ZZP‐insurance

For a self-employed person, business liability insurance is indispensable. This insurance is also called business liability insurance. The insurance covers damage you or one of your employees cause to others. This applies to damage to persons as well as to goods or belongings.

This is insured

• Damage caused to persons or property by you or your employees. This can be damage caused to third parties, as well as damage caused by employees among themselves.
• Damage from sudden release of environmentally hazardous substances.

This is not insured

• Gradual environmental damage.
• Damage not caused to persons or property.
• Damage to property under the company's control (e.g., use, transport, store, borrow, rent, process).
• Damage caused by motor or aircraft.

Unlike business liability insurance, professional liability insurance is not about damage to physical property, but professional misconduct. Do you work as a lawyer, accountant or have another consulting profession as a self-employed person? Then wrong advice can cost millions of dollars, for which you will be held liable.

Coverage

Professional liability insurance allows you to cover the following risks:

• negligence
• professional misconduct
• statutory liability
• invasion of privacy
• libel and slander
• infringement of third-party rights (intellectual property rights)
• retaliatory costs
• costs of defense and prevention or mitigation of damages

Legal expenses insurance is insurance that, under certain conditions, ensures that you receive legal assistance if you become involved in a legal conflict. Thus, legal expenses insurance covers unexpected legal costs and legal advice.

In case of any attorney fees, litigation costs or bailiff fees, business legal expenses insurance covers the costs.

Examples of legal expenses insurance

• It often happens that a client does not pay, so you need legal help (debt collection). Sometimes a client is not satisfied with the work or advice. It can also happen that a supplier does not keep the agreements.
• After a traffic accident, conflicts often arise. For example, if you are hit on your bicycle and therefore unable to work, there may be discussion about who is at fault. With legal assistance insurance, you get legal help to prove that you are not guilty and to hold the other party liable. You also get help recovering damages.

Please note that private legal expenses insurance does not provide any coverage.

As a self-employed person, you have belongings such as tools, digital equipment or supplies. These are not covered by private insurance. Therefore, take out inventory and goods insurance. This insures your belongings and supplies against such things as fire, storm or water.

Note that portable tools or devices are often not insured outside your business. If your tablet or laptop suffers damage at a customer's premises, it will not be covered by inventory and property insurance.

As a zzp'er you do not take out absenteeism insurance, but disability insurance. This is because an absenteeism insurance is insurance that provides coverage for continued payment of wages of sick employees. As a zzp'er you don't have any employees and so you only arrange coverage for your own illness.

Company car insurance is taken out for the car that you use for business and that is also registered as such in the records. Company car insurance is more expensive compared to private insurance.

Do you use your car only for trips between home and work? Then you don't necessarily need company car insurance. You can then insure the car privately as well.

Do you have a business building as a self-employed person? With a business premises insurance you insure the building where your business is located. You are insured, for example, against damage caused by fire, rain, storm, leakage, burglary, a falling object or a collision. The amount insured is based on the cost to rebuild the building.