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 parcel service handles so many packages that loss is not an incident but a percentage. Every sorting operation, every handover between depots and every delivery at the door adds a chance of a consignment going missing or being damaged. That background noise is not an insurable risk: an insurer covers uncertain events, not consistent shrinkage you can calculate yourself. Such loss belongs in your pricing, not in the premium.
What can be insured is the event that breaks the pattern: a van stolen in its entirety, a fire in the depot, a trailer overturning with a full load. In those losses a large number of consignments is lost at once, and that is exactly what a goods policy is designed for. The sum insured therefore follows not from the value per parcel but from the maximum value per vehicle and per location.
What does transport insurance for parcel services cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The basis
Actual value
What the cargo is actually worth.
Not capped per kilogram
Regardless of who is liable
Including freight and costs
The difference
Liability
What a carrier bears at most.
CMR: 8.33 SDR per kilo
AVC: € 3.40 per kilo
Rarely the actual value
Optional
Type of cover
From limited to all risks.
All external perils
Limited perils
Storage in transit
What is covered
Situation
Carriers' liability
Goods in transit
Damage from an accident, up to the weight limit
Yes
Yes
Damage above the weight limit
No
Yes
Theft of the cargo
Sometimes
Yes
Damage with no identifiable fault
No
Yes
Storage during the journey
No
Sometimes
Inherent defect or inadequate packaging
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.
Consistent shrinkage belongs in your margin
Work out how many consignments you lose each year without any identifiable cause and build that amount into your rates. Insurers exclude shortages without a demonstrable event, and with reason: without a cause there is no distinction between theft, a wrong scan and an administrative error. An excess per event that is high enough filters out that noise and keeps the premium in proportion to the real risk.
Insure the event, not the parcel
Establish the maximum that can be in one van, in one trailer and in one depot at any one time, and set the sum insured accordingly. With a parcel service that amount is rarely the value of an average consignment times the number of packages, because the peak load around the holidays differs sharply from the annual average. Declare those peaks in advance; cover calculated on the average falls short precisely in December.
The scanning chain is your file
In a network with several handover points, the last recorded scan determines who had the parcel when it disappeared. If a scan is missing at the handover to a depot or a subcontractor, it cannot be established where it went wrong and there is therefore no possibility of recovery. Check that every handover has a scanning moment and that the data is kept long enough to support a claim.
The sorting centre is not carriage
Parcels lying in a hub or depot are stationary and therefore come under storage cover and not under transit cover. Fire, water damage or a break-in at the depot calls for a separate arrangement with its own limit per location. If you work with subcontractors driving their own vehicles, bear in mind Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code: your client can hold you responsible for the mistakes of those independent contractors.
What does your premium depend on?
Number of consignments a year. The volume determines how often an event can statistically occur.
Maximum value per vehicle. The amount that can be lost in one go if a single van is stolen.
Maximum value per depot. The peak stock in a hub, including the rush around the holidays, determines the limit for the location.
Level of the excess. A high excess per event keeps consistent shrinkage outside the policy and brings the premium down.
Use of subcontractors. Driving with permanent drivers of your own gives a different picture from a changing pool of charter hauliers.
Security of depots and vehicles. CCTV, access control and tracking systems count in the underwriting and in the conditions.
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. Consistent shrinkage is predictable and therefore not an uncertain event; insurers exclude it under the heading of shortages without a demonstrable cause. Build that loss into your rates. What can be insured is the event in which a large batch disappears at once, such as a stolen van or a fire in the depot.
What is a shortage without a demonstrable cause?
A consignment that was loaded according to the records but did not arrive, without any identifiable event: no break-in, no accident, no witness. Because the cause remains unknown, the insurer cannot establish whether there was a covered event. Virtually every policy therefore excludes this category expressly.
Are parcels in the sorting centre included?
Not as a matter of course. As soon as packages are lying in a hub or depot, it is no longer carriage but storage, with its own cover and its own limit per location. Declare the maximum value per depot, including the peak around the holidays, and check that fire, water and break-in are included in that cover.
Am I liable for my subcontractors?
Often yes, towards your client. Under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code, the party that engaged you can be held responsible for the mistakes of independent contractors working on your instructions. So record what liability the charter haulier bears himself, ask for a certificate of insurance and make sure the handover moments are recorded with a scan.
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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