A client holds you liable for advice, a calculation or a missed deadline. This raises two different questions: must you compensate loss and does that liability fall under your professional indemnity insurance? An angry client letter answers neither. Collect the engagement, work file and applicable policy. Notify the claim promptly and discuss how the defence will be conducted. This guide helps business owners prepare a coverage dispute under Dutch law; their own terms and circumstances remain decisive.
Sources (4)
On this page
1. Separate professional error, liability and cover
Professional indemnity insurance is intended for financial consequences of professional errors within insured activities. Consider an incorrect calculation through which a client alleges additional costs. Public and business liability insurance generally addresses other risks, such as injury and damaged possessions. The product name alone does not reveal your package’s exact scope. Profession-specific arrangements and combinations exist. Therefore start with the policy schedule and specific description of activities.
An allegation is not yet a proved error. Investigate which engagement obligation was allegedly breached, whether this caused loss and which defences are possible. Simultaneously have it assessed whether the policy covers that risk. An insurer may, for example, take a coverage position while liability remains under investigation. Request separate answers to both elements so provisional rejection of the client claim is not confused with a final coverage decision.
2. Check people, activities and contractual agreements
Compare the name on the schedule with the party accepting the engagement and the person held liable. Those details may differ for a sole trader, partnership and private limited company. Also check whether employees, former employees and engaged third parties fall within the definition. Record changes of legal form and activities. An activity appearing in your commercial register entry does not itself prove the insurer included it in cover.
Also read the engagement contract and general terms. A guarantee, indemnity or wider liability agreement may exceed what would apply without it. Ask which policy clause addresses this. Supply both your quotation and final contract with any amendments for assessment. A standalone insurance certificate for a tender does not provide a complete picture of cover or automatically remove possible tension between engagement and policy terms.
3. Bring error, claim and notification together in time
Under business liability policies, when a claim is made or notified may matter to cover. A claims-made arrangement differs from cover mainly linked to when the loss-causing event occurred. Read definitions of claim and circumstance. Make a chronology of work, first indications, client complaints, liability demand and insurer notification. Include earlier policies too.
When switching, closing or selling the business, prior-acts and run-off cover deserve separate attention. Meanings and conditions differ by policy. Do not assume a new policy covers all old work or every claim received later still falls under the old policy. Before termination, ask in writing how known circumstances and future claims must be notified. Have an unclear transition assessed before agreeing definitive termination or restriction.
4. Notify factually and preserve your work file
Forward the liability demand received as soon as possible through the agreed reporting channel. Request acknowledgement and a file number. Add a factual chronology and identify documents to follow. The statutory starting point is timely notification and provision of relevant information. The policy may contain additional procedures. Do not wait to notify until you know the client is right; a disputed claim itself may require investigation and timely defence.
Preserve original versions of advice, calculations, emails and deliverables. Correct an identified error carefully without overwriting historical documents afterwards. Keep facts, recollections and suspicions distinguishable. Coordinate substantive responses and possible settlement with the handler. A policy prohibition on admissions has statutory limits: admitting facts cannot be prohibited and a correct admission does not have the adverse consequence contemplated in Article 7:953 of the Dutch Civil Code.
5. Agree defence and costs
Ask who handles the matter, which lawyer or expert is involved and which costs require prior approval. Check whether defence costs fall within the insured amount or are separately arranged. The deductible and a maximum for related claims may also affect the available amount. Immediately forward procedural documents with response deadlines. Insurer investigation does not replace a timely response in legal proceedings.
With a reservation of cover, your interests and the insurer’s may diverge. Ask which elements remain unresolved, which information is awaited and who protects your personal position. Agree costs in writing if obtaining independent advice. Having professional indemnity insurance does not automatically mean every lawyer you choose is paid. Resolve uncertainty over this before an approaching deadline without letting the necessary defence stall.
6. Substantiate loss and read exclusions specifically
Ask the client for an itemised calculation and supporting documents. Distinguish additional costs, lost income, repair of your own work and amounts that would have been due without the alleged error. A tax adjustment or lower return is not automatically entirely recoverable loss. Have causation and other circumstances’ influence assessed. Use an overview giving each loss item its own basis, evidence and objection.
Compare reliance on an exclusion with its precise wording and alleged conduct. Examples include disputes over intent, guarantees, penalties, undeclared activities or known circumstances. These subjects have no uniform outcome across all professional policies. Ask why the insurer considers this particular clause applicable to your claim. Do not leave a general rejection unanswered where its assumed facts and affected claim portion remain unclear.
7. Prepare a focused next step
A fictional example: after switching insurers, an adviser receives a claim about work from a year earlier. They send the letter only to the new insurer. The first question is not which insurer pays faster but which reporting and coverage arrangement applies. Organise both policies, switching correspondence and earlier client complaints. Have it assessed whether and how the old insurer must also be approached without giving unjustified assurances of cover.
In a dispute, request a reasoned written position and file a focused internal complaint if necessary. Access to Kifid is not automatic for business insurance; have your position and current rules assessed separately. Bring the full engagement and insurance file for legal advice. Monitor deadlines involving both client and insurer. An orderly file helps choose between discussions, expert investigation and litigation but does not guarantee compensation.
Frequently asked questions
Is professional indemnity insurance the same as public and business liability insurance?
No. The risks generally differ. Check the specific cover and any profession-specific combinations in your own policy.
Must I also notify an unjustified claim?
Notify a claim received under the policy procedure even if you dispute it. Have the defence and coverage assessment recorded separately.
Is old work insured after switching?
This depends among other things on the coverage system, prior-acts cover, known circumstances, notification and any run-off. Compare both policies and transition agreements.
Sources
These sources relate to this page. For a specific case, check current rules and your own documents.
- Ondernemersplein/KVK — beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering Accessed: 2026-10-23
- Markel — beroepsaansprakelijkheid Accessed: 2026-10-23
- Nationale-Nederlanden — voorbeeldvoorwaarden beroepsaansprakelijkheid M 03.2.29 C, 2019 Accessed: 2026-10-23
- Officiële bekendmakingen — vernummerde tekst titel 7.17 BW, artikelen 941, 953, 954, 957 en 960 Accessed: 2026-10-23
Legal review
Not legally reviewed yetThis version has not been reviewed by a lawyer or legal professional. Checking sources or editing text is not legal approval.
Editorial team Insurance law in the Netherlands
We connect explanations to sources and record targeted changes. Legal review is attributed only to the actual reviewed version, with a real reviewer, date and scope. Human legal review of these articles remains open.
Ricardo van der Spoel
Editorial responsibility · Editorial organisation and technology