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Personal insurance
Personal policies look alike until the moment you claim. The difference lies in the sums insured, the exclusions and the question of whether your situation still matches the policy schedule.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Particuliere 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 your own premium with the calculator.
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 situation
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
A personal package consists broadly of three blocks. Home: buildings, home contents and glass. Transport: car, motorcycle, bicycle and caravan. And personal: liability, legal expenses and travel. The choice within each block is rarely about the premium and almost always about the basis: what the sum insured is based on and which events fall outside it.
Personal liability insurance (AVP) is the cheapest policy with the widest reach: you are covered for damage that you, your family members and your pets cause to others. Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code imposes strict liability on the owner of an animal, even where the animal behaves unexpectedly. What is not covered matters just as much: damage to items in your custody, damage caused with a motor vehicle, and damage connected with a trade or business.
For the home, valuation is the heart of the matter. Home contents are based on replacement value as new, buildings on rebuild value, and for both a sum insured that is too low leads to a proportionate reduction on every claim. Article 7:960 of the Dutch Civil Code also prevents you from receiving more than the actual loss, however high the sum insured. When we review your package, that is the first thing we check.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Mortgages: we refer you on.
Where personal policies come unstuck
Four exclusions that recur in almost every personal package and are seldom read.
Borrowed and hired items
If your neighbour’s trailer is left on your drive with a dent, or the borrowed drill is dropped and broken, that is damage to an item that was in your in your care . Personal liability insurance excludes this. For a rented holiday home there is often a limited exception for its contents; outside that exception you pay yourself.
Intent, and what falls under it
Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code excludes loss caused by intent or recklessness on the part of the policyholder. On liability policies it goes further: a deliberate act against a person or an object is also caught, even where the consequences were far more serious than intended. A fight or an act of vandalism is therefore not paid for, however unintended the outcome.
Gradual effects and wear
Penetrating damp, wood rot, rust, mould and slowly developing leaks are not a sudden event. Home policies do not cover that damage, even where the consequences are severe. The same applies to damage caused by vermin, design faults and deferred maintenance. Insurers pay for an event, not for a backlog.
Business use of private property
As soon as private property is used for business, the risk shifts. A car used for deliveries, a home in which a practice is run, or tools used for paid work fall outside personal cover. Report this in advance; otherwise, at claim stage, the insurer will find that the situation differs from the one declared on the application.
What does your premium depend on?
- Composition of the household — single or a family with children
- Home address — the postcode affects the burglary and water risk
- Sums insured — rebuild value and contents value as the basis
- Excess per policy — the part of the loss you bear yourself
- Claims history — claims in recent years count on acceptance
- Package discount — several policies with one insurer can make a difference
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
What is covered
| Situation | Home policies | Personal liability |
|---|---|---|
| Your son kicks a football through the neighbours’ window | No | Yes |
| A visitor trips over a loose paving slab in your front garden | No | Yes |
| A burst pipe makes your parquet floor buckle | Yes | No |
| In a rented holiday home, a lamp belonging to the owner is smashed | No | Provided that |
| Your neighbour’s borrowed trailer is dented on your drive | No | No |
| Wood rot in the window frames after years of penetrating damp | No | No |
Where both columns say No, there is no gap in your package but an exclusion that recurs in almost every personal policy.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
Do I need liability insurance if I live alone?
Yes. The damage you cause to someone else does not depend on your household but on chance: a cyclist who falls because of your open car door, a candlestick knocked over in a hired room, a dog that darts off. Where there is injury, the amounts run high because loss of income and care costs are included. The premium bears no relation to that risk.
Is legal expenses cover not already in my other policies?
Partly. A motor policy often includes recovery of losses after a road accident, and a liability policy arranges the defence against a claim. A dispute with a builder, an employer or an online shop falls outside that. Legal expenses insurance (rechtsbijstandverzekering) fills the gap, with a waiting period for new disputes and an exclusion for conflicts already running when the policy was taken out.
What do I have to report if something changes?
Moving house, refurbishment, moving in together, a practice at home, letting a room and a change in the use of a vehicle. Under Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code the duty of disclosure applies when the policy is taken out, and most policies also impose a duty to report a change of risk. Anything you fail to report can lead to a reduction or refusal of payment at claim stage.
What about double cover?
It happens more often than you think: a travel policy with baggage cover alongside a contents policy that insures belongings away from home, or breakdown assistance under both the motor policy and the credit card conditions. Where cover overlaps, in principle only one policy pays; you are then paying two premiums for one payment. A review picks that up.
