Injury and property damage
- Visitors, customers and neighbours
- Damaged equipment and buildings
- Duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code
- No financial loss
BAV · financial loss · contract requirements
Why your business needs professional indemnity insurance (BAV)
Most business owners have public and employers' liability insurance and think that settles it. That policy, however, covers no mistake in the work itself, and that is exactly where the claims that hurt most arise.
- several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Waarom u een beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor uw bedrijf nodig hebt.
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 your own premium with the calculator.
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
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) covers injury and property damage: someone is injured or something is broken. A mistake in your service rarely produces either. An incorrect calculation, a missed deadline, advice that is wrong: money disappears at the client without anything being broken. That pure financial loss falls outside the AVB and is only covered by a professional indemnity insurance (BAV).
There are three reasons to hold that policy. The first is the size of the claim: your fee bears no relation to the loss a mistake can cause to an investment, a construction project or a set of annual accounts. The second is what clients require; large companies and public bodies set a minimum sum insured in their purchasing conditions and will not sign without a policy schedule. The third is professional regulation: solicitors, accountants and financial services providers face a duty to insure or to make a comparable arrangement.
A fourth reason applies mainly to sole traders and partnerships: there is no separation between business and private, so a claim carries through to your private assets. Liability is assessed against the standard in Article 7:401 of the Dutch Civil Code, the care of a good contractor, and in engagements it usually runs through the failure to perform under Article 6:74 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Which gap does the BAV fill?
The two liability policies cover different types of loss and are not substitutes for each other.
Financial loss
Financial detriment to the client caused by a mistake in your service.
- Advice, calculation and design errors
- Missed deadlines and steps left undone
- Costs of defence and experts
- Usually on a claims-made basis
What clients require
The contractual requirements that determine which sum and which cover you need.
- Minimum sum insured
- Territorial scope and applicable law
- Retroactive cover for current projects
- Evidence through the policy schedule
What is covered
| Situation | BAV | AVB |
|---|---|---|
| The customer suffers a loss through your incorrect advice | Yes | No |
| A mistake in your design costs extra building work | Yes | No |
| Defence against an excessive claim | Yes | Yes |
| Injury to a visitor at your office | No | Yes |
| Carrying out your own assignment again | No | No |
| A fine or penalty payment from a regulator | No | No |
Which activities are covered and which limits, excesses and exclusions apply is set out in the policy conditions and on the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) that you receive before you take out the policy.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that explain why this policy proves necessary more often than business owners expect.
The claim bears no relation to your invoice
Advice costing a few thousand euros can influence an investment decision many times that size. When a mistake occurs, it is not your fee that is claimed back but the loss suffered as a result. So choose the sum insured on the basis of the largest interest you touch, not on the basis of your turnover. Also limit your liability in your general terms and conditions, for example to the fee for the assignment or to the amount the insurer pays.
No policy schedule, no assignment
In tenders and framework agreements a minimum sum insured is required in almost every case, sometimes with a compulsory level of cover per claim and per year. If you take out the policy only once the contract is in place, you also miss cover for work already started: under claims made there is only cover with retroactive date before the start of the project. So arrange the policy before you tender, not afterwards.
What is not included
Among other things, the BAV pays not: the redoing your own work or repaying your fee, fines, penalty payments and contractual penalty clauses, injury and property damage which belongs on the AVB, and damage caused by intent or wilful recklessness under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code. Also guarantees and undertakings that go beyond the law, liability in inability to pay and circumstances you already knew about when you took out the policy, stay outside the cover.
With a sole trader it reaches your private assets
A sole trader or partnership has no separate estate: creditors can recover from your private property, and under a community of property that affects your partner too. A private limited company limits this, but not entirely; a director can be held personally liable for seriously culpable conduct under Article 2:9 of the Dutch Civil Code. For that there is separate directors' and officers' liability insurance, which does not replace the BAV.
What does your premium depend on?
- Turnover — the usual basis for calculation
- Profession and activities — advice and design carry more weight
- Sum insured — per claim and per year
- Excess — higher excess, lower premium
- Retroactive date — how far back you want the cover to reach
- Area of cover — the Netherlands, Europe or worldwide
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
How we arrange it
- You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, risk 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.
9.5New policy
9.8Claims handling
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.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
Is professional indemnity insurance compulsory by law?
Not generally, but it is for certain professions. Solicitors, civil-law notaries and accountants face a duty to insure through their professional rules, and financial services providers must hold compulsory insurance or a comparable arrangement under the Dutch Financial Supervision Act. For all other business owners, what clients require is at least as compelling in practice.
I already have an AVB. Why is that not enough?
Because the AVB covers only injury and damaged property. The loss caused by a professional error is almost never physical: wrong advice, a missed deadline or a calculation error costs money, not property. That is pure financial loss and it is excluded on the AVB. The two policies cover different risks and are not substitutes for each other.
Do I still run a risk for assignments that have been completed?
Yes. Professional errors often come to light only years later, at completion, in an audit or in a dispute. Because the BAV works on a claims-made basis, the moment of the claim governs. So make sure the retroactive date covers your old work, and arrange run-off cover when you stop or switch.
Does the policy help even if the claim is unfounded?
Yes, and that happens often. The insurer assesses the letter of claim, conducts the defence and pays the costs of legal assistance and experts, even where nothing is paid out. Do not admit liability yourself and make no promises about compensation; report the matter first, as Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires.
What does professional indemnity insurance cost?
That varies widely from one profession to another. What matters is your turnover, the nature of your work, the sum insured chosen, the excess, the retroactive date and the territorial scope. An adviser with no hands-on tasks pays considerably less than a structural engineer or a financial adviser. A quotation based on your own details is the only reliable answer.
Read more
Within Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering
- Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekeringthe main page
- Beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering beroepsaansprakelijkheid zzp
- Hoe een beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering uw bedrijf beschermt
- Zzp beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering beroeps bav
- Professional indemnity or public and employers' liability: which do you need?
- Allianz zakelijk beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering bav
- Hienfeld beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering bav
Similar pages
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for self-employed professionals (zzp’ers)
- How professional indemnity insurance (BAV) protects your business
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for self-employed professionals (zzp’ers)
- Professional indemnity or public and employers' liability: which do you need?
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) through Allianz
- Professional indemnity for self-employed professionals
- Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) through Hienfeld — compare & calculate your premium
- Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV)
Which sum matches your contracts?
Request a quote without obligation; we will test the requirements in your terms of engagement against the policy.
Prefer to call? 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 09:00–17:00.
Claim on the road? Emergency line 06 - 55 20 40 72.
About our service
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.
You will find our licence, KvK and Kifid details and our complaints procedure at the foot of every page.
This page was written and checked by an adviser at Finass Verzekert. Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.