Financial loss
- Calculation, advisory and design errors
- Missed deadlines and steps left undone
- Incorrect or incomplete reporting
- Also where a claim is partly unfounded
BAV · financial loss · claims made
Professional indemnity insurance for self-employed professionals
Professional indemnity insurance covers the financial loss your client suffers through a mistake in your work. That is precisely the risk that public and employers' liability insurance does not cover.
- several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor zzp'ers.
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 your own premium with the calculator.
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.
In brief
As a self-employed professional you sell a judgement, a design, a calculation or a piece of advice. If something goes wrong there, your client loses money without anything being broken or anyone being injured. That is called pure financial loss. Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) covers that loss, together with the cost of defending the claim. The standard is Article 7:401 of the Dutch Civil Code: you must exercise the care of a good contractor, measured against what a reasonably competent fellow professional would do.
The public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) does something else. It covers injury to people and damage to property: a client who trips over your cable, a laptop you knock off a table, injury to someone you hire — under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and, where staff are involved, the duty of care in Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code. The AVB never pays for the financial loss of a professional error, and the BAV does not cover injury or damaged property. The two policies join up without replacing each other.
For some professions a BAV is compulsory or in practice unavoidable: lawyers and accountants under their professional rules, financial service providers under the Wet op het financieel toezicht (the Dutch Financial Supervision Act), and architects, engineers and interim managers because clients require it by contract. See also the general page on professional liability for self-employed professionals.
What does professional indemnity insurance cover?
The cover is aimed at financial detriment suffered by your client and at the cost of defending a claim.
Costs of defence
The insurer conducts the defence and pays the cost of it.
- Assessment of the notice of liability
- Legal assistance and expert advice
- Negotiating a settlement
- Also if the claim is rejected
Claims made basis
What matters is the moment the claim is brought, not the moment of the mistake.
- Prior-acts cover for old engagements
- Run-off cover after the policy ends
- Sum insured per claim and per year
- Often an excess per claim
What is covered
| Situation | BAV | AVB |
|---|---|---|
| A client loses turnover through your calculation error | Yes | No |
| You miss a deadline and the client loses a grant | Yes | No |
| You damage equipment at the client's office | No | Yes |
| A visitor is injured through your actions | No | Yes |
| Repayment of your own fee | No | No |
| A fine or penalty payment from a regulator | No | No |
Which activities are covered and which limits, excesses and exclusions apply is set out in the policy conditions and on the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) that you receive before you take out the policy.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that determine whether your policy actually pays when a claim arises.
Claims made means: the moment of the claim counts
Where the AVB looks at the moment the loss occurs, the BAV looks at the moment the claim is brought. A mistake from 2023 that leads to a claim in 2026 is only covered if your policy is running in 2026 and also has retroactive cover going back to 2023. If you stop or switch insurer, arrange run-off cover: in many fields claims only arrive years later, once a project has been handed over or a financial year has been audited.
Your activities on the policy schedule are the cover
A BAV only covers the activities described on the policy schedule. If your practice shifts — from execution to advice, from architectural drawing to structural calculations, from marketing to data processing — report it. Such a shift falls under the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code and failing to report it can cost you the payment under Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code. Check the description at every renewal.
What is not included
Excluded are, among others: injury and property damage, which belongs on the AVB; redoing your own work and repaying or waiving your fee; fines, penalty payments and contractual penalty clauses; and damage caused by intent or wilful recklessness under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code. Also outside the cover are guarantees and undertakings that go beyond the law, liability in inability to pay and circumstances you already knew about when you took out the policy outside the cover.
Limit your liability in your own terms
Insurance is your second line of defence; the first is your terms of business. Limit your liability in them, for example to the contract price or to the amount the insurer pays, and exclude consequential loss. That only works if the terms were demonstrably provided and accepted before or when the agreement was concluded . A reference on your invoice is too late for that.
What does your premium depend on?
- Turnover — the usual basis for calculation
- Profession and activities — advice and design carry more weight
- Sum insured — per claim and per year
- Excess — higher excess, lower premium
- Retroactive cover — how far back you want the cover to reach
- Area of cover — the Netherlands, Europe or worldwide
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
How we arrange it
- You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, risk 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.
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.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
As a self-employed professional, do I need both an AVB and a BAV?
That depends on your work. If you work with your hands and damage is immediately visible, the AVB matters most. If you advise, design, calculate or keep records, the BAV is the policy that covers your core risk. Many self-employed professionals do both and therefore need both; they do not overlap.
What happens if I close my business?
Without run-off cover you are unprotected against claims that arrive after the end date, even where the mistake was made during the term. Under claims made, that is the biggest risk on closure. So arrange run-off cover expressly when you cancel, choose a period that suits your field and keep the confirmation on file.
Does the insurer also pay for an unfounded claim?
Yes, and that is one of the most important elements. The insurer assesses the notice of liability, conducts the defence and pays the cost of legal assistance and expert advice, even where the claim is ultimately rejected. So never admit liability yourself and make no promises about compensation; that can restrict your cover.
How high should the sum insured be?
What matters is not your turnover but the loss your largest engagement can cause. A mistake in a small piece of advice about a large investment leads to a claim that is many times your fee. Also look at what clients require in their contracts; that minimum is often decisive in setting the sum.
Does the policy cover work abroad?
Only within the agreed territorial scope. Many policies cover the Netherlands or Europe and exclude the United States and Canada because of the claims climate there. If you work for foreign clients or under foreign law, declare it when you apply; which court has jurisdiction also counts in underwriting.
Read more
Within Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering
- Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekeringthe main page
- Waarom u een beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor uw bedrijf nodig hebt
- Hoe een beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering uw bedrijf beschermt
- Zzp beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering beroeps bav
- Professional indemnity or public and employers' liability: which do you need?
- Professional indemnity for self-employed professionals
- Allianz zakelijk beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering bav
Similar pages
- Why your business needs professional indemnity insurance (BAV)
- How professional indemnity insurance (BAV) protects your business
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for self-employed professionals (zzp’ers)
- Professional indemnity or public and employers' liability: which do you need?
- Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV)
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) through De Goudse
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) through Allianz
- Professional indemnity for self-employed professionals
What does your cover cost?
Request a quote without obligation; we check the sum insured, retroactive cover and run-off cover with each insurer.
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 written and checked by an adviser at Finass Verzekert. Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.
