Working methods · portfolio transfer · class of insured persons
Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a mortgage advice firm
In a firm with several advisers the most dangerous mistake is not that of one adviser, but the one in the working method everybody follows.
- Several insurers compared objectively
- 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 hypotheekkantoor.
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.
- 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
A firm works with advice models, standard texts and fixed working instructions. That is efficient and at the same time the greatest risk: if there is an error in a standard paragraph about interest-only mortgages, in a calculation model for long-term affordability or in the way the finance condition is monitored, that mistake affects every file in which the model was used. Insurers generally treat such claims as one loss event under one sum insured. The amount per claim is then decisive, not the annual limit.
The second characteristic of a firm is the circle of insured persons. A mistake by an employee is attributed to you through Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code, a mistake by a third party you engage through Article 6:76 of the Dutch Civil Code. If self-employed advisers work under your licence, they must be named in the policy or included as a category, including the question whether the insurer may seek recovery from them after paying a claim. See also professional liability for mortgage advisers.
The obligation itself follows from Article 4:75 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wft): advisers and intermediaries must hold professional indemnity insurance or a comparable arrangement. The substantive standard is in Article 4:23 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wft), on obtaining client information and tailoring the advice to it. For damage to property or injury at your office you also need public and employers' liability insurance needed.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV).
What to look out for
Four points that work out differently at firm level than for an adviser working alone.
One model error, hundreds of files
An incorrect standard passage or a mistake in your affordability calculation works through in every file in which it was used. Those claims are related and are then treated as a single claim. Before you take out cover, have it checked how your policy defines related claims, and keep a register of which version of the model was in use when.
Aftercare across the whole portfolio
With thousands of live files, aftercare is a process, not an intention. Complaints are often about the absence of a prompt when a fixed-interest period ends or when the term of an interest-only part comes to an end. Record which aftercare you provide under contract and which you do not, and make sure the client confirms that arrangement.
Buying or selling a portfolio
If you take over a portfolio, you do not automatically take over liability for earlier advice. That follows from the purchase agreement. On a sale, arrange run-off cover before the policy ends, and on a purchase suitable retroactive date if you are taking over the past as well. Without that agreement a period arises that no one has insured.
Exclusions that count at firm level
Excluded are, among others fines and orders subject to a penalty from a regulator, refunding advice fees and commission, and liability under guarantees about acceptance, interest rates or residual debt. Advice outside the licence or outside the stated professional capacity is not covered, nor are intent and wilful recklessness, for which Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code provides the basis.
What does your premium depend on?
- The firm's annual turnover: the usual basis for the premium
- Number of advisers: employees, franchisees and hired-in staff together
- Size of the live portfolio: determines the volume of aftercare
- Product groups alongside mortgages: pensions and wealth building increase the risk
- Complaints and claims history: earlier claims and complaint files
- Retroactive and run-off periods: important on an acquisition or a closure
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| An incorrect standard passage about interest-only mortgages is in hundreds of your firm's files | No | Yes |
| An adviser at your firm lets a client's finance condition expire | No | Yes |
| A self-employed adviser works under your licence and the client claims against the firm | No | Provided that |
| A visitor trips over a curled-up rug in your reception area | Yes | No |
| You sell your portfolio and three years later a complaint about old advice comes in | No | No |
| A lender ends the collaboration and your firm loses turnover | No | No |
Related mistakes arising from one model are usually treated as one claim, which makes the amount per claim weigh more heavily than the annual limit.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
We are taking over a firm. Do we inherit the old claims?
That depends on the form of the transaction. In a share transfer, liability stays within the company and comes with it. In an asset transaction it in principle stays behind with the seller, unless agreed otherwise. Match your retroactive date to that and have the seller arrange run-off cover. Record this before the policies are amended.
An adviser has since left. Is his file still covered?
Usually yes, provided the policy treats former employees as insured persons for work they did for the firm. Check that provision, because a client can also bring a claim against the adviser personally. What remains decisive is that the claim comes in while the policy is in force and that the advice was given after the retroactive date.
Are complaints from clients dating from before our current insurer included?
Only if the new policy has a retroactive date that goes back far enough. When you switch, insurers ask about known circumstances. What you already know is excluded. So report outstanding complaints to your old insurer before you switch. If you leave them undisclosed, Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code on the duty of disclosure can affect payment of a claim.
Do we also need cyber insurance?
In this profession you manage income data, bank statements and valuation reports for many households. A data breach leads to investigation, notification and recovery, and those costs fall outside this policy. They belong on cyber insurance for mortgage advisers. A fine from the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (the Dutch data protection authority) remains excluded on both policies.
Read more
Within Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering
- Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekeringthe main page
- Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering financieel adviesbureau
- Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering financieel adviseur zzp
- Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering hypotheekadviseur zzp
- Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering verzekeringsadviseur zzp
- Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering accountantskantoor
- Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering advocatenkantoor
Similar pages
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a financial advice firm
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a self-employed financial adviser
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a self-employed mortgage adviser
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for an architectural practice
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a law firm
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for an estate agency
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a self-employed insurance adviser
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for an accountancy firm