One of the basic principles of our legal system is that whoever causes damages to someone else as a result of his mistake or negligence must also be responsible for the compensation of these damages. No company escapes this universal rule. After all, entrepreneurs are only human, and people sometimes make mistakes…
Fortunately, it does not always have to go this way, but sometimes the financial consequences of such mistakes can be so great that the survival of your company is jeopardized.
It is therefore critical to protect your company from this risk.
That is possible, provided you have sound liability insurance tailored to your company.
Various insurance solutions include:
Business operations civil liability
This basic insurance covers the civil, non-contractual liability that your company may incur for the damage caused to third parties by and during the operation of the company.
Covered damage is the physical damage, material damage and immaterial consequential damage.
Civil liability for damage to entrusted objects
A possible extension of the Business Operations civil liability consists in covering your liability for damage caused to objects or goods owned by third parties and entrusted to your company for inspection, maintenance, repair or any other processing.
In addition to insuring damage to objects entrusted to you to work on, you can also insure yourself for damage caused to:
- equipment or tools temporarily borrowed or rented by your company for use as a work tool, or in summary the goods entrusted to you to work with, goods or objects of which your company is a holder, owner or custodian under any other title.
- Covered damage under this guarantee is the material damage and also (usually) the immaterial consequential damage.
Civil liability after delivery/after execution of the work = product liability
This insurance covers the civil liability of your company for damage due to an error or defect in the delivered products or executed works and caused by and after delivery of these goods or after execution of these works.
Covered damage under this guarantee is contractual and non-contractual liability, physical and/or material damage as well as immaterial (consequential) damage.
Professional liability
Your company can also be liable if it does not or insufficiently meet its professional obligations. If your customer suffers damage due to, for example, an incorrect calculation, or incorrect advice in financial services, then there is a good chance that your company will be held liable for this.
This insurance covers the civil liability of the company, both non-contractual and contractual, as a result of damage caused to third parties by professional mistakes.
Due to the increasing growth of independent interim managers, we have developed an insurance package for the interim management agencies affiliated with FEDERGON, which covers the liability and risks of the interim manager.
Feel free to contact us if you are interested in this tailor-made solution, or download our brochure here.
Objective liability for fire or explosion
This separate insurance is required by law to be taken out by natural or legal persons who operate a business or organize activities in ‘publicly accessible establishments’.
Such establishments are listed in a Royal Decree. These include dance facilities, cinemas, theatres and cultural centres, stadiums, stations and airports.
Objective liability means that the victim need not prove an error on the part of the operator or establishment.
Directors & officers liability (D&O)
As a director of a company, you are the face of the company, but you also risk being personally liable in the event of alleged errors or negligence.
This can range from claims by the tax authorities, social security or other administrative authorities, to a co-director or shareholder who accuses you of maladministration, to a discriminated employee who holds you liable for the policy. This also applies not only to errors that you make yourself but also to those of your co-directors.
In addition, the claims are often substantial and can be recovered in full from the private assets of the directors. Without adequate insurance, you risk total personal bankruptcy.
With a Directors & Officers liability, or D&O policy, you not only enjoy immediate assistance and defence of your interests, your insurer is also responsible for any compensation for the damage itself.
