Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for an accounting practice
A bookkeeping practice carries out work that has to fit the client's legal obligations exactly. One incorrect payroll change can produce a pension claim years later.
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In brief
A bookkeeping practice is liable for its own work and for that of its people: Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code places mistakes by subordinates with the employer. At a practice of any size the heaviest claim rarely comes from day-to-day postings, but from work that affects the legal position of third parties. A pension registration not processed, a sickness notification not passed on, a transition payment calculated incorrectly or an employee left for months on the wrong wage tax credit. The client suffers pure financial loss, and professional indemnity insurance is intended for that; see the hub page on the BAV.
Payroll deserves separate attention here. If a new member of staff is not registered with the industry-wide pension fund, or is registered too late, a gap appears in their pension build-up that can only be repaired afterwards with a lump sum. If a sickness notification does not reach the sickness absence insurer in time, that payment can lapse and the client will recover the difference from you. Check that payroll and personnel administration are expressly stated in your insured capacity. Some policies describe only financial administration.
Bookkeeping practices also fall under the Wwft (the Dutch anti-money laundering act). You must carry out client due diligence, identify the ultimate beneficial owner and report unusual transactions to the FIU. The Bureau Financieel Toezicht supervises this. A fine that follows is a sanction and is excluded on every liability policy. What can be covered is the loss a client suffers because you explained an obligation incorrectly. So set up your client files so that you can show afterwards what you established and when.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV).
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What to look out for
Four subjects that decide a firm's policy more often than the premium.
Outsourced work is not automatically covered
If you engage freelancers, a payroll bureau or a specialist tax adviser, you remain liable towards your client under Article 6:76 of the Dutch Civil Code. Many policies, however, exclude or limit liability for third parties engaged. Ask about this explicitly, require your subcontractors to maintain their own professional indemnity insurance and keep their evidence of insurance.
Who is covered by the policy
Alongside the company, directors, staff, trainees and hired-in workers should fall within the class of insured persons, including for the period after they leave. A member of staff who is held personally liable under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Codemust be able to rely on the same policy. Also check whether an acquired practice or an old trading name is included.
Terms of business that hold up
Firm terms often limit liability to a multiple of the fee. Such a clause only works if the terms were handed over before or when the engagement was concluded, as Articles 6:233 and 6:234 of the Dutch Civil Code require. A reference on the invoice is too late. If in a client contract you instead accept wider liability, the excess falls outside the cover.
Three items at your own expense
You bear the following yourself: fines from the Belastingdienst and from regulators; fraud and misappropriation, including by one of your own staff, because that is not a professional error but a property offence; and intent and wilful recklessness under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code. Putting your own work right and crediting your fee also fall outside.
What does your premium depend on?
- Turnover and number of employees: determines the number of files and the spread of the risk
- Range of services: bookkeeping only, or payroll, compilation work and tax advice as well
- Number of payslips per month: the exposure in payroll administration
- Outsourcing to third parties: and whether their liability is included or excluded
- Quality assurance: four-eyes principle, review policy and recorded deadline monitoring
- Sum insured, excess and prior-acts cover: per claim and per year, plus how far back the cover runs
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV | Cyber |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injury to a visitor or customer | Yes | No | No |
| Damage to a client's property | Sometimes | No | No |
| Financial loss caused by an advisory or calculation error | No | Yes | No |
| Downtime after a ransomware attack | No | No | Yes |
| Data breach involving personal data | No | Sometimes | Yes |
| Damage to property in your care | No | No | No |
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
An employee of our client misses pension build-up through a missed registration. Who pays?
The client is liable towards his employee as the employer and seeks recovery from the firm that was to arrange the registration. That is a classic professional error and is covered in principle on the BAV, provided payroll administration is stated in your insured capacity. The loss consists of the lump sum needed to repair the gap, not of fines or interest-like sanctions.
Our member of staff made the mistake. Can we recover it from him?
Hardly ever. Article 7:661 of the Dutch Civil Code protects the employee: he is only liable in cases of intent or wilful recklessness. The loss therefore stays with the firm and so with your policy. That makes internal quality control an insurance subject: insurers ask about review procedures and about who reads time-sensitive documents.
We are taking on clients from a firm that is closing. What do we watch for?
The retroactive date. Mistakes from the old period can be notified to you as soon as you are the point of contact, and a BAV works on a claims made basis: the moment of notification determines the cover. Ask for a retroactive date that includes the acquired files and have the transferring firm arrange its own run-off cover. Review current deadlines on transfer and record what you find.
What other policies belong at a bookkeeping practice?
Public and employers' liability insurance for injury and property damage, a cyber insurance for accountancy practices for data breaches and ransomware, and for continued pay during your own staff's illness a sickness absence insurance for offices. The BAV covers only third-party claims for a professional error, not your own loss or downtime.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
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