Insuring beach houses for letting through OOM Verzekeringen
As soon as you let beach huts, the risk changes from ownership to commercial operation. Strangers hold the keys, there is income that can fall away, and there is liability towards your guests.
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In brief
Finass places business with OOM Verzekeringen and with more than thirty other insurers. This provider focuses on objects that do not fit a standard policy, and a beach hut that is let out is one example. The word letting must be stated in so many words on the policy schedule. A policy issued for private use does not cover commercial letting. You will find the private-use version under beach huts for private use.
Commercial letting brings three risks that an owner-occupier does not have. First, damage caused by guests: a barbecue knocked over, a forced window, a departure without locking the door. Second, liability: as the owner you are liable under Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code for damage caused by a defect in the structure, even without fault on your part, and as the operator you can also be pursued under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code where a staircase, a gas connection or a terrace was not in order. Third, loss of income: if a hut is out of use in the high season, the season is over before the repair is finished.
Those three belong in different places. The structure and the fittings sit on the object policy. Liability towards guests and passers-by belongs on a public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) for a leisure business. The loss of rental income is covered only under a business interruption insurance or an expressly insured loss-of-rent section. If you also run a hospitality business on the beach, the same applies to beach pavilions.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare construction all risks (CAR) insurance.
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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.
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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 are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
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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 where letting beach huts differs from private use.
Who held the key decides the outcome
Theft is usually only paid where there are traces of forced entry. If you gave the code or the key to a guest and the contents disappear, those traces are missing and the claim is declined. Record who had access and when, use codes that change with each letting period, and include a liability provision in your rental terms. Vandalism and wilful damage by tenants is often limited or excluded as well.
Loss of income is not damage to property
A hut that is destroyed is paid for as an object. The bookings you lose as a result are not. Refunds to guests and the cost of alternative accommodation also fall outside an ordinary buildings policy. To cover that you need a separate section with an indemnity period that matches the season. Bear in mind the delivery time for a new hut and the term of the permit.
The location itself remains the biggest risk
Damage caused by flooding, spring tides and the failure or overtopping of a sea defence is excluded as standard, as is gradual deterioration through salt, sand and damp. Insurers also set requirements for anchoring and for following the instructions of the local authority or the beach operator. If the hut is not cleared or secured under those instructions when an orange warning is issued, that affects cover.
Gas, electrics and guest safety
If you let to third parties, your hut becomes a place where people sleep and cook. Inspections of gas bottles and electrics, a smoke alarm, a sound staircase and an escape route are not formalities but conditions of acceptance. If someone is injured because one of these was missing, that is a liability claim and not damage to the object. Administrative fines and penalty payments following an inspection always remain uninsured.
What does your premium depend on?
- Number of huts in commercial use: a single object or a row on the same stretch of beach
- Letting period per year: a short season carries a different exposure from year-round letting
- Rebuild or replacement value: the basis for payment per object
- Loss of rent included: whether or not lost bookings are covered
- Security and key management: locks, codes and supervision between lettings
- Location and shelter: the position on the coast determines the storm and water exposure
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | A policy for your own use | A policy that includes letting |
|---|---|---|
| A guest knocks the barbecue over and the decking catches fire | No | Yes |
| Storm damages the roof of a hut in the middle of July | Yes | Yes |
| The contents disappear after a tenant passed on the access code. There are no signs of forced entry | No | No |
| The bookings for the rest of the season fall away because the hut is unusable | No | Provided that |
| A guest breaks an ankle on a rotten stair tread | No | No |
| A spring tide overtops the sea defence and carries the hut away | No | No |
Injury to guests is liability and belongs on a business liability policy with letting stated as the insured capacity.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
I only let for a few weeks a year. Do I have to report that?
Yes, occasional letting for payment also changes the assessment. The circle of users grows, the chance of damage and theft rises, and liability towards guests arises. Withholding this engages Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code, and it comes to light the moment the insurer asks who was staying in the hut when the damage occurred.
A guest has wrecked the contents. Will that be paid?
Often not without a separate arrangement. Wilful damage by people present with your permission is excluded or limited on many policies. Work with a deposit, an inventory list for each letting and photographs on handover. In civil law you can pursue the tenant, but that requires proof that the damage arose during that period.
Does injury to a guest fall under this policy?
No, that is liability and belongs on a business liability policy. As the owner of the structure you are liable under Article 6:174 DCC for damage caused by a defect, even where you are not at fault. Think of a rotten stair tread or a loose handrail. Make sure the insured capacity states the letting of holiday properties.
What about the period outside the season?
Many huts are dismantled after the season or moved to a storage site. Ask whether transport, assembly and dismantling and the storage itself are insured. Those phases are regularly excluded or made conditional on the work being done by an approved contractor. Record as well who is responsible for supervision and security while the hut is in storage.
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 house for private use through OOM VerzekeringenSeasonal siting, storm and sea, private use
- Insuring a beach pavilion for the season through OOM VerzekeringenAssembly and dismantling, glass and terrace, short trading season
- Insuring a clubhouse through OOM VerzekeringenVolunteers, canteen, hire to third parties
- Insuring a food truck through OOM VerzekeringenMoving object, gas and deep-frying, changing pitches
- Insuring a tiny house for private use through OOM VerzekeringenMain residence, pitch, self-build
- Insuring a brothel through OOM VerzekeringenLicence, acceptance, night-time use
- Insuring a multi-tenant business building through OOM VerzekeringenChanging tenants, heaviest use, loss of rent