Professional indemnity – Maternity carer
You spend eight days in someone else's home, with a newborn and a woman who has just given birth. What you fail to spot in time is the risk this insurance is about.
- Several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
This page in another language: Nederlands
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.
- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
In brief
The heart of your work is spotting the signs. A postpartum haemorrhage not recognised quickly enough, a baby losing too much weight without the midwife being called, jaundice noticed too late, a mother with a rising temperature. The harm arising from that is injury, and the allegation is that you did not follow the professional standard. Your conduct falls under the standard of good care provision in Article 7:453 of the Dutch Civil Code, even if you were placed through an agency.
There is also the direct care procedure: a baby falling off the changing mat, a burn from bath water or a hot water bottle, cord care that leads to infection. This is injury arising from your professional practice, which an ordinary public and employers' liability insurance specifically excludes. You need cover that includes injury arising from care provision; see the liability insurance for care and welfare.
A third risk is purely practical: you work among the family's belongings. Discoloured washing, a cracked hob, a laptop knocked over. Damage to property in your keeping falls under the care, custody and control exclusion and is not covered as standard. Ask about this expressly. It is the claim that occurs most often and is insured least often.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV).
Independent, personal, sorted quickly
We compare your professional indemnity insurance (BAV) across dozens of insurers, explain where the real differences lie, and arrange the switch from start to finish — without you having to chase it yourself.
Professional indemnity insurance (BAV)
Compare
Get coveredWhy 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.
What goes wrong in the maternity week
Four points that determine the cover for a self-employed maternity care assistant.
Your range of duties must be on the application
Assisting at the birth, the heel prick test, administering medication and supporting a home birth are assessed separately. If you carry out duties you have not declared, the insurer can rely on Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code: where a statement made before the contract was concluded was incomplete, payment can be reduced or refused. Also state whether you work alone or under the supervision of a midwife.
Recording in the maternity care file
When a claim arises, the question is always when you saw what and what you did then. The temperature, weight, colour, feeding times recorded and the time at which you called the midwife are your evidence. What is not in the file, an insurer will say you did not do. The duty to keep records follows from Article 7:454 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Working through an agency
Placement agencies and maternity care organisations generally require you to hold your own professional indemnity insurance and have you sign an indemnity. Liability accepted by contract is excluded on the policy, so that burden stays with you. Do not assume either that you are covered by the agency's policy; ask for written confirmation of that.
Three exclusions to be aware of
Outside the cover are: damage to the family's household contents through the care, custody and control exclusion, fines and disciplinary sanctions, and loss caused by intent or wilful recklessness under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code. Claims already known when the policy came into force also fall outside. So declare an incident you reported earlier when you apply.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover or number of maternity weeks: the basis for the premium
- Assisting at the birth: being present at the birth is a separate risk
- Self-employed or through an agency: determines who in the chain is liable
- Sum insured: agencies often set a minimum for this
- Care, custody and control cover included: for damage in the client's home
- Run-off period: important because harm to a baby can come to light late
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| You recognise a postpartum haemorrhage too late and call the midwife too late, leaving the mother with injury | Provided that | Yes |
| A baby is burnt by bath water that was run too hot | Provided that | Yes |
| Your bag falls against the family's mirror in the hallway | Yes | No |
| The older brother falls down the stairs while you were keeping an eye on him | Yes | No |
| The family demands their own contribution back because you were off work for two days | No | No |
| The family's dog bites your hand | No | No |
For injury arising from care provision, what counts is not what the policy is called but whether medical procedures are stated in it in so many words.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
I discolour the washing or damage something in the house. Is that covered?
Not without a separate arrangement. The family's property that you have in your keeping during your work falls under the care, custody and control exclusion on virtually every liability policy. For maternity care assistants this is precisely the most common loss. Ask for a care, custody and control clause or a separate section for damage in the client's home, and check what excess goes with it.
A baby turns out later to have a condition I did not spot. What now?
Report the notice of liability to your insurer at once, even if you are certain you acted in line with the protocol. Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to report as soon as you are reasonably aware of the claim. Admit no liability and make no promises. The insurer will have a medical adviser assess the causal link between your conduct and the consequences.
How long must my cover continue after the maternity week?
Longer than you think. The policy works on a claims-made basis, so the moment of notification determines the cover and not the maternity week itself. The consequences of a missed sign in a newborn may only become clear years later. When you stop or switch insurers, arrange a run-off period. Without run-off cover you are uninsured for work you did while insured.
I am getting back problems myself from the lifting. Does this policy help?
No. Professional indemnity insurance pays someone else who brings a claim against you, not you yourself. The duty of care in Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code rests on an employer, and as a self-employed professional you do not have one. You arrange your income during absence with disability insurance, where the way physically demanding work is described in the policy is important.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV)The main page
- Professional indemnity – GPLocum work, diagnosis, out-of-hours shifts
- Professional indemnity – PhysiotherapistLocum work, manual techniques, disciplinary complaints
- Professional indemnity – Youth care workerHire contracts, the reporting code, SKJ registration
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a self-employed optometristReferral policy, eye pressure, pupil dilation
- Professional indemnity – Skin therapistLaser and IPL, burns, managing expectations
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a self-employed practice nurse (POH)Working on instructions, POH-GGZ, escalating to the GP
- Professional indemnity – NurseReserved procedures, instruction, BIG register
- Professional indemnity – Occupational therapy practiceHome adaptations, equipment advice, falls