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
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Work on the railway takes place in a time window fixed months in advance. Within that possession the traffic stands still, and outside it trains run again, whether you have finished or not. If the work overruns or a fault arises, the result is a chain of delays whose costs are passed on by carriers and the infrastructure manager.
Those costs are legally awkward, because often nothing has been damaged. Delay is pure financial loss and that is where public and employers' liability insurance stops: it covers property damage and injury. Contractual penalties for overrunning the window are also uninsurable, whichever policy you take out. What is covered is the physical damage: overhead lines, points, signalling equipment, rolling stock.
This is also an environment where almost every operation hangs on a safety role. Working without valid certification or outside the safety procedures brings Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Codeinto play. So we first establish which safety roles you perform, because that is what insurers underwrite on.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The basics
Liability
AVB for property damage and injury, BAV for professional errors.
Damage to third parties
Employers' liability
Care, custody and control as an extension
Your business
Assets and continuity
Business contents, goods and lost turnover during downtime.
Business contents at replacement value as new
Goods at cost price
Business interruption or additional costs
If you employ people
Staff
Sickness absence, accidents and the traffic risk.
Continued pay for 104 weeks
Group personal accident
WEGAS for traffic risks
What is covered
Situation
AVB
BAV
Cyber
Injury to a visitor or customer
Yes
No
No
Damage to a client's property
Sometimes
No
No
Financial loss caused by an advisory or calculation error
No
Yes
No
Downtime after a ransomware attack
No
No
Yes
Data breach involving personal data
No
Sometimes
Yes
Damage to property in your care
No
No
No
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Delay is loss without damage
If no train runs for half a day because of a mistake by you, carriers and passengers suffer a loss while nothing is broken. That item is pure financial loss and it falls outside the ordinary liability cover. Only where the delay arises from physical damage, for instance a damaged set of points, is it included as consequential loss. So ask expressly which of the two your client expects you to insure.
You bear penalties for overrunning yourself
Overrunning the possession is almost always covered by a penalty clause. Such clauses are not insurable; they are not compensation but a contractual sanction. Plan with a margin, record what caused an overrun and report departures during the night itself. Anyone who has to reconstruct afterwards why the window was missed is in a weak position in the discussion with the infrastructure manager.
What you leave behind on the track
A forgotten wheelbarrow, a short-circuiting bar that has not been removed or a component that has come loose does produce classic property damage, and immediately of the most serious kind: a collision, a derailed axle, overhead lines pulled from the mast. This is precisely the risk the cover is intended for. So a disciplined count of equipment when leaving the track is not a formality but risk management.
Certification is a condition of acceptance
Safety roles on the railway require valid personal certificates and medical fitness. Insurers take that regime as their starting point. If you work with an expired certificate, or outside the safety procedures, Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code comes into play and the insurer can refuse cover. Also report changes in your qualifications. An incorrect statement affects Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code.
What does your premium depend on?
Type of rail work. Track work, overhead lines, signalling and rail machining each carry a different potential for loss.
Working alongside train traffic. Work next to a line in service weighs more heavily than work within a full possession.
Safety roles. Which certified roles you perform yourself determines how insurers assess and accept the risk.
Use of rail and road vehicles. If you work with a road-rail vehicle or trailed equipment, the motor vehicle exclusion comes into play and a separate policy is needed.
Requested sum insured. The infrastructure manager and main contractors set requirements for the sum per claim. That requirement drives the premium.
Turnover, hired-in labour and claims history. Annual turnover is the basis; working staff and earlier incidents within the window count as well.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your activities, turnover and wishes.
We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Only where they arise from damage to property. If nothing is damaged and the traffic is at a standstill because of, for instance, a mistake in the planning or the release, it is pure financial loss and falls outside public and employers' liability cover. A professional indemnity section is needed for that part. So have it checked in advance which of the two your client requires.
Is a penalty for overrunning the possession paid?
No. Penalty clauses and reductions on your instalment are not compensation to an injured party and are therefore not insurable. That is so even if the contract calls them compensation. What you can do is negotiate a cap when you take on the work, and make sure the cause of an overrun is recorded during the night.
Does my policy cover damage to the overhead lines?
Yes, that is property damage to someone else's property and it falls under the main cover. Do watch the care, custody and control provision: the section of track you are working on at the time can count as property in your care, and then an extension is needed. So the difference between the part you were working on and the rest of the installation is decisive.
Who is liable if a subcontractor makes the mistake?
The client can hold the main contractor liable under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code for the mistakes of non-subordinates. That contractor then recovers from the party that did it. If you work with hired-in staff yourself, you are the main contractor in that chain. So always state hired-in workers on your application, even where it is occasional.
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
You will find our licence, KvK and Kifid details and our complaints procedure at the foot of every page.
