Physical work · long-term absence · replacement staff
Sickness absence insurance (verzuimverzekering) for the construction sector
On the building site it is almost always about the musculoskeletal system, and that is precisely where suitable work within the business is rarely available.
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
Absence in a construction firm is concentrated in the back, knees and shoulders. Complaints of that kind are not measured in days but in months, and recovery takes longer the longer a carpenter or paver has been in the trade. Meanwhile the two-year obligation to continue paying wages simply runs on.
The second feature is that you rarely have an alternative workplace. You cannot simply put someone with a herniated disc on administrative duties if the only office staff you have are working on estimating and work preparation. As a result you get stuck sooner in track 1 and have to start a second track earlier than an employer with a broad range of job roles.
Also look at any top-up under the collective labour agreement when arranging cover. If you pay more than the statutory minimum in the first year of illness, that extra amount must be explicitly included in the insured wage bill.
What does sickness absence insurance cover for the construction sector?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Two years
Continued payment of wages
What you are legally required to continue paying.
First year one hundred per cent
Second year seventy per cent
A collective labour agreement may require more
The waiting period
Own retention
How many days you bear yourself.
Shorter is more expensive
Longer brings the premium down
Choose according to what you can bear
Optional
Support and case handling
Guidance with reintegration.
Case management
Gatekeeper Act monitoring
Risk of a wage sanction
What is covered
Situation
Conventional
Full-service option
Continued payment of wages during sickness
Yes
Yes
Guidance with reintegration
No
Yes
Risk of a wage sanction borne by the insurer
No
Yes
Occupational health services included
No
Sometimes
Cost of replacing a member of staff who is off sick
No
No
Sickness absence that already existed at inception
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.
Suitable work is often unavailable within the business
The Gatekeeper Improvement Act expects you first to look for adapted work in your own organisation. A construction firm without a warehouse, work preparation or estimating department simply does not have it. If that turns out to be the case, you must start the second track in good time: placement with another employer. If you do that too late, that is precisely the point at which the UWV imposes a wage sanction at the WIA assessment.
The collective agreement top-up above the statutory percentage
In construction, paying above the statutory minimum is common, including in the second year of illness. What you pay extra under the collective labour agreement is only covered if you have declared the full definition of wages including that top-up. If you insure only the basic wage, you bear the difference yourself. Also check whether fixed allowances and travelling time are included in the declared wage bill.
Hired self-employed professionals and subcontractors fall outside the policy
Sickness absence insurance follows your payroll records. Self-employed professionals, subcontractors and hired-in workers are not on them and are therefore not insured. If such a person is off work, you have neither cover nor a worker. For your own employees, an accident at work can also give rise, alongside absence, to employer's liability under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code, and that is a different policy.
What falls outside the cover
Not covered are: complaints for which someone had already reported sick on the start date, the costs of replacement or of hiring an agency worker, and work stoppages or contractual penalties towards a client. Frost delays and other non-medical interruptions to work also fall outside the cover. If you report a case of illness late, the insurer may reduce the payment under Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code.
What does your premium depend on?
Ratio of site staff to office staff. Operational staff weigh more heavily in the risk than office roles such as estimating and work preparation.
Wage bill including the collective agreement top-up. If you insure the full definition of wages with allowances, the basis rises and so does the premium.
Share of long-running cases in your history. In construction, insurers look mainly at cases that have passed the nine-month mark.
Age structure of the work crews. With older operational staff, recovery from joint complaints takes longer.
Waiting period chosen. Short-term absence is relatively rare in construction, so a longer waiting period often costs little here.
Investment in prevention and adapted work. Demonstrable policy on lifting aids and job rotation is taken into account at acceptance and renewal.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your 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.
Is an accident on the building site covered by the sickness absence insurance?
The wages you continue to pay during the period of illness are, because the policy does not look at the cause of the absence. The compensation the employee can claim from you under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code is not included. For that you need public and employers' liability insurance (AVB), with the employer's liability section.
Are hired-in self-employed professionals covered?
No. The cover follows the wage bill of your own employees. A self-employed professional working on your scaffolding insures their own income with disability insurance (AOV). If they are off work, you are not entitled to a payment. Your duty of care for safety at work does, however, continue to apply to hired-in workers as well.
What should I do if there is no adapted work?
Record in writing why suitable work within your business is not available and start a second track through a reintegration agency in good time. Do that by the time of the first-year evaluation at the latest. Without that file, the UWV will quickly find that you have done too little and an extension of the continued payment of wages of up to a year will follow.
Does a frost delay count as absence?
No. An interruption to work caused by the weather is not illness and falls outside the sickness absence insurance, even though you do continue to pay wages. Only incapacity for work due to illness or accident gives entitlement to a payment. Separate arrangements from your collective labour agreement and from statute apply to unworkable weather, not your policy.
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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