Pure financial loss
- Incorrect or incomplete advice
- A missed deadline or an incorrect calculation
- A mistake in a design, report or file
- No injury or property damage
Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for self-employed professionals
Professional indemnity insurance covers the financial loss a client suffers through a mistake in your advice or your work. Injury and material damage belong on public and employers' liability insurance.
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- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
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- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
In brief
Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) is intended for pure financial loss: loss that does not arise from injury or from damage to property but consists purely of money. Wrong advice, a missed deadline, a calculation error in a budget: the client loses turnover or has to redo work and holds you liable. The basis is usually failure to perform (Article 6:74 of the Dutch Civil Code) or tort (Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code).
That is expressly something other than public and employers' liability insurance (AVB). The AVB covers injury and damage to property: you drop the customer's laptop, a visitor trips over your cable. That loss does not fall under the BAV, and conversely the AVB does not cover an advice error. Many self-employed professionals therefore need both policies; which of the two is decisive depends on the type of work. See also the general explanation of professional indemnity.
The BAV almost always works on a claims-madebasis: what governs is the moment the claim is made against you and notified, not the moment you made the mistake. That makes two dates crucial: the retroactive date for mistakes in the past and the run-off period for claims that only come in after the policy ends. Without those two there is a gap that you discover only years later.
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What does a BAV for the self-employed cover?
The cover consists of the loss itself, the defence against it and the boundaries in time.
Defence and legal assistance
The insurer investigates the claim and conducts the defence on your behalf.
- Assessment of liability
- Rejecting unfounded claims
- Costs of the proceedings
- Prior consultation is compulsory
Retroactive and run-off cover
Claims made: the moment of notification counts, so the dates agreed determine everything.
- Retroactive cover for earlier work
- Run-off cover after termination
- Known circumstances excluded
- Keep cover unbroken
What is covered
| Situation | BAV | AVB |
|---|---|---|
| An advice error that costs the customer turnover | Yes | No |
| A missed deadline in a file or an application | Yes | No |
| A visitor trips and is injured | No | Yes |
| You damage the client's equipment | No | Yes |
| A claim about work carried out before the start date | Provided that | Provided that |
| The cost of redoing your own work | No | No |
What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) that you receive before you take out cover.
What does your premium depend on?
- Profession and business activity: advice weighs more heavily than hands-on work
- Turnover: the usual basis for calculation
- Sum insured per claim: a higher limit means a higher premium
- Retroactive period: how far back mistakes are included
- Territory and clients: work abroad and large counterparties
- Claims history: previous claims and notifications
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.
Why 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.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
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.
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.
Four points that determine whether the BAV pays
In professional indemnity the risk lies mainly in the boundaries, not in the premium.
Claims made means dates weigh more heavily than events
If you make a mistake in March and the customer comes forward two years later, the insurer looks at the policy in force at the moment of notification. If you only take out a BAV later, that old mistake is covered only if you have retroactive cover and the date goes back far enough. If you stop, run-off cover is needed: the limitation period runs on and claims often come in years after the assignment. Do not simply change insurers without arranging these two points in writing.
The capacity on the policy must cover your work
The policy schedule states the business activity in which you are insured, for example as an interim controller, designer or adviser. That description must match what you actually do. If, alongside advising, you also carry out work, or you take on work in another sector, such a claim easily falls outside. Report every material change: this touches the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code, and incorrect or incomplete information can cost you the payment under Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code.
What a BAV does not cover
Excluded are, among other things: claims that were already known or to be expected when the policy was taken out, the costs of putting right or redoing your own work and repaying your fee, and liability you have taken on by contract in so far as it goes beyond liability in law, such as penalty clauses, guarantees or promises as to results. Also outside the cover are: administrative fines, loss caused by insolvency or by failing to pass on money, and loss caused by intent or wilful recklessness under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Report as soon as you sense a complaint, not when the summons arrives
Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to report a loss as soon as reasonably possible. In professional indemnity that often starts with an angry email or a request to redo the work free of charge. Do not admit liability and make no promises about compensation: in virtually every policy that is a ground for refusing cover, because it harms the insurer's position. Pass the correspondence on and leave the handling to the insurer.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
What is the difference between a BAV and an AVB?
The BAV covers pure financial loss: financial detriment caused by a professional error, without anything being broken or anyone being injured. The AVB covers injury and damage to other people's property. Wrong advice falls under the BAV, a monitor knocked over at the customer's premises under the AVB. Anyone who both advises and carries out physical work generally needs both policies.
What does claims made mean exactly?
Cover exists if the claim is made and notified during the term of the policy, regardless of when the mistake was made. That makes the retroactive date and the run-off period decisive. Without retroactive cover, older mistakes are not covered. Without run-off cover you are uninsured for claims that come in after the end date. Arrange both in writing when you take out the policy or switch.
I am winding up my business. Can I simply cancel the policy?
You can, but cover then ends for claims that come in afterwards about work in the past. So ask for run-off cover, also known as post-termination cover. The period and the conditions differ from insurer to insurer. Discuss this before you cancel; buying run-off cover afterwards is not possible with most insurers.
My client requires a BAV in the contract. What should I watch for?
Look at three things: the sum insured per claim and per year, the described capacity and the retroactive date. Contracts sometimes also require that liability may not be limited by general terms and conditions. Note that liability you take on by contract which goes beyond the law is usually excluded on the policy. Have such a clause assessed in advance.
Are general terms and conditions still needed?
Yes. The insurance only pays once it has been established that you are liable. General terms with a limitation of liability reduce the likelihood and the size of a claim, and the insurer counts on that. Make sure the terms are handed over before or at the time the contract is concluded, otherwise the client can set them aside.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV)The main page
- Professional indemnity insurance for self-employed professionalsBAV, financial loss, claims made
- Professional indemnity or public and employers' liability: which do you need?Professional error, pure financial loss, claims made
- How professional indemnity insurance (BAV) protects your businessBAV, defence, settlement
- Professional indemnity for self-employed professionalsPure financial loss, claims made, run-off
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for an educational consultancyPure financial loss, claims-made, retroactive and run-off cover
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) and public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) for your businessAVB, BAV, employers' liability
Read more
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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 compiled by Finass Verzekert (LinkedIn). Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.