A rigger touches the load they sling and guide, and that load is both the most likely loss and the best-known exclusion on an ordinary liability policy.
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In brief
Anyone who attaches slings, determines the centre of gravity and signals to the crane operator has the load in their care. If that load falls, in most cases it does not involve damage to some random third party but damage to the object being lifted itself: a machine, a facade element, a transformer. That is exactly what the policy conditions describe as property in your care, and it is excluded as standard.
The care, custody and control exclusion is therefore not a detail in this trade but the heart of the cover. Without that extension, with its own and usually much lower limit, your policy pays nothing for the very thing you were hired for. Have care, custody and control cover put on the policy schedule and check the limit against the value of the objects you work with.
The allocation of roles with the crane hire company also counts. Damage caused by the crane itself falls under the motor vehicle regime and not under your liability policy. See also the self-employed version and, for project cover, construction all risks (CAR) insurance.
What does liability cover for riggers and lifting supervisors?
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.
The load being lifted falls under care, custody and control
As long as you sling, guide and position the load, you have it in your care. If the load is damaged when set down or falls, the standard exclusion for property in your care, custody and controlapplies. Only with care, custody and control cover on your policy schedule is that damage insured, and then up to a separate limit that is often far lower than the general sum insured. Compare that limit with your heaviest lift.
Inspection certificates for lifting equipment
Slings, shackles, lifting straps and spreader beams have to be inspected periodically and the inspection documents have to be available. If a sling breaks, the first question is when it was last inspected and whether it was used within its working load limit. If the evidence is missing, the exclusion for serious fault comes into play and the insurer can limit the payment.
The crane falls under a different regime
Damage caused by or with the mobile crane itself, for example because outrigger plates sink or through a collision on site, falls under the compulsory insurance requirement of Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) and under the crane hire company's plant policy. Your liability insurance excludes motor vehicles. Record in writing beforehand who is responsible for the lifting plan, the set-up position and the ground conditions.
Injury to colleagues at the lifting site
If you work with your own people, the duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code applies and you are held liable as the employer if there is an injury. If you work alongside hired-in staff, Article 6:170 DCC comes into play as well. A load above people is the most serious category: the sum insured per event has to be set for that, not for the average claim.
What does your premium depend on?
Maximum load weights and lifting heights. Heavier and higher lifts increase both the chance of a loss and its size.
Type of objects you lift. Standard building components are rated differently from machines, transformers or installations.
Care, custody and control cover and the limit chosen. The level of the care, custody and control limit is the most important premium choice in this trade.
Work locations. Work in an operating factory, on a chemical plant or alongside infrastructure weighs more heavily than an open building site.
Own staff or working alone. With staff comes employer's liability and the payroll rises as a rating basis.
Certification and inspection regime. Demonstrable TCVT certification and a watertight inspection system improve the underwriting and the premium.
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 with care, custody and control cover. Without that extension the load being lifted falls under the standard exclusion for property in your care, and the insurer pays nothing. With the extension a separate limit applies that is usually lower than the general sum insured; check whether that limit fits the value of the objects in your assignments.
Who is liable if the crane sinks?
That depends on who was responsible for the set-up position and the bearing capacity of the ground. Damage caused by or with the crane itself falls under the motor vehicle regime of Article 2 WAM and under the crane hire company's policy, not under your liability insurance. Record the allocation in writing in the lifting plan before work starts.
What is asked for after an incident?
The lifting plan, the inspection certificates for the lifting gear used, the working load limits, the task risk analysis or work permit and the recorded allocation of roles with the crane hire company and the client. If those documents are missing, the discussion shifts from what happened to whether you took care, and that is a less favourable starting point for cover.
Does the policy cover the client's downtime losses?
Only where material damage to that client's property comes first. If a failed lift brings a production line to a standstill without anything being damaged, that is pure financial loss and it is excluded on liability insurance for businesses. When working in an operating installation that is a real risk; discuss it when declaring your activities.
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.
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