Which insurance protects your business operations?

It happens to the best of us: small mistakes sometimes have major consequences. That is why you should get insurance as a self-employed professional or entrepreneur. Business operations won’t be jeopardized as a result and you will avoid damage claims from third parties.

Civil liability insurance covering fire and explosion

Compulsory insurance

Many publicly accessible businesses must have fire and explosion insurance. Ordinary fire insurance or business civil liability insurance is not enough.

Here are a few examples: retailers (> 1000m²); restaurants, chippers and bars (> 50m²); office buildings (> 500m²), discotheques, sports halls, hotels and youth hostels. For a full list of establishments subject to this regulation, view the Royal Decree of 28 February 1991 in Dutch or French. When in doubt, contact your municipality’s technical department.

What does the insurance entail? 

The manager of a public space is automatically liable in the event of a fire or explosion. This insurance covers physical injuries and material damages to third parties, including those inside and outside the building.

Civil liability insurance for business operations (optional)

Business civil liability insurance

Third parties may suffer material and/or immaterial damages and/or physical injuries during your activities as a self-employed individual or entrepreneur. This insurance covers the costs that may arise from this, provided it concerns extra-contractual liability.

What is understood by extra-contractual liability? It refers to liability that arises, for instance, from an error in performing the company's activities; this error does not relate to obligations within a contract. Such errors are predominantly manual.

Here are some examples:

• A roofer drops a roof tile on a car.
• A customer trips on a loose cable in your shop.
• An employee damages a piece of furniture at your customer.

After delivery civil liability insurance

This cover serves as a supplementary policy to the business civil liability insurance. It provides compensation for damage to third parties following the completion of the work or the delivery of your product.

Here are some examples:

• A week after you connect a customer’s fuse box, it causes a fire.
• You sell fish and one of your customers gets food poisoning.

Civil liability insurance for entrusted goods

This insurance acts as a supplementary policy to the business liability policy and is applicable if you risk causing damage to goods entrusted to you by a customer. It covers you from the moment the goods are in your care until you return them.

Here are some examples:

• A mechanic damages the car he had to repair.
• A plumber breaks the bath he is fitting.
• A gardener borrows a customer's lawnmower to work in his garden. While working, he damages the lawnmower.

Legal assistance (optional)

Although these examples of civil liability may appear clear-cut, determining who bears liability in certain claims or the extent of the damages in practice is not always straightforward. For this reason, any self-employed professional or entrepreneur can obtain legal assistance insurance. This insurance provides legal advice and covers your costs in the event of a legal dispute with a third party such as a supplier, the tax authorities, an employee, or a customer, if an amicable settlement is not achievable.

Professional liability insurance

For many liberal and intellectual professions, taking out professional liability insurance is ethically or legally required: lawyers, architects, physicians, surveyors, travel organisers, bookkeepers, accountants, etc.

Similar to business civil liability insurance, this policy covers material, immaterial, and physical damage to third parties. However, unlike business liability insurance, it encompasses contractual damage, meaning liability arises from a failure to fulfil the commitments outlined in the contract. This mainly pertains to intellectual errors.

Here are some examples:

• An architect forgets to take into account certain urban planning obligations.
• A lawyer fails to submit an essential document, resulting in the loss of your case.

Cyber insurance

One in six businesses is on the verge of bankruptcy following a cyber attack, and SMEs are the main targets of hackers. Cyber insurance covers, among other things, the cost of restoring software, financial losses following these attacks, and more. It also offers assistance in the event of an attack so that you can react as quickly as possible.

Here are a few examples: 

• Ransomware attack: software blocks access to your data and demands a ransom in exchange.
• Phishing: you receive a fraudulent e-mail urging you to provide personal details / make a payment.

Conclusion

Covering yourself against all possible forms of liability can become a costly undertaking. You should, therefore, start with (optional) compulsory insurance such as professional liability and civil liability insurance for fire and explosion. Decide for yourself which optional cover offers you more protection.

Insurance is a complex subject and it's not always easy to find your way around. Fortunately, you can turn to an insurance broker for advice.

^{This content was enhanced in 2025 with further insights from insurance broker Yago.}