As soon as your vans are on one fleet contract, the bonus-malus per vehicle disappears and your own claims burden becomes the unit of account on which the premium is set afresh each year.
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In brief
A fleet policy is not a bundle of separate policies with a discount. It is one contract in the company's name, covering all the vehicles, in which the premium follows not from steps per vehicle but from the claims burden of the fleet. That changes how you run the business: a claim that used to cost one van a step now weighs on the contract as a whole and feeds through into the renewal for the following year.
The second change is administrative. A fleet contract has a adjustment arrangement: new vehicles are covered provisionally from purchase and are added and removed periodically, with a settlement afterwards. That only works if your records are accurate. A van that has never been added falls outside the contract when there is a claim, and that is the most common disappointment with fleet policies.
Third, liability shifts to the company. For mistakes by your employees during their employment you are liable under Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code. Recovering the excess from the driver concerned is only allowed to a very limited extent: Article 7:661 of the Dutch Civil Code permits it only in cases of intent or wilful recklessness. Prevention policy is therefore the only real lever you can pull.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Compulsory by law
Third-party liability
Damage you cause to others with the van.
Compulsory from registration onwards
A trailer while coupled
Also for private use
Most chosen
Third-party, fire and theft
Theft, break-in damage, fire, storm and glass.
Break-in damage to locks
Theft of the vehicle
Glass and stone chips
Declare separately
Contents and fit-out
Tools, materials and the fit-out in the load space.
Own goods in transit insurance
Racking and load floor
Roof rack and towbar
What is covered
Situation
Third-party liability
Third-party, fire and theft
Comprehensive
Collision with another vehicle
Yes
Yes
Yes
Break-in damage to doors and locks
No
Yes
Yes
Tools stolen from the load space
No
No
No
Damage you cause yourself while reversing
No
No
Yes
Racking system and load floor
No
Sometimes
Sometimes
Damage to third-party goods during loading and unloading
No
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.
Claims burden instead of bonus-malus
With a fleet contract the premium is reviewed periodically on the basis of the ratio between claims paid and premium paid over recent years. One large claim weighs less heavily in this than a persistent pattern of small parking and reversing claims. So ask for a claims burden report per vehicle and per driver. Without those figures you are steering blind, and at the renewal negotiation you have no argument at all against an announced increase.
The records of changes are the weak point
With fleets, adding and removing vehicles is often done retrospectively, with a periodic settlement. That works as long as the provisional cover on new purchases is properly arranged and the deadline is met. If a van is sold but not removed, you keep paying; if a new van is not added, the question when there is a claim is whether the period of provisional cover was still running. Designate one person as responsible for these notifications.
Recovering the excess from the driver is barely allowed
Many companies want to pass the excess on to the member of staff who caused the damage. That is only allowed in cases of intent or wilful recklessness, as Article 7:661 of the Dutch Civil Code provides; ordinary clumsiness does not fall within it. A clause in the employment contract does not change that, apart from limited exceptions. If you want to influence behaviour, steer through instruction, a claims protocol and periodic feedback per driver rather than through passing on costs.
What falls outside the contract
Three situations consistently fall outside the cover. Vehicles that have not been added and for which no provisional cover was still running. Damage caused by a driver without a valid entitlement to drive or under the influence, in which case the insurer recovers from the driver under the third-party liability cover. And the capacity of the load space, which is not included in any fleet contract. Fines and administrative charges for traffic offences are not insurable either.
Tools fall outside every car policy
What is in the load compartment is not part of the vehicle. Own-damage cover does not pay for its theft, not even under comprehensive cover. That calls for separate goods-in-transit insurance, with conditions attached: usually a locked garage, or emptying the van outside working hours.
A racking system, load floor, roof rack, tow bar or refrigeration unit raises the value but is not included in the list price. Without a declaration, only the bare vehicle is paid out in the event of a total loss, while the fit-out easily represents several thousand euros.
What does your premium depend on?
Size of the fleet. The number of vans determines whether rating takes place per vehicle or on the basis of the claims burden.
Claims burden over previous years. The ratio between claims paid and premium is at the heart of how the premium is set.
Composition of the fleet. Vans, cars and heavier equipment within one contract carry different weight.
Driver policy. Vans permanently allocated, or pool use with changing drivers and agency workers.
Excess per event. A higher excess lowers the premium and keeps small claims out of the claims burden.
Preventive measures. Reversing cameras, driving behaviour recording and a claims protocol are taken into account at 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.
From how many vehicles is a fleet contract worthwhile?
Insurers apply different thresholds, often from a handful of vehicles upwards. It becomes worthwhile as soon as managing separate policies with their own renewal dates and their own bonus-malus steps costs more than it produces. Always ask for a comparison: with a small claim-free fleet, separate policies with steps already built up can still work out better than a claims burden contract.
What happens to the no-claims discount I have built up?
It lapses within the fleet contract, because there are no longer bonus-malus steps per vehicle. Instead, the claims burden of the whole fleet counts. When you switch, ask for a claims statement covering recent years, because those figures form the basis of the offer. If the contract later ends, you generally start on separate policies without the old build-up.
Is a newly bought van insured straight away?
Usually there is provisional cover for a period stated in the contract after purchase, after which registration is compulsory. If you miss that deadline, the van may be standing on the street uninsured when a claim occurs. Give responsibility for adding and removing vehicles to one person and check the vehicle schedule against your own registration records at each settlement.
May I pass the excess on to the driver?
Only in cases of intent or wilful recklessness. Article 7:661 of the Dutch Civil Code protects the employee against liability for damage he causes at work, and ordinary mistakes fall within that. A clause in the employment contract in principle changes nothing. You steer claims behaviour more effectively with instruction, feedback per driver and preventive equipment in the van.
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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