Class of insured persons · conflicts of interest · related claims
Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a law firm
At a firm with several lawyers the risk lies not only in the file itself, but in the organisation around it: who monitors the deadline, who runs the conflict check and who is still insured after leaving.
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- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor een advocatenkantoor.
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 activities
- 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 professional rules of the Nederlandse orde van advocaten (the Dutch bar association) require every firm to hold adequate professional indemnity insurance with minimum requirements for, among other things, the sum insured and the run-off period. Anyone running a firm must also be able to show that the cover includes all lawyers acting under the firm's name, including those who no longer work there.
The group of insured persons is therefore the first thing you check. Does it include partners, associates, trainees, legal support staff, hired-in self-employed professionals and former partners for work done during their time at the firm? In a cost-sharing partnership or a grouping of independent practice companies this is no formality: clients see one firm and hold that firm liable, while the policy may be arranged per practice.
The second point is the provision on related claims. If your firm works with standard templates, terms of business or standard deeds, one mistake in that template affects every client who used it. Insurers usually treat such claims as one claim under one sum insured, allocated to the year of the first notification. At a firm doing volume work that is a more realistic risk than one large case.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV).
What to look out for
Four organisational points that determine whether a claim against your firm is covered.
Departing partners and closed practices
A lawyer who leaves behind files that are still complained about years later, while the client turns to the firm. Arrange for the policy to cover former partners and former staff for their time at the firm, and agree on dissolution of the partnership who takes out and pays for the run-off policy. Without that agreement the bill falls to whoever signs last.
Conflict checking is a cover issue
Acting for two parties with opposing interests produces both a disciplinary complaint and a civil claim. The disciplinary sanction remains excluded; the loss suffered by the client concerned can be covered, provided there was no deliberate conduct. Record the conflict check on every new matter, including on referrals within the firm.
Client account money, payment fraud and the Wwft
Loss of client account money through misappropriation or a forged payment instruction is not a professional error and falls outside this policy; a fraud or cyber cover is needed for that. A administrative fine for inadequate client due diligence under the Wwft is not insurable, however the due diligence was carried out.
What else falls outside this
Excluded are intent and wilful recklessness (Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code), repayment of fees and redoing your own work, liability under a guarantee or an extending clause in engagement terms, and work in an undeclared capacity such as insolvency practitioner, director or supervisory board member.
What does your premium depend on?
- The firm's annual turnover: usually split across the areas of law
- Number of lawyers and trainees: including self-employed contractors you hire in
- Areas of law: transactional and property work involves higher values
- Structure of the partnership: partnership, cost-sharing partnership or a single company
- Sum insured: per claim and capped per insurance year
- Claims history: including circumstances notified without a claim
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| An appeal deadline expires while the file sits on the desk of a colleague who is ill | No | Yes |
| Pleadings with confidential annexes are sent to the opposing party by mistake | No | Yes |
| A share transfer in which you overlooked a tax liability | No | Yes |
| A client falls in your waiting area over a loose skirting board | Yes | No |
| Your cleaning company damages the poured floor of the office you rent | Provided that | No |
| A laptop with files is stolen from a car and the data is exposed | No | No |
Injury and property damage belong on the left, mistakes in the file on the right, and a data breach on neither.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
A partner is moving to another firm. What do we arrange?
Record in writing that he remains insured under your policy for work done during his time at the firm, and that he does not have to insure that again at his new firm. Without that agreement, a claim about an old file arrives at a firm where he no longer works and with an insurer that no longer treats him as an insured.
Is a complaint to the deken a claim within the meaning of the policy?
No. A claim is a demand for compensation. A disciplinary complaint is a request for a sanction. Such a complaint is, however, almost always a circumstance that can lead to a claim, and you must report it. Do so at once: under Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code and under the claims made system, the moment of notification determines which policy the matter falls under.
Our standard deed contained a mistake that was used for dozens of clients.
Then the provision on related claims comes into play. Mistakes with the same cause usually count as one claim under one sum insured, while the excess is sometimes calculated per client. Report the circumstance as soon as you discover the mistake, even before a single client has complained. That fixes the insurance year for the whole cluster.
Do we also need public and employers' liability insurance (AVB)?
Yes, as soon as you employ staff or receive clients. Injury to a visitor, damage to a rented office and the duty of care towards your staff under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code fall outside this policy. Those risks belong on public and employers' liability insurance, which is taken out alongside the professional cover.
Read more
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