AVB
- Damage at the customer's home
- Injury to a bystander
- Damage caused with your tools
Compare liability insurance for the self-employed
As a self-employed person with a sole trader business there is no legal entity to absorb it. A claim comes straight to you, and recovery runs against your private assets.
- 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
With a sole trader business or a general partnership there is no separation between business and private. A claim reaches your savings, your car and, in the worst case, the equity in your home. That makes the level of the sum insured a different consideration from that in a private limited company.
The first question is which policy fits your work. If you work physically and on site, then the AVB is the basis: that covers damage to property and to people. If you work in an advisory or design role, then the BAV is the basis: that covers pure financial loss, financial harm without anything being broken.
In engineering, IT, construction management and care you often need both, because you work with your hands as well as with your judgement.
Independent, personal, sorted quickly
We compare your business liability insurance (AVB) 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.
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What does liability insurance for the self-employed cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
BAV
Pure financial loss through an error, omission or incorrect advice.
- A calculation error or design error
- A missed deadline
- Wrong advice
Care, custody and control
Damage to other people's property that you have in your care: excluded as standard.
- The building you are working on
- Borrowed or hired tools
- Equipment being worked on
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| You damage a client's floor | Yes | No |
| Injury to a bystander at the workplace | Yes | No |
| Your calculation error costs the client money | No | Yes |
| You miss a deadline, with financial harm | No | Yes |
| Damage to the building or the machine you are working on | No | No |
| Putting right your own defective work | 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.
What does your premium depend on?
- Profession and risk class: the most decisive factor
- Annual turnover: the basis of calculation
- Sum insured per claim: often the requirement in your contract
- Excess chosen
- Care, custody and control cover and the limit
- Working area: the Netherlands, the EU or worldwide
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.
Why 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.
9.5New policy
9.8Claims handling
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.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Your client often sets the sum insured
Almost every model agreement and set of purchasing conditions contains an obligation to insure with a minimum sum insured, usually € 1.250.000 or € 2.500.000 per claim. Ask for that requirement before you sign. You can increase the cover afterwards, but by then you will have worked without the cover you promised under the contract.
The care, custody and control exclusion goes to the heart of the matter for the self-employed
Damage to property you have in your care is excluded as standard: the building you are converting, the machine you are repairing, the laptop in your keeping. For a carpenter, engineer or installer that is not an exception at the margin but the heart of the work. Care, custody and control cover is a separate module with a limit of its own.
You are not an employee, and that works both ways
In September 2021 the Supreme Court rejected the argument of a self-employed professional who, after a single-vehicle road accident in a company car belonging to his client, relied on the obligation to insure that employers have towards employees. That obligation applies to employees, not to self-employed people. You therefore have to arrange cover for your own injury and loss of income yourself.
Your description of activities is the outer limit
The policy covers the activities set out on it. If you take on project management, inspections or a new technique as well, have that added. When a claim is made, the first test is whether the work fell within the description; if it falls outside it, you never get to the rest of the discussion.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Do I need an AVB or a BAV?
If you work physically and on site, the AVB is the basis. If you advise, design or calculate, the BAV is. In engineering, IT, construction management and care both are needed, because damage to property as well as financial loss can arise there.
Am I personally liable?
With a sole trader business or a general partnership you are. There is no separation between business and private assets, so recovery runs against your own possessions. That makes the level of the sum insured a materially different consideration from that in a private limited company.
What amount do I have to insure?
Your client usually decides that: model agreements and purchasing conditions almost always state a minimum sum insured, generally €1.250.000 or €2.500.000 per claim.
What is damage to property in your care, custody and control?
Damage to other people's property that you have in your care: the building you are working on, hired tools, equipment being worked on. Excluded as standard, and insurable with a separate module up to a limit of its own.
Am I insured if I am injured myself?
Not on this policy. A liability insurance covers other people's losses. For your own injury and loss of income you need disability insurance (AOV) or personal accident cover. And unlike employees, you cannot rely on a client's obligation to insure. The Supreme Court rejected that in 2021.
Is putting right my own work covered?
No. Doing your own work again is a business risk. The consequential loss that this causes the customer is covered.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB)The main page
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- Liability insurance for a self-employed electricianSubcontracting, your own injury, care, custody and control
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- Liability insurance for self-employed professionalsClient requirements, private assets, sum insured
Read more
Within Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering
Ready to compare?
Request a quote without obligation. We will look at which insurer best matches your activities and your risk.
Prefer to call? 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 09:00–17:00.
Claim on the road? Emergency line 06 - 55 20 40 72.
About our service
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.
This page was compiled by Finass Verzekert. Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.