Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a social worker
Being hired by a local authority or an institution does not mean their insurance covers you. As a self-employed professional you keep your own professional responsibility, with all that follows from it.
- 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
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.
- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
In brief
Most self-employed professionals in this field work on a secondment basis: a few days in a neighbourhood team, hours at an institution, a temporary replacement in debt counselling. There is a misunderstanding there. For employees, the employer carries their mistakes under Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code; as a self-employed professional you in principle fall outside that. In some circumstances the institution can be sued by the client under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code, but it then seeks recovery from you. So your own policy is not a duplicate of theirs.
In substance it comes down to assessment. A client with mounting debts, an unstable home situation or psychiatric problems needs a risk assessment, consultation and timely escalation. The allegation is rarely that you held the wrong conversation, but that you did not pass signs on, did not keep to an agreement about a handover, or let an application or objection deadline expire so that the client missed out on a provision. That is pure financial loss, for which a public and employers' liability insurance is not intended for.
Your conduct is judged against the care of a reasonably competent and reasonably acting contractor in Article 7:401 of the Dutch Civil Code and, towards a client who is not a contracting party, against the tort provision in Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. If you are registered, disciplinary law comes on top. That governs your professional practice and not the compensation. If you work with your own clients and staff, look at the social work practice.
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 to look out for
Four points that make the difference for a self-employed professional in social work when a claim arises.
Ask about cover for a disciplinary complaint
A complaint to a disciplinary tribunal is not about money, but it does cost you assistance and time, and the decision is used in civil proceedings. Some insurers pay the cost of defending disciplinary proceedings, others only where there is also a claim for damages. Ask about this in advance. In registered professions it is the most common route.
What the hire agreement says
The usual items are a minimum sum insured, a duty to report incidents and an indemnity in which you hold the client harmless. Liability arising solely from such a clause, and which would not exist without it, is excluded. Limit the indemnity to what the law imposes on you and to the amount your policy covers.
Record your reasoning, including when you escalate
Note which signs you saw, who you consulted and what decision followed. In a crisis or a handover, the question afterwards is always whether you acted in time and whether the receiving party was fully informed. An incomplete handover is one of the few allegations for which there is no good explanation after the event.
What falls outside the policy
Excluded are, among others: fines and penalty payments, including those of the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (the Dutch data protection authority); intent and wilful recklessness (Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code); repaying your own fee; and loss a client causes to a third party, because you are not liable for the conduct of the people you support.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: the usual basis for a sole trader
- Target group: youth work, court-ordered measures and complex problems weigh more heavily
- Nature of the assignments: secondment at an institution differs from having your own clients
- Registration and training: professional registration and continuing training are taken into account in underwriting
- Sum insured per claim: set by the strictest contractual requirement among your clients
- Defence in disciplinary proceedings included: a separate section that is not included as standard
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| A client misses out on a benefit because you did not submit the application before the deadline | No | Yes |
| You do not hand over a file when you leave the neighbourhood team and a family is left without support for months | No | Yes |
| The institution where you were hired in recovers from you what it paid a client | No | Provided that |
| You drop the tablet the institution lent you off the desk | Provided that | No |
| A client trips over your bag during a meeting at the client organisation's premises | Yes | No |
| The income you lose because the institution stops the hire after an incident | No | No |
Someone else's property in your keeping is only included if care, custody and control is stated separately on the policy.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
The institution says I am covered by their insurance. Is that right?
Ask for the policy schedule. Institutions' policies cover the organisation and its staff; hired-in self-employed professionals are rarely named as insured persons and are in fact required by the agreement to show their own cover. If the institution is sued for your mistake, it can recover that loss from you. Without your own policy you then face the claim and the defence costs yourself.
Is a disciplinary complaint the same as a claim?
No. The disciplinary tribunal assesses whether you acted in line with the professional standard and can impose a sanction. It cannot award compensation. It is still sensible to report it, because a disciplinary decision carries weight in later civil proceedings. Check whether your policy covers the cost of the defence and report the complaint to your insurer as a circumstance.
A client has seriously harmed his own interests. Am I liable for that?
Only if you fell short of what could be expected of a fellow professional: signs not recognised, no escalation, or agreements not kept. An unfortunate outcome is not in itself a professional error. The assessment rests on your file and on the consultations you can demonstrate. Report the matter at once and admit no liability.
My clients set different requirements for my insurance.
Set your policy by the strictest requirement rather than adding cover for each engagement. In doing so, look not only at the amount per claim but also at the area of cover, the description of your activities and the retroactive period. Ask for a policy schedule in Dutch that you can hand to a client without explanation. That saves discussion when contracts are being agreed.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV)The main page
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a social work practiceThe reporting code, professional confidentiality, local authority contracts
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a self-employed educationalistHire contracts and indemnities, SKJ, court-ordered measures
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a self-employed psychotherapistWet BIG disciplinary law, long treatment relationships, standing in
- Professional indemnity – Youth care workerHire contracts, the reporting code, SKJ registration
- Professional indemnity – Life coachNo Wet BIG title, promises of results, psychological complaints
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for an education specialistCurriculum, testing and examinations, copyright
- Professional indemnity – NurseReserved procedures, instruction, BIG register
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a speech therapistLocum work, voice professionals, records held by someone else