AVP for private individuals
- Family, children, pets, house guests
- Property damage and injury to third parties
- Professional and business activities excluded
- Let property excluded
Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code · Article 6:174 DCC ·. The limits of the AVP
Liability and other miscellaneous risks: which cover belongs where?
Liability is not a single product. Alongside the personal policy there are covers for property, letting, directors and unusual possessions.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Aansprakelijkheid en overige varia: welke dekking hoort waarbij?.
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 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
The basis is Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code: anyone who acts unlawfully and thereby causes loss has to make it good. The law also has strict liabilities where no fault is needed. The best known are Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code for the owner of a building and Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code for the keeper of an animal. Separate rules also apply to children and to assistants.
Personal liability insurance (AVP) covers family life: you, your partner, your children, your pets and your house guests. Anything outside that really is outside it. Liability arising from profession or business is excluded, as is liability connected with the ownership or letting of property that you do not live in yourself. So for a rented-out home or a second home you let, you need a different policy.
Letting is also something you have to disclose when you take out the policy. Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to state everything that matters for assessing the risk; non-disclosure can lead under Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code to a reduced payment or to no payment at all. See also what liability in law actually means.
The main forms side by side
Three categories into which virtually every liability question falls.
Property owners' liability
Liability arising from the ownership, management and letting of a building.
- Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code
- Tenants, visitors and neighbours
- Per property or per portfolio
- Business use to be reported separately
Unusual liabilities
Covers for situations that fall outside the standard policies.
- Directors' and officers' liability
- Volunteers and associations
- Boats, horses and drones
- Employers' liability
What is covered
| Situation | AVP | Supplementary policy |
|---|---|---|
| Your child throws a ball through the neighbours' window | Yes | Yes |
| Your dog bites a passer-by | Yes | Yes |
| Injury to a tenant in the home you let out | No | Yes |
| Loss arising from work you carry out for payment | No | Yes |
| Damage to items you had borrowed from someone | No | Provided that |
| A fine or a traffic offence | No | No |
The sums insured, exclusions and excess that apply to you are set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) you receive before you take out cover.
Four points about the limits of the cover
Where liability covers dovetail in practice, and where they leave a gap.
The AVP stops at letting and at a second home
The AVP insures family life. If you own a home you do not live in yourself, liability arising from that ownership is usually excluded. Some policies cover one second home in the Netherlands as long as you use it exclusively yourself; as soon as you let it, including occasionally through a platform, that lapses. You remain strictly liable under Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code, so the risk does not disappear, only the cover.
Intent and recklessness are always outside it
No liability insurance covers loss caused deliberately. Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code provides that the insurer does not pay for loss the policyholder caused intentionally or through recklessness. Policies work that out in an intent clause that also applies to vandalism, assault and sexually inappropriate behaviour. For children under fourteen an exception often applies, because the law attributes their acts to the parents.
What is structurally not covered
Besides intent, all policies have standard exclusions. The exclusions are damage to your own property, damage caused by a motor vehicle, vessel or aircraft (separate insurance applies to that, and for motor vehicles it is compulsory under Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM)), and loss arising from a contractual penalty clause or guarantee that goes beyond liability in law. On an AVP, pure financial loss without property damage or injury also falls outside the cover.
Reporting changes keeps the cover in place
If you start letting, start a business from home, buy a horse or a boat, the risk changes. Report it to your insurer. When the policy is taken out, Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Codeapplies; when there is a loss, the duty to give notice under Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Codeapplies, which requires you to report the loss as soon as reasonably possible. Leave any admission of liability to the insurer. A promise of your own can restrict your cover.
What does your premium depend on?
- Household composition: single person or family
- Sum insured per event: a choice of fixed amounts
- Excess: often per claim
- Possessions with their own risk: animals, boats, drones
- Letting or a second home: calls for separate cover
- Claims history: earlier claims count
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
- You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, risk and wishes.
- We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
- You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
- We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
9.5New policy
9.8Claims handling
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Does my AVP cover losses connected with a home I let?
Usually not. The AVP excludes liability connected with the ownership or exploitation of property you do not live in yourself. As soon as there is a tenant in it, the property falls outside the cover, while as the owner you remain strictly liable under Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code. For that situation you take out liability insurance for property.
What does 'liability in law' mean on a policy?
That the insurer only pays where you are liable under the law, not where you feel morally responsible or have promised something. The insurer assesses liability itself and conducts the defence. If you admit liability off your own bat, that can make handling the claim more difficult. Report the loss and leave the assessment to the insurer.
Is liability insurance compulsory?
For private individuals, no. The only compulsory cover is motor liability insurance under Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM). Landlords, sports clubs and clients do often require liability cover as a condition of contract. Without cover you bear injury claims yourself, and with permanent injury those are amounts well beyond the means of an average household.
Are my pets covered?
Ordinary pets are covered on the AVP. Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code places liability for damage caused by an animal on the keeper, even without fault. For horses there is often a separate arrangement or a separate sum insured, certainly where they are used by third parties or kept at livery. Dogs with a working function and animals kept commercially usually fall outside the personal policy.
What comes under 'miscellaneous'?
That is the collective term for covers that sit alongside the standard policies: directors' and officers' liability for a VvE (Dutch owners' association) or an association, liability for volunteers, cover for boats, drones and horses, and employers' liability. These risks fall outside the AVP and outside an ordinary public and employers' liability insurance, and therefore call for an assessment of their own in each situation.
Read more
Within Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering
- Aansprakelijkheidsverzekeringthe main page
- How liability insurance protects you against risks
- Verhuur en aansprakelijkheid waarom een aansprakelijkheidsverzekering onmisbaar is voor vastgoedeigenaren
- Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering aansprakelijkheid zzp
- Aansprakelijkheidsrisico s bij onroerend goed hoe beschermt een verzekering je
- What is third-party liability?
- Waarom een aansprakelijkheidsverzekering belangrijk is voor je tweede huis
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Want to know which cover you need?
Request a quotation without obligation. We map out your liabilities and find the policy that fits.
Prefer to call? 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 09:00–17:00.
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About our service
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
You will find our licence, KvK and Kifid details and our complaints procedure at the foot of every page.
This page was written and checked by an adviser at Finass Verzekert. Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.