Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a self-employed study choice adviser
Your client is usually a parent paying for advice about their child's future. If the first year of study disappoints, the discussion soon turns to the quality of that advice.
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In brief
Advice on choosing a course of study is an best-efforts obligation. You gather information, administer a test if appropriate, weigh up interests and abilities and reach reasoned advice. You do not guarantee an outcome. That distinction is the heart of your insurance position, because professional indemnity insurance covers loss caused by a mistake in that process, not disappointment about a result you never promised.
What actually goes wrong in this work lies in the support for the advice. A test result read outside the intended norm group, a conclusion going further than the instrument allows, advice towards a course with a numerus fixus or a specific subject requirement without that requirement being checked. A court judges that against Article 7:401 of the Dutch Civil Code, which binds you to the care of a competent adviser. Advice may turn out to be unfortunate. It may not be inadequately supported.
You also work almost always with minors. Files containing test results and meeting notes are personal data, and for young people under sixteen the consent of the parents with parental authority is needed. If that goes wrong, the same applies as in any privacy claim: an administrative fine from the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (the Dutch data protection authority) is excluded, because a fine is a penalty and not compensation. You place the cost of putting things right after a data breach on a cyber insurance.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV).
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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 subjects that determine how a complaint about individual advice on study choice ends.
What you promise is what you are judged on
Texts such as 'the right course guaranteed' or 'no more dropping out' turn your efforts into a promised result. Liability that only exists because you gave a guarantee is excluded on the policy. Have your website, quotation and general terms checked on this point before a dissatisfied parent prints them out.
Tests, norm groups and qualifications
For some instruments the publisher imposes a qualification requirement. If you administer such a test without that qualification, that work falls outside the business activity for which you are insured and you carry the consequences yourself. State in your report which instrument you used, which norm group you applied and what limitations go with it.
Two parents, one file
Where parents are divorced, the complaint often comes from the parent who was not involved in the programme. Record who gave the instruction, who gave consent and with whom the results were shared. If you share a report with a school or a third party without a legal basis, there is an allegation about your professional practice alongside a privacy issue.
What the policy does not pay out
Not insured are intent and wilful recklessness (Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code), any fine or penalty payment, refunding your fee and going through the programme again, and injury or damage to property such as a damaged laptop during a meeting at someone's home. The latter belongs on a public and employers' liability insurance.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: in a one-person practice the main measure
- Described business activity: advice on study choice, administering tests and possibly coaching
- Type of client: private parents or schools as clients
- Sum insured: per claim and limited per insurance year
- Retroactive date: how long your earlier advice is included
- Excess per claim: a higher amount reduces the annual premium
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| You advise a course with a numerus fixus without checking that the selection round had already closed | No | Yes |
| On your advice a pupil starts a course for which physics was compulsory and loses a year | No | Yes |
| A school that hired you is sued by parents and puts the costs to you | No | Provided that |
| A pupil stops after six months although your report named the limitations of the test | No | No |
| During a meeting at a school you damage the smartboard in the classroom | Yes | No |
| A parent posts a negative review and your enquiries fall away | No | No |
Advice that turns out unfortunate is not a mistake. What matters is what you should have checked before you gave it.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
A parent wants his money back because the child has stopped studying. What now?
A disappointing outcome is not yet a professional error. The question is whether your advice was properly arrived at: meetings, use of tests, supporting reasons and a check of the entry requirements. If you can show that, there is no liability. Refunding your fee is never insured in any event; the policy covers the other party's loss, not the payment for your own work.
Alongside study choice I also do career coaching. Is that included?
Only if it is on your policy schedule. The description of your professional capacity determines the scope of the cover; activities not mentioned in it are not insured, even where they are an extension of what is stated. So report every extension of your services to the insurer, even if your turnover stays the same.
Do I have to report a complaint that is not yet a claim?
Yes. Under Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code you must inform the insurer as soon as it becomes clear that a payment may come into the picture. Under a claims-made policy, notifying a circumstance keeps the current year open, even if the claim only follows much later. Answer the complaint in businesslike terms, admit no liability and make no offer before the insurer has responded.
Are the costs of a legal defence covered?
Defence costs are included with most insurers, but often within the sum insured and not on top of it. In a long-running dispute the defence can therefore eat up part of the amount available. Check in the conditions whether the costs come on top of the sum and who appoints the lawyer. The latter is usually the insurer's right.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
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