Turien & Co · compared independently · advice from Finass
Floating home insurance via Turien & Co
A floating home does not stand on foundations but on a hull in the water, and it is that hull that determines where this policy works differently from ordinary buildings insurance.
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 situation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
In insurance terms, a houseboat, water home or live-aboard vessel is not a house on a plot. The property floats on a concrete pontoon or a steel hull, lies at a mooring you often rent from the local authority or the harbour, and is connected to the bank by mooring posts, mooring lines and a gangway. Floating home insurance via Turien & Co covers the whole: the hull, the superstructure, the fixed installations and the connections. We set that structure alongside the offerings of other insurers.
The difference from a buildings insurance lies in the lower part. With a house on land, foundations rarely feature in the cover. With a floating home the hull is the most expensive and the most vulnerable part. Corrosion through, osmosis, fouling and a crack in the concrete pontoon are the loss items this product is about, and that is precisely where the strictest conditions on maintenance and inspection lie.
Your home contents is not included here. You insure that separately, for example through the home contents insurance via Turien & Co. We check that both policies show the same mooring details, so that no discussion arises at claim time about what is building and what is contents.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Basic cover
The basic cover insures the core of your floating home insurance. We show what Turien & Co and other insurers offer within it.
Fire & lightning strike
Storm & precipitation
Explosion & induction
Smoke & soot damage
Extended cover
As well as fire and storm, also burglary, theft and water damage to your home.
Burglary, theft & vandalism
Rebuilding at rebuild value
Glass breakage
Comprehensive cover
The most complete cover. We compare the extended version from Turien & Co with the market.
Clearance costs & costs of mitigating the loss
All external causes
Solar panels & installations & paving
Solar panels & installations
What is covered
Situation
Standard
With extension
Fire, smoke and lightning strike
Yes
Yes
Storm from force 7 upwards
Yes
Yes
Water damage from a burst pipe
Yes
Yes
Glass breakage
Provided it is declared
Yes
Groundwater coming through the floor
No
No
Wear and deferred maintenance
No
No
What we do
What we do
At Finass
Direct with Turien & Co
Comparison across several insurers
Yes
No
Advice based on your own situation
Yes
Sometimes
One point of contact for claims
Yes
Sometimes
Cancellation with your current insurer arranged
Yes
No
We determine whether Turien & Co is the best choice
Yes
No
Advice fees for you as a customer
No
No
This overview concerns our service, not the cover. What is actually covered is set out in the policy conditions and on the insurer's insurance card (verzekeringskaart); you receive both before you take out cover.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
The hull requires periodic inspection
Insurers almost always tie cover on the floating body to demonstrable maintenance: dry docking or a diver inspection within an agreed period, with a report. If you cannot produce that report at claim time, a leak through a hull that has corroded through or deteriorated is regarded as gradual deterioration and not as a sudden event. So keep the inspection reports with the policy and tell us when the next one is due.
The mooring, mooring posts and jetty are not automatically covered
The gangway, the jetty, the mooring posts and the connection boxes on the bank are often owned by the local authority or the harbour operator. If your home damages those facilities, that is a liability matter, not damage to your own property. We therefore check that your liability insurance fits and which parts of the mooring can be included on the home policy.
Moving over water is a separate risk
As soon as the home is cast off and towed, for example for work at a yard or a move to another mooring, that transport falls outside ordinary cover. Insurers require advance notification for this and sometimes separate towage cover, with requirements for the tug and the passage plan. If you move without notification, reliance can be placed on Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code and on the duty of disclosure regarding a change of risk.
What is not covered
The following are usually not covered: wood rot, osmosis, fouling and corroding through as a gradual process; damage from deferred maintenance or an expired inspection period; loss consisting only of a fall in the value of the home; and damage during building work in which the hull was opened up without this being reported. Flooding from primary flood defences also has a regime of its own. We set these points out provider by provider.
Value & stock
Machinery & installations
What does your premium depend on?
Type and material of the hull. Concrete, steel or a combination. The material determines the expected life and the inspection requirements.
Year of construction and year of the last inspection. The more recent the documented dry docking or diver inspection, the more favourable the assessment.
Rebuild value of the superstructure. The basis for the buildings component, separate from the value of the floating body.
Mooring and water management. An inland harbour, a canal or water outside the dykes differ in wave action, current and high-water risk.
Type of cover chosen. Extended perils or all risks. The difference lies mainly in your own accidents and in external perils.
Excess and claims history. A higher excess on hull damage reduces the premium; earlier leakage claims work the other way.
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.
Does my houseboat fall under buildings insurance or under this policy?
Ordinary buildings insurance assumes a building on foundations and usually excludes floating objects. For a houseboat, water home or live-aboard vessel with a permanent mooring, floating home insurance is the right product, because it recognises the hull as an insured object and attaches maintenance conditions to it. We assess your situation before you switch.
Is damage from high water or ice drift covered?
Damage caused by your home being pushed against the bank or against mooring posts by high water or drifting ice is a covered external peril under many policies. Flooding from a primary flood defence is usually not included. The distinction between the two is set out precisely in the conditions. We explain it provider by provider.
What if I rent the mooring rather than own it?
That is usual and no obstacle. What matters is what the mooring agreement says about maintenance of the jetty, mooring posts and utility connections, and whether you are liable for damage to them. We take that agreement into account when taking stock, so that the home policy and your liability cover fit together.
Do I have to report building work or hull maintenance?
Yes. Building work in which the floating body is opened up, a visit to a yard or a move to another mooring changes the risk. Under Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code and the change-of-risk clause, the insurer expects you to report this in advance. If you do not, a payout can be reduced or refused.
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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