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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
In professional road haulage the semi-trailer is the item that spends the least time near its owner. It is coupled to changing tractor units, including those of subcontractors, and is regularly left behind at a customer’s site or a distribution centre. As long as it is coupled, liability towards third parties runs through the third-party liability cover of the tractor unit; Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) treats the combination as a single unit. Uncoupled at a loading bay, that no longer applies.
In practice, own-damage cover on a semi-trailer is therefore cover for standing risk and travelling risk across Europe at the same time. Think of curtains slashed open deliberately, damage to a refrigerated trailer while docking, a cracked kingpin, and theft of the entire trailer from a car park. Insurers look at the area of operation: Benelux only, or eastern Europe as well, because both the premium and the requirements for secure parking differ there.
It is important that the cargo is not included in any form of this cover. If you carry third-party goods, your carriers' liability applies under CMR or AVC, with a limit per kilogram, while a goods in transit insurance covers the actual value. The trailer policy stays strictly with the equipment.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The object itself
Own-damage cover
Damage, theft, fire and storm, on the road and in storage.
Theft with a coupling lock fitted
Collision and overturning
Storm and fire
Declare separately
Body
What is fitted on or to it and is not in the list price.
Tarpaulin, box body and tail lift
Refrigeration unit
Loading ramps and winch
Not included
Load
What you carry falls outside every vehicle policy.
Own goods in transit insurance
Goods in transit
Storage requirements
What is covered
Situation
Car insurance
Your own policy
Liability while driving, coupled
Yes
No
Damage to the object itself
No
Yes
Theft while uncoupled on the site
No
Sometimes
Overturning while driving
No
Yes
The load you carry
No
No
Overloading or inadequate securing
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 tractor unit changes, the trailer stays yours
If your trailer runs behind a subcontractor’s tractor unit, third-party liability cover runs through their policy, but own damage lands with you. Set out in the subcontracting agreement who bears the excess and which damage is to be reported. Without such an agreement you are left with the damage, while the party at fault may well be liable for their own driver under Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code. Record the condition of the equipment at every changeover.
Where you park decides whether theft is covered
Theft of a whole trailer, or of the curtain with its contents, almost always happens in an unguarded car park beside the motorway. Insurers therefore set requirements for overnight parking: a kingpin lock, a tracking system and, on certain routes, secure sites only. If you depart from these, the issue is not a discussion about contributory fault but a warranty that has not been met. Set the parking instruction out in writing and have drivers sign for it.
Refrigeration, curtain and tail lift are not the chassis
The sum insured on a semi-trailer is often based on the bare trailer chassis. A refrigeration unit, a double-deck system, a tail lift or a curtain-side construction represents considerable extra value and must be declared separately. If it is not, only the chassis is paid for in the event of a total loss. With a refrigerated trailer, note as well that failure of the refrigeration unit itself, and the spoilage of the load that follows from it, remains outside own-damage cover as standard.
What is structurally excluded
Three exclusions recur almost every time. Damage caused by improper loading or overloading, including to the trailer itself. Damage caused by wear, corrosion and design faults, including a broken kingpin that can be shown to have been worn. And damage during loading and unloading to third-party goods or buildings, which belongs to your liability insurance. Driving without a valid APK (the Dutch roadworthiness test) or with a failed braking system also leads to a claim being declined.
From 750 kilos a registration number is required
A heavier trailer has its own registration number. Also check that the driving licence is adequate for the combination.
Uncoupled is the moment of risk
As long as the item is coupled, liability runs through the towing vehicle. Once uncoupled that no longer applies, and damage to the item itself was never covered in any case. Insurers therefore require an approved coupling lock and a declared storage location. For higher values, a tracker as well.
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.
Is my semi-trailer covered on the tractor unit's policy?
Only for liability towards others and only while coupled. That follows from the WAM: the tractor unit and trailer then form a single motor vehicle. Damage to the trailer itself, theft from a site and damage while shunting without a tractor unit are not included. For that you need your own own-damage cover on the trailer.
Who pays if a subcontractor damages my trailer?
The subcontractor is liable for the mistakes of their own driver under Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code, but recovering the loss takes time and comes to nothing without evidence of the condition at handover. In practice you report the damage on your own own-damage policy and the insurer tries to recover it. Record the condition of the trailer with photographs at every changeover.
Is the refrigeration unit on my trailer insured?
As a body fitted to the trailer, the refrigeration unit is insured against damage from a covered cause, such as a collision or fire, provided you have declared its value separately. Failure of the refrigeration unit through its own defect is not covered, nor is the spoilage of the load that follows. That belongs with goods in transit or carrier’s liability cover.
What does the insurer ask for after a trailer is stolen?
A police report, the registration number and chassis number, and the data from the tracking system. The insurer then checks the parking instruction: was the trailer on a site permitted under the policy, and was the kingpin lock fitted? A departure from the prescribed parking routine is the most commonly used ground for reducing or refusing payment.
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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