Product liability · Wtta · reviewing sums insured
What is changing for businesses?
Two matters call for a decision from entrepreneurs this year: the licensing requirement for everyone who hires out or hires in staff, and the sum insured on your liability policy.
Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Wat verandert er voor ondernemers?.
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Product liability is being widened
The EU Directive 2024/2853 has to be transposed into Dutch law by 9 December 2026 at the latest.
Software now falls within the definition of a product, including separately sold software and updates. The burden of proof shifts: in certain circumstances a defect is presumed.
For anyone who makes, imports or supplies products or software, this is a reason to review the sum insured.
Licensing for staffing providers
The Wtta is expected to come into force on 1 January 2027 with a licensing requirement for employment agencies and other providers of staff.
Applications can be made between 1 November 2026 and 1 January 2027; anyone who applies then may continue working while the application is processed. A deposit of € 100,000 applies and enforcement starts on 1 January 2028.
That also affects hirers: doing business with a supplier of hired labour that is not admitted carries a fine.
What moves premiums
Building and repair costs are rising faster than average inflation. That feeds through into premiums and into the risk that your sum insured falls behind.
Weather damage is increasing, which makes insurers stricter on loss prevention with buildings and business covers.
What to do now
Review your sums insured. If you supply products or software, also review your liability sum insured. If you hire out or hire in staff, put the licensing window in your diary.
In brief
The Wet toelating terbeschikkingstelling arbeidskrachten (the Dutch Labour Supply Admission Act) is expected to come into force on 1 January 2027 and makes hiring out staff a licensed activity. Anyone who applies between 1 November 2026 and 1 January 2027 may continue working while the application is being processed. A deposit of € 100,000 applies and enforcement starts on 1 January 2028. The application window is therefore the date that belongs in your diary, not the date of entry into force.
That affects more than employment agencies. Companies that hirers are also caught: doing business with a provider that is not licensed will attract a fine. Anyone working with flexible staff, payroll arrangements or staff loaned between businesses will therefore have to check this and record it contractually.
The second matter is the wider product liability regime under directive 2024/2853, to be transposed by 9 December 2026. If you supply, import or assemble products or software, your position under Article 6:185 of the Dutch Civil Code changes and this is the moment to go through the sum insured and the products section of your public and employers' liability insurance . For broader market developments see what is changing in the insurance world.
Where things go wrong in practice
The application window is the deadline, not the date of entry into force
If you hire out workers, applying between 1 November 2026 and 1 January 2027 determines whether you can continue working while your application is assessed. Anyone who misses that window is at a standstill from the date of entry into force until the licence is granted. Also allow for the deposit of € 100,000 in your liquidity planning and for enforcement starting on 1 January 2028. Discuss in good time with your accountant how that deposit is treated in the accounts.
As a hirer you are not a bystander
Working with an unlicensed provider will attract a fine, so you will have to check and be able to demonstrate that you checked. On top of that, your responsibility for hired-in staff already exists: the employer's liability under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code also applies to people who carry out work for you outside an employment contract. For mistakes by non-subordinates working on your instructions there is also Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code. Check whether your policy includes hired-in staff.
Wider product liability affects your sum insured
Under the new directive software falls within the definition of a product and the burden of proof shifts in the injured party's favour. Anyone who imports or has goods made under their own brand is also more readily regarded as the producer. So check whether your policy has a products section , which sum insured applies per claim and per year, and whether software supplied is expressly covered. For exports outside Europe, different conditions often apply.
What a liability policy does not follow
Wider legislation does not mean wider cover. Usually still excluded are: the costs of repairing or replacing the defective product itself, the costs of a product recall unless separately included, pure financial loss without damage to property or injury, and fines and contractual penalty clauses. Intent and wilful recklessness remain uninsurable under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code. So ask not only about the sum insured but about the exclusions.
What does your premium depend on?
- Payroll and number of employees — Including hired-in workers, agency staff and self-employed professionals working under your direction.
- Annual turnover and the nature of the activities — The basis of calculation for the liability premium, linked to a risk class.
- What you supply and where — Products, software or services only, and whether you supply within Europe or outside it.
- Sum insured per claim and per year — Clients often require a minimum; the sum chosen is the main lever on the premium.
- Extensions chosen — Products section, care, custody and control, employer's liability and cover for recall costs.
- Claims history and excess — The number and size of previous claims, set against the excess per claim.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
Read more
Within Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering
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Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
What is the Wtta and from when does it apply?
The Act on the licensing of the provision of workers makes hiring out staff a licensed activity. Entry into force is expected on 1 January 2027. Applications can be made between 1 November 2026 and 1 January 2027, allowing you to continue operating while the application is processed. A deposit of € 100,000 applies and enforcement starts on 1 January 2028.
I hire in staff. What do I have to arrange?
Check whether your provider is licensed and record that check in your procurement file and in the contract. Doing business with an unlicensed provider will attract a fine. Also check whether your liability insurance treats hired-in workers as insured persons, because your duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code applies to them too.
We supply software. Will that fall under product liability?
Yes. The new directive brings software within the definition of a product, including software and updates supplied separately. That means your business can be held liable as producer without any fault having to be shown. Have it checked whether your policy has a products section and whether software is expressly included in it; that is by no means always the case.
Do I have to increase my sum insured now?
That depends on what you supply and to whom. Look first at what your clients require contractually and at the largest loss you can imagine from a single claim. Only then assess the amount. A higher sum without the right sections and without attention to the exclusions provides little extra protection.
What is covered and what is not
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| An agency worker working for you at a client's premises falls from scaffolding | Yes | No |
| Your hired-in engineer damages the client's installation | Yes | No |
| A wrongly configured delivery that costs the customer turnover without anything being broken | No | Yes |
| A fine because you did business with an unlicensed staffing provider | No | No |
| A defect in the software you supply as part of your service | No | Provided that |
| Injury to a visitor who trips over a cable in your workshop | Yes | No |
Administrative fines are a sanction and not compensation; under the new rules too, they remain at your own expense.