Sickness absence insurance (verzuimverzekering) for manufacturers
In a production environment the question is not whether your wages are covered, but whether shift allowances and hired-in workers are included in your cover.
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
A production business works with a fixed staffing level per line and per shift. If someone drops out of the night shift, you move colleagues around, pay overtime or hire an agency worker. The sickness absence insurance pays for none of the three: it covers only the wages of the sick employee.
Two things therefore need attention when you take out cover. First, whether shift and unsocial-hours allowances are included in the insured wage bill; in production that is a substantial part of the wages you continue to pay. Second, that hired-in agency workers are not on your payroll and therefore fall outside the policy, while your duty of care towards them does apply.
The risk profile also varies widely per department: dispatch and assembly have a different absence pattern from quality control.
What does sickness absence insurance cover for production businesses?
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.
Allowances determine how much you actually continue to pay
In shift work a salary consists to a considerable extent of unsocial-hours and shift allowances. What you must continue to pay during illness follows your collective labour agreement and often includes those allowances. If you have only declared the basic wage, the insurer covers less than you spend. Have it recorded which definition of wages is insured and check it again at every year-end adjustment.
Agency workers: no cover, but a duty of care
Hired-in and seconded workers are on the employment agency's payroll. If they are off work, you have no entitlement to a payment. At the same time you are liable under Article 7:658(4) of the Dutch Civil Code for the safety of everyone working on your instructions, including without an employment contract. Absence and liability therefore diverge here and each calls for its own arrangement.
Gradual harm is a liability question
Hearing damage from noise, complaints caused by vibrating machinery and conditions following long-term exposure to substances build up over years. The sickness absence insurance pays wages as soon as someone is off work, whatever the cause. The compensation the employee can additionally claim from you as an occupational disease is not included. You assess that claim under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code and your liability insurance.
What falls outside the cover
Not covered are: agency workers and payroll staff, lost production or a line standing idle, and the cost of overtime or hiring in to keep staffing levels up. Absence already running on the start date is excluded. Where the employee has caused the incapacity for work intentionally, the insurer can rely on Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code and refuse the payment.
What does your premium depend on?
Wage bill including shift and unsocial-hours allowances. Insure the definition of wages you actually continue to pay, not just the basic salary.
Share of own staff versus hired-in staff. Only employees on your own payroll count for the cover and the premium.
Physical strain per job group. Assembly, dispatch and machine operation each have their own absence pattern.
Absence history per department. Insurers prefer to assess the figures broken down, because the risk differs per line.
Waiting period chosen. With many short-term reports caused by physical work, every extra waiting day tells in your own burden.
Prevention and job rotation. Demonstrable policy against repetitive strain and noise 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.
No. They are on the employment agency's payroll, which also arranges the continued payment of wages during illness. Your policy follows only your own payroll records. You do remain responsible for their safety on the shop floor: under Article 7:658(4) of the Dutch Civil Code you can be liable for injury to hired-in workers.
Do shift allowances count in the payment?
Only if you have declared them in the insured wage bill. Your collective labour agreement determines which wages you must continue to pay during illness, and in production allowances are often part of that. If you insure only the basic wage, a gap arises between what you spend and what you get back. Check this at every annual adjustment.
Is an occupational disease such as hearing damage covered?
The wages you continue to pay during the absence are, because the policy does not look at the cause. The compensation the employee can claim from you for exposure to noise or hazardous substances is not included. That is employer's liability under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code and runs through your public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
Does the policy cover a line standing idle?
No. Lost production, late deliveries and the cost of overtime or extra hired-in staff to keep staffing levels up fall outside the cover. The insurance covers only the wages you continue to pay the sick employee. For business interruption caused by damage to machinery or buildings there is separate business interruption insurance.
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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