Volvo plant and machinery · value over time · security · repair
Insuring Volvo plant and machinery
Heavy Volvo plant shares the workplace with people who do not hear it coming, and with machines of this kind the largest claims arise not from the technology but from the blind spot.
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In brief
Volvo Construction Equipment supplies the heavy segment: large wheel loaders, articulated dump trucks and excavators. Plant of this size rarely works alone. There are colleagues, suppliers' drivers and people from other contractors walking around, and they are not seen while turning or reversing. The claims pattern therefore shifts from dented bodywork to personal injury.
That is a different area in law. On a closed work site no traffic rules apply, but Articles 6:162 and 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code do: you are liable for mistakes by your own employees, and under Article 6:171 DCC for those of third parties you engage as well. Who was operating the machine changes little about that.
Injury claims also have a long tail. Loss of earning capacity is still being assessed years after the accident, and that makes the question of which policy was running at which moment a real problem.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Liability
Third-party liability for plant and machinery
Damage you cause to others with the machine.
Compulsory on public roads
Also during work
Cables and pipes separately
The machine itself
Own-damage cover
Damage to the machine, the body and the attachments.
Fire and storm
Theft from the site
Overturning and collision
Extensions
Extensions
What you add separately.
Inherent defect and machinery breakdown
Transport to the site
Hired plant
What is covered
Situation
Third-party liability for plant and machinery
Own-damage cover
Damage to a building or a parked car next to the site
Yes
No
Theft of the machine from the building site
No
Provided that
Fire and storm damage
No
Yes
Inherent defect in the hydraulics or the engine
No
Provided that
Damage to the item you are working on with the machine
No
No
Wear and deferred maintenance
No
No
Mobile plant is a motor vehicle within the meaning of the WAM and needs third-party liability insurance on public roads; non-mobile plant does not. Damage to cables and pipes is generally only covered if the excavation notification has been made and the trial trenches have been dug. The item you work on with the machine falls under the care, custody and control exclusion.
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.
The blind spot is a question of organisation
With heavy plant the blind spot is so large that supervision with mirrors alone is not enough. At acceptance insurers ask about the traffic plan on the site: separated driving and walking routes, fixed loading positions, camera images or detection systems and the instructions given to visitors. Anyone who can demonstrate that stands considerably stronger after a collision. If there is no record at all, the accident is quickly treated as avoidable.
Your operator's mistakes are your mistakes
Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code makes the employer liable for damage a subordinate causes in the course of their work, even where that employee cannot be blamed for anything beyond the mistake itself. If you work with subcontractors, Article 6:171 DCC is added, which makes the client answerable for non-subordinates. So the bill almost always ends up with the business and not with the driver.
Injury claims run on for years
A collision on site is dealt with quickly on paper, but the cost of the claim is not. Loss of earning capacity, reassessment and damages for pain and suffering sometimes still play a part years later. What matters is therefore whether your policy is based on the moment of the event or the moment of notification. Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to report an event as soon as possible. So report an incident even where its size is still unclear.
Damage to the lorry you are loading
A wheel loader filling a tipper sooner or later hits the body, a sheet or a mudguard belonging to a driver you do not know. That is damage to a third party's property and runs through the liability cover, not through own-damage cover. Note the care, custody and control exclusion: if the lorry is on your site under your control, or you are loading on the instructions of your own business, the insurer can rely on it. Have that situation assessed in advance.
Repairs and parts
Parts are readily available through a dense service network.
Acceptance differs per insurer
Not every company applies the same policy for this make. With unusual versions, the question is not what it costs but who will accept it.
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.
In principle yes. Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code places damage caused by a subordinate in the course of their work with the employer. Where it concerns someone from a subcontractor, Article 6:171 DCC can make the client answerable. So the loss comes to your business and your policy, regardless of who was at the wheel.
What does an insurer ask about at acceptance?
About the layout of the site: are driving and walking routes separated, where is loading done, how are visitors and drivers instructed, and which vision and detection systems are fitted to the machines. Those questions determine not only the premium but also your position after an accident, because a collision without recorded measures is quickly treated as avoidable.
Why do I have to report an incident that seems to amount to nothing?
Because injury claims only develop later. Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to report an event as soon as possible, including where its size is still unclear. If you only report when the claim comes in, the insurer can rely on late notification and on the loss that could no longer be mitigated as a result.
Who pays for damage to the tipper I am loading?
That is damage to a third party's property and falls under the liability cover. The care, custody and control exclusion can come into play, however, where the lorry is on your site under your control or where your staff direct the loading entirely. Have it established in advance how your policy treats that situation, because loading damage occurs regularly in this work.
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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