Insuring hospitality premises through OOM Verzekeringen
In hospitality the risk is not in the façade but in the kitchen and in what sits above it. Premises with flats on the upper floors are assessed quite differently from a detached business.
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In brief
Finass places business through OOM Verzekeringen among others, and also compares more than thirty insurers objectively. In hospitality, what is on offer depends heavily on the type of building: a listed canal house with flats above, a detached restaurant and a unit in a shopping centre are each offered to different insurers. The choice follows from the construction and the kitchen risk. You will find the basic set-up under buildings insurance for hospitality premises.
What sets it apart is the kitchen. Frying fat, a gas range, a grill and an extraction duct running through the structure to the roof: that is the most common cause of fire in this trade. Insurers set firm requirements, usually in the form of a clause: periodic cleaning of the entire extraction duct by a specialist firm, an automatic extinguishing system above the cooking and frying equipment, and a thermal cut-out on the fryer. A fire that starts in a duct which cannot be shown to have been cleaned is regularly declined. Keep the cleaning reports, with dates.
The second theme is what sits above the business. If there are flats on the upper floors, the risk of the fire spreading is high and you also have residential use that has nothing to do with the hospitality business. If you let those flats, that is mixed use and must be reported separately. If you rent the premises yourself, the owner insures the structure and you insure only what you installed; that dividing line runs through the tenant's improvements. For the fittings themselves, the business contents insurance for the hospitality sector.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare buildings insurance (opstalverzekering).
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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.
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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 make the difference on acceptance and at claim stage for hospitality premises.
Use notification and maximum number of people
Premises where many people gather are subject to rules on escape routes, emergency lighting, fire-resisting separations and the maximum number of people present. If practice departs from this, for instance at a private party, that affects both enforcement and cover. Fines, penalty payments and a closure ordered by the local authority are never insured and give no right to a business interruption payment either.
Glass, terrace and signage
Large shopfronts, a conservatory and a canopy are vulnerable and often not automatically insured. Glass breakage has its own section; see the glass insurance. Terrace furniture, parasols and heaters stand outside and therefore often fall outside cover for storm and theft. Damage to illuminated signage and to the terrace itself also has to be expressly stated on the policy schedule.
Business interruption lasts longer than the rebuilding work
After a kitchen fire you are closed for months, not weeks: smoke damage has to be cleaned up, permits obtained, equipment delivered and regular customers won back. Set the indemnity period of the business interruption insurance accordingly. Note that spoilage of stock through refrigeration failure is a separate section, and that loss of turnover without material damage is not covered.
Liability towards guests and staff
A guest who slips near the toilets, an employee who is burnt by hot oil or falls in the wash-up area: these are injury claims. For staff, the duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Codeapplies, for guests the operator’s duty of care under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and for defects in the building Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code. Arrange that on a liability insurance; a buildings policy does not cover injury.
What does your premium depend on?
- Construction and age of the building: an old building with timber floors is judged differently from new build
- Flats above or other occupiers: mixed use increases the risk of fire spreading
- Type of kitchen: frying and grilling weigh more heavily than cold preparation
- Cleaning and protection of the extraction system: often a clause with a fixed frequency
- Rebuild value and glazed area: the basis for the buildings cover and the glass section
- Opening hours and type of business: a lunchroom is a different risk from a late-night venue
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| A fire starts in the fryer and travels through the extraction duct to the roof | Yes | Yes |
| A burst pipe in the wash-up area floods the floor of the restaurant | No | Yes |
| A delivery van reverses into the façade of the building | No | Yes |
| After a break-in the back door has been forced and the bar wrecked | No | Yes |
| Smoke damage in the business after a fire that began in the flat above which you let | Provided that | Provided that |
| The floor subsides because the foundations of the old building have deteriorated | No | No |
Mixed use with residential occupation above must appear on the policy schedule, otherwise cover is open to question after a fire that starts upstairs.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
What does the owner insure and what does the operator insure?
The owner insures the structure: the frame, the façade, the roof and the fixed installations. The operator insures the business contents, the stock and the tenant’s interest, meaning everything installed by the operator, such as the kitchen fit-out, the bar and the ceiling. Record that division in writing when the lease begins, because after a fire it often turns out that part of it was insured by nobody.
Why does the insurer ask about my extraction duct?
Because grease deposits in the duct carry a fire from the kitchen to the roof and so turn a limited loss into a total loss. Insurers therefore include a cleaning clause with a fixed frequency and the requirement that a specialist firm carries out the work. Keep the reports. Without demonstrable cleaning this is one of the most commonly used grounds for declining a claim in hospitality.
Is the business still insured while it is closed?
During a short holiday closure it generally is, but prolonged vacancy changes the cover. Many policies then limit cover to fire, storm and explosion and withdraw water damage, burglary and vandalism. Report a longer closure in advance. Frost damage to pipes that have not been drained in an unheated building is excluded in almost every case.
Does refurbishment change anything on my policy?
Yes. During refurbishment the structure changes, the building stands open and hot work is carried out. You must report this under Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code; policies also contain a change-of-risk clause for the term. Ask about the requirements for working with naked flames as well, because a fire that starts during or shortly after such work is investigated closely.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Why we work with different insurersThe main page
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