Application deadlines · entry requirements · area of cover
Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a study advice agency
In study advice the loss is rarely small. A missed application deadline or a misjudged entry requirement costs a whole academic year, and that year cannot be made up.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor een studieadviesbureau.
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.
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- 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
What a study advice agency sells is information on which someone else takes an irreversible decision. If that information is wrong, the loss consists of tuition fees paid, a start postponed by a year, travel and accommodation costs incurred and sometimes a non-refundable registration fee. That is pure financial loss, precisely the type of loss this policy exists for and which is specifically excluded on ordinary liability insurance.
The two classics in this profession are deadlines and requirements. An application arriving after the closing date for a selective course, a decentralised selection round not applied for, a language or subject requirement that only appears at final admission, or a foreign qualification whose recognition turns out differently from what you predicted. Your work is judged against Article 7:401 of the Dutch Civil Code: did you act with the care that an experienced fellow professional would exercise in the same situation? Anyone who monitors a deadline must also be able to show that they monitored it.
If you also advise on funding a course, you enter a different regime. Arranging or advising on loans, insurance or other financial products requires a licence under the Dutch Financial Supervision Act. Virtually every policy excludes work for which a legally required licence or registration is missing. So stick to the educational side, or leave the financial side to a party that is registered for it.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV).
What to look out for
Four points that make the difference in study advice between a covered and an uninsured claim.
Keeping track of deadlines is your biggest risk
A missed closing date is a mistake no one can argue away: the date was fixed and the application was not there. Work with a diary system in which every deadline is assigned twice, keep institutions' acknowledgements of receipt and record for each client who was to submit, you or the client.
Going abroad changes your area of cover
If you advise on institutions outside the Netherlands, look at the geographical cover and at the applicable law in the conditions. Many policies cover Europe but keep North America out: claims brought there or judged under that law are then excluded. If you advise on those countries regularly, report it when you apply.
Promises become guarantees
Wording such as 'we will make sure you are admitted' raises an effort into a result. What you take on additionally with such a guarantee goes beyond your liability in law and therefore falls outside the policy. Have your website, quotation and general terms checked on this point. When a claim arises they are the first things requested.
What else falls outside this
There is no cover for intent and wilful recklessness (Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code), for fines and penalty payments, for refunding or redoing your own advisory work, and claims arising from circumstances you already knew about when you took out the policy. If you fail to disclose those, the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 DCC comes into play with the consequences of Article 7:930 DCC.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: the standard basis for advisory services
- Share of advice on foreign study: institutions outside the EU weigh more heavily
- Area of cover: the Netherlands, Europe or worldwide with exceptions
- Number of advisers: including self-employed professionals advising in your name
- Sum insured: per claim and per insurance year
- Retroactive period: advice comes to light late
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| You overlook a mathematics requirement and the student loses a year | No | Yes |
| A member of staff mixes up two files and a student is registered for the wrong course | No | Yes |
| A student sues you in the United States over advice about an American university | No | Provided that |
| A student drops out in the first year although your advice was properly supported | No | No |
| A visitor falls down the stairs at your office during an intake meeting | Yes | No |
| A leak makes your paper files unusable and programmes are delayed | No | No |
Where a claim is brought and under which law it is judged determines, in advice on foreign study, whether the cover applies.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Does the policy pay the tuition fees for a lost year?
If it is demonstrably the result of your mistake and the client has actually lost the money, it can be an insured claim. The insurer looks at causation and at what the client could have done to limit the loss; Article 6:101 of the Dutch Civil Code apportions the loss where the client is partly at fault. Your own fee always stays outside it.
A former client complains about advice from several years ago. Is that covered?
That depends on two dates. A BAV is claims-made: the claim must fall within the period of your current policy, and the mistake must have been made after the retroactive date. If the advice predates that date, there is no cover, even though you have been insured continuously since. When you switch insurers, always ask to keep the old commencement date.
May we advise on student finance and loans?
General information about existing schemes falls outside the licensing regime, but as soon as you guide a client towards a specific financial product or make a recommendation about it, the Dutch Financial Supervision Act comes into play. Work for which the required licence is missing is excluded on the policy. In that case refer the client on and record the referral.
Do we need public and employers' liability insurance as well as this policy?
As soon as you organise open days, visit schools or employ staff, yes. Injury to a visitor and damage to other people's property are excluded on the BAV and belong on a public and employers' liability insurance. Many insurers offer both covers within one package, with one excess per event.
Read more
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