Professional indemnity Insurance (BAV) for a Self-employed pharmacist
As a locum or hired-in pharmacist you lack the protection that an employed pharmacist does have. You stand alone behind the mistake you make during a shift.
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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.
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In letter
An employed pharmacist is protected by Article 7:661 of the Dutch Civil Code: towards his employer he is only liable in cases of intent or willful recklessness. If you work as a self-employed professional, that protection does not apply. You are a contractor and your liability runs through Article 7:401 of the Dutch Civil Code, the care of a reasonably competent and reasonably acting professional. If you make a mistake during a locum shift in medication surveillance or dispensing, the pharmacy that hired you can recover the loss from you.
That recovery risk is reinforced by the contracts. Agreements with pharmacy chains and agencies often contain an indemnity clause under which you take on all losses, sometimes with no upper limit. An insurer covers your liability statutory in law; liability you carry only because you took it on by contract is excluded as standard. Read that provision before you sign and, if necessary, have it limited to what the law already imposes on you.
Your mistakes rarely lead to purely financial detriment: a medicine dispensed incorrectly affects a patient's health. So make sure that personal injury caused in the course of your profession is expressly included. If you also work as an establishment pharmacist or have your own Business, preparation, distribution and staff come into play as well. Those are covered on the page about the pharmacy.
This page deals with one Situation. The full overview is on Compare professional indemnity Insurance (BAV).
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Professional indemnity Insurance (BAV)
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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.
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We are not tied to one insurer and Compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed advisor
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centers.
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 to look out for
Four points specific to working as a Self-employed professional in someone else's pharmacy.
Your policy must travel with you to every client
You work at different pharmacies, with different systems and working instructions. Cover tied to one branch or one client leaves you unprotected on the next shift. Check that the policy covers your practice of the profession as such and not a specific location, and that locum work is included in so many words.
Contractual liability is not assured
Penalty clauses, guarantees and indemnities going beyond liability in law fall outside the cover. The same applies to an agreement under which you take over the pharmacy's liability. Negotiate that clause or ask for a mutual limitation, so that what you sign and what you have assured match up.
Disciplinary proceedings run alongside the civil claim
As a BIG-registered pharmacist you can be summoned before the disciplinary tribunal personally, even where the patient brings a civil claim against the pharmacy. The cost of defending disciplinary proceedings is often not covered on professional indemnity insurance. Check whether your policy has a disciplinary defense module, or arrange that through Legal expenses cover for self-employed professionals.
What falls outside the policy
Are excluded, among others intent and willful recklessness (Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code), fines and disciplinary measures, repaying your own hourly rate and circumstances you already knew about when you applied. If you conceal a current dispute, the insurer can rely on Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover from assignments: the usual basis for practicing independently
- Nature of the work: community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy or preparation work weigh differently
- Number of clients: many different locations means more different procedures
- Retroactive period requested: determines whether earlier locum work is included
- Sum assured: what clients require is often above the standard offering
- Excess per claim: increasing it reduces the premium, but it applies to every notification
Insurers weigh these details differently. That's where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| During a locum shift you dispense a medicine to which the patient has a documented allergy | No | Yes |
| You release a blister roll from which the anticoagulant is missing | No | Yes |
| A claim about a locum shift two years ago arrives after you have taken up employment | No | Provided that |
| During a shift you knock a pharmacy monitor off the counter | Provided that | No |
| A patient trips over your bag behind the counter | Yes | No |
| The pharmacy recovers from you the cost of recalling an incorrectly filled series | No | No |
What the pharmacy itself spends on putting things right and recalling is separate from the loss the patient suffers.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
The pharmacy where I do locum work is insured. Isn't that enough?
Rarely. The pharmacy's policy covers the pharmacy and its staff; as a Self-employed professional you usually do not fall within it. The pharmacy can also seek recovery from you after paying out, which for an employee is ruled out by Article 7:661 of the Dutch Civil Code. Ask in writing whether you are included as an insured, and do not rely on an oral assurance.
I am stopping locum work. Can I cancel the policy straight away?
Better not without run-off cover. Under a claims made policy the moment of notification is decisive, and medication-related loss often only comes to light months or years later. Without run-off cover you are uninsured for shifts you worked long ago. Arrange the run-off period before you cancel. Afterwards it is usually No longer available.
What if I work both as an employee and as a Self-employed professional?
Declare both when you apply. For the employment you are covered through your employer, for the Self-employed hours you are not. Insurers assess turnover from engagements separately. A mixed practice is perfectly insurable, but only if the application is accurate; otherwise a dispute arises about which part of your work fell under the policy.
What do I do if a patient claims compensation?
Report it to your insurer as soon as you know a claim is coming, even if it is not yet in writing. Do not admit liability and do not promise any payment: that can affect your cover. Gather the file, the surveillance alerts and the working instructions of the pharmacy where you worked that day. The insurer then conducts the defense and assesses liability.
Every Situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
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