Fire-hazardous work · checks afterwards · certificates
Liability for welders
As a self-employed welder you almost always work at someone else's site on someone else's material, and that is exactly where the liability policy draws its lines.
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
Public and employers' liability insurance covers what you have to pay another party under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code: injury and damage to third-party property. For you as a self-employed professional without staff that means a policy aimed at property damage at the client and at injury to people standing near your work.
Two things fall outside it as standard, and they are exactly the two where the money is in welding work: the object you are working on, and redoing work you have carried out defectively. In addition, you are not a third party under your own policy; your own injuries are not covered by it.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The basics
Liability
AVB for property damage and injury, BAV for professional errors.
Damage to third parties
Employers' liability
Care, custody and control as an extension
Your business
Assets and continuity
Business contents, goods and lost turnover during downtime.
Business contents at replacement value as new
Goods at cost price
Business interruption or additional costs
If you employ people
Staff
Sickness absence, accidents and the traffic risk.
Continued pay for 104 weeks
Group personal accident
WEGAS for traffic risks
What is covered
Situation
AVB
BAV
Cyber
Injury to a visitor or customer
Yes
No
No
Damage to a client's property
Sometimes
No
No
Financial loss caused by an advisory or calculation error
No
Yes
No
Downtime after a ransomware attack
No
No
Yes
Data breach involving personal data
No
Sometimes
Yes
Damage to property in your care
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.
The object you are welding falls under the care, custody and control exclusion
Property you have in your care in order to work on it is excluded as standard. If the pipe, tank or frame you are welding burns or distorts, the basic cover does not pay for it. There is care, custody and control cover as an extension, with a separate and usually lower sum insured. The distinction matters: the rest of the installation that you did not have in hand is covered by the ordinary property damage cover.
You pay for redoing your own welding work yourself
If a seam turns out to be unsound, the cost of grinding it out and rewelding it is your own cost. That is performance of your contract and not a liability loss. What can be covered is the consequential loss: the leak that came from that seam, the client's loss of product, the damage to the surrounding installation. Record what you welded and how it was checked.
Hot work: the clause is a condition of cover
For welding, grinding and cutting insurers include a clause with requirements: a work permit, screening off flammable material, extinguishers within reach, a fire watch and checks afterwards up to a set time after the work. These are not guidelines but conditions. A smouldering fire that breaks out hours after you have left is the classic large loss, and without demonstrable checks afterwards that claim is practically unwinnable.
You are not a third party under your own policy
If you are injured, your liability insurance does nothing. It is there for other people. If you work under the direction and supervision of a client, Article 7:658(4) of the Dutch Civil Code can make that client liable, but that runs through their policy and takes time. Also arrange an income provision for yourself in case of incapacity for work. Other exclusions: fines imposed on you and damage caused with or by a motor vehicle.
What does your premium depend on?
Annual turnover. The usual basis for the calculation for a sole trader without staff.
Type of welding work and material. Structural work, pressurised pipework and stainless steel work are rated differently.
Working at third-party sites. Hot work in someone else's installation weighs more heavily than work in your own workshop.
With or without care, custody and control cover. The extension for property being worked on has its own limit and increases the premium.
Sum insured per claim and per year. Clients often require a minimum sum. That choice also determines the premium.
Excess and claims history. A higher excess lowers the premium; earlier claims carry through into acceptance.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your activities, turnover and 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.
Not as standard. Property you have in your care in order to work on it falls under the care, custody and control exclusion. If you do want it covered, you include care, custody and control cover, usually with a separate and lower sum insured. Damage to the rest of the installation you were not working on is covered by the ordinary property damage cover of the policy.
Am I insured myself if I am injured?
No. Liability insurance covers loss you cause to others. You are not a third party under your own policy. If you work under the direction and supervision of a client, that client can be liable in law for your injury, but that runs through their insurance and takes time. Also arrange an income provision of your own.
What does a client usually require?
A current public and employers' liability insurance with a minimum sum insured per claim and per insurance year, often combined with a valid VCA certificate and proof of welding qualifications. Ask the client for the requirement in writing and check that your policy currently meets it, including the hot work clause and any care, custody and control cover.
Does my cover also apply when I work for a main contractor?
Yes, your own policy covers your liability whoever gives the instructions. What does matter is whether you work independently or under the direction and supervision of that main contractor, because that determines who is liable if there is an injury. Also check whether the main contractor requires to be named as a co-insured on your policy.
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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