deferred maintenance and inherent defect are excluded on every property policy.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare motor trade insurance.
What to look out for
Four subjects that weigh more heavily than turnover when a garage building is underwritten.
What stands outside
Stacks of tyres, waste containers, wrecks awaiting dismantling and pallets against the wall are classic ignition points. Conditions often prescribe a minimum distance from the building and limit the storage of tyres. If something is standing against the wall that the clause does not allow, and the fire starts there, that is an independent ground for limiting the payment.
Soil, interceptor and wash bay
Oil, coolant, brake fluid and wash bay water reach the soil. Remediation is not property damage and therefore falls outside buildings, contents and liability cover. Keep demonstrable records of maintenance on the oil and silt interceptor and place the risk on separate environmental damage insurance, including for contamination on the neighbours' land.
Hot work and batteries
Welding, grinding, spraying and the charging or storage of traction batteries are separate risks with their own clauses: extinguishers within reach, a fire watch afterwards, a separate location for damaged battery packs. These requirements are not advice but a condition. Damage caused deliberately or recklessly remains excluded in any event under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Report what changes
Expanding into dismantling, adding a spray booth, hiring out vans or housing a second business in the same building changes the risk materially. Insurers accept on the basis of the statements in your application. If reality differs from them, Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Codeapply. Report prolonged vacancy or the closure of part of the building as well.
What does your premium depend on?
- Nature of the activities: servicing, paint work, dismantling or trading
- Floor area and construction: of workshop, store and showroom
- Value of business contents and stock: lifts, equipment, parts and tyres
- Storage on the site: what stands outside and at what distance
- Fire and burglary prevention: extinguishers, detection, fencing and lighting
- Sections chosen and excess: can be agreed differently for each section
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Building and business contents | Environmental damage |
|---|---|---|
| A short circuit in a lift sets the workshop alight and destroys the measuring equipment | Yes | No |
| A break-in at the store in which a batch of parts and hand tools disappears | Yes | No |
| A fire in a stack of tyres standing against the wall while the clause prescribed a clear distance | Provided that | No |
| The oil and silt interceptor leaks and the ground under the wash bay has to be excavated | No | Yes |
| Firefighting water with oil residues flows onto the neighbours' land after a fire | No | Yes |
| A customer's car falls off the ramp while you are working on it | No | No |
Damage to vehicles you have in your care but do not own belongs in the clients' vehicles section and not on the property cover.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Why does OOM Verzekeringen come into the picture for a garage business?
This insurer assesses buildings, sites and property that call for a bespoke approach, for example because of the combination of workshop, outdoor storage and trading on one site. Finass always puts the application to several insurers and compares the conditions section by section. Which insurer it becomes follows from your risk profile and from the requirements the insurer sets for the building.
Is soil remediation after an oil leak covered?
Not on buildings or contents insurance, and not on ordinary liability cover either. Contamination of soil and groundwater is not damage to property but an obligation to remediate. Environmental damage insurance exists for that, and can cover remediation at your own location and on surrounding land, including the costs after a fire.
Are customers' cars covered by contents insurance?
No. Contents are the items you use to run your business, such as lifts, tools and measuring equipment. Vehicles you have in your care but do not own fall under the care, custody and control exclusion of the liability cover and must be included in the clients' vehicles section. Without that section you bear damage to a customer's car yourself.
What if the business is temporarily closed?
Report it. In the event of closure or vacancy, many insurers restrict cover to a number of named perils such as fire, explosion and storm, and cover for burglary and vandalism lapses. If turnover falls because of covered damage to the building, that is a matter for business interruption insurance and not for the buildings cover.