A roofing company with staff needs four kinds of cover: business liability insurance with cover for property in its care and for fire from hot work, a contractors' all risks policy or the certainty that you are covered by the client's, the insurance the collective agreement requires for your employees, and disability insurance for yourself. Only the motor liability insurance for the van is required by law.
The biggest pitfall is in the liability policy itself. Many policies exclude damage to the roof you are working on and damage from fire when torching or using a hot air gun. For a roofer, those are exactly the big claims.
In short
- Ordinary liability insurance often does not cover damage to items you work on, such as the roof, or redoing your own work.
- Fire from torching or hot air guns is excluded by many insurers or only covered with a high excess and proof of prevention.
- As an owner-director you are not insured through the UWV. Your own disability policy costs more for heavy work, and roofing is heavy work.
In this article
- Which insurance does a roofing company need?
- What does business liability insurance cover, and what not?
- What is the care and custody clause, and why does it matter to a roofer?
- Is fire from torching or hot air guns covered?
- When do I need contractors' all risks insurance?
- How do I insure myself against incapacity for work?
- Which insurance must I arrange for my staff?
- What does my insurance cover after completion?
Which insurance does a roofing company need?
The only insurance required by law is motor liability insurance for your vans. Anyone with a motor vehicle on the road must take out liability insurance for it (Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Act, article 2). Everything else is a choice, but for a roofing company not a free one.
Liability insurance is not compulsory, but a client, supplier or trade association may require it (Ondernemersplein, business liability insurance). In 2025 a court found that a professional roofing company that does fire-hazardous work can in principle be expected to have proper liability insurance. More on that in the part about fire.
What does business liability insurance cover, and what not?
Business liability insurance covers damage that you or your staff accidentally cause to others during work. Think of a colleague who drops a tile on a parked car, or an injury to a passer-by. Usually not covered are wrong advice, damage to your own business and the cost of delivering your service or product again (Ondernemersplein, business liability insurance).
The 2026 conditions of Bovemij show how this looks in a policy. Excluded is damage to items in your care, for example an item you are working on or repairing. Also excluded are the costs of redoing your own work, and damage from asbestos. Covered is damage to others caused by items you have handed over after working on them (Bovemij, business liability conditions 2026, articles 2.c and 2.f). This is one insurer, other policies may differ.
For a roofer this means: if water gets into a bedroom through your mistake, liability insurance usually covers the damage to the ceiling and the contents. You repair the leaking roof itself at your own expense.
What is the care and custody clause, and why does it matter to a roofer?
The care and custody clause covers damage to other people's property that you are working on or that is under your supervision. For a roofer, that is the roof you are standing on. As standard this damage is often excluded, as in the conditions above. With a care and custody clause you add it to the cover.
An example is clause TN001 of Techniek Nederland Verzekeringen. By way of exception to the standard conditions, it covers damage to items entrusted to you for working on or under your supervision. But only up to the amount stated on the policy schedule (Techniek Nederland Verzekeringen, clause TN001). So check not only whether care and custody is covered, but also up to what amount.
A flat roof on a commercial building or a row of houses is quickly worth more than a low insured amount. Ask your insurer in writing whether damage to the roof you are working on, and water damage below it, falls under care and custody, and up to what amount.
Is fire from torching or hot air guns covered?
Often not, or only under strict conditions. The Dutch Association of Insurers calls applying bitumen roofing fire-hazardous work, and working with open flame a major cause of fire. Bitumen boilers are heated to about 250 °C (Dutch Association of Insurers, fire-hazardous work).
At De Zeeuwse, fire from fire-hazardous roofing work is not insured. Only torching or hot air welding to attach a gutter, pipe penetration or roof light to the existing covering can be added to a limited extent. Even then there is only cover if you show that you followed the prevention requirements (De Zeeuwse, construction sector conditions DZ-BVB-2601). A roofing company that torches whole roofs therefore has to find a policy that really covers that work.
A policy that does cover it often has a high excess. Clause TN004 of Techniek Nederland Verzekeringen applies to businesses that earn more than 15% of their turnover from roofing. The excess for fire caused by roofing work runs from €10,000 at a turnover up to €250,000 to €50,000 above €1,500,000. After a first fire, a further fire is only covered if you show that you took the precautions (Techniek Nederland Verzekeringen, clause TN004).
No statutory certificate for torching exists. The conditions of De Zeeuwse and clause TN004 also do not require a personal certificate. They require measures, such as extinguishers on the roof, combustible material 5 metres away and an hour's check after the work (De Zeeuwse, TN004). At large companies the client sometimes issues a permit for fire-hazardous work, stating the place, the time and the measures taken (Dutch Association of Insurers). Read your own policy, because it states what you must be able to show.
What a court said about a policy that was too narrow
During renovation by a roofing company, a fire broke out on the roof of a house. The company's liability insurer refused, because fire-hazardous work at third parties was excluded in the policy. The customer's buildings insurer then held the former director personally liable. In an interim judgment, the Oost-Brabant district court found that a professional company doing fire-hazardous work can in principle be expected to have proper liability insurance. The director knew, or should have known from the policy, that this work was not covered, and could therefore be personally and seriously blamed. The case is still ongoing (Oost-Brabant District Court 27 August 2025, ECLI:NL:RBOBR:2025:5452).
When do I need contractors' all risks insurance?
Contractors' all risks insurance, also called construction and erection insurance, covers material damage to the work itself while it is under construction or being renovated, and during an agreed maintenance period. Theft of building materials is also covered. You can extend the cover with liability towards others and damage to existing property of the client (Dutch Association of Insurers, insurance after the Wkb).
According to the Association's overview, it is usually the client who takes out the contractors' all risks policy (Dutch Association of Insurers). If you work as a subcontractor on a large project, ask in writing before the start whether you are included on that policy, and what the excess per claim is. If you take on a large renovation yourself, for example the whole roof of a commercial building, your own policy for that project can make sense.
How do I insure myself against incapacity for work?
With your own disability insurance. As the owner of a sole proprietorship you are not insured through the UWV. As the owner-director of your private limited company you are not either: the UWV names the owner-director as an example of someone without compulsory insurance (UWV, compulsory insurance). If you drop out, your income stops, but the fixed costs of the business continue.
According to the KVK, disability insurance often costs between €100 and €300 a month. Those who do physically heavy or risky work pay more, and a longer waiting period usually gives a lower premium (KVK, all about disability insurance). The waiting period is the time you bear the income loss yourself after falling ill before the benefit starts.
Figures from the United States show that roofing work is risky. There, falls from roofs accounted for a third of all fatal falls in construction between 1992 and 2009. Of these deaths, 67% occurred in small construction firms with 1 to 10 employees. Roofers and employees of roofing contractors had a higher risk (Dong and others, 2013). This concerns deaths, not incapacity for work, but it shows why insurers charge more for roofing work.
A compulsory disability scheme for entrepreneurs in income tax is coming, according to the KVK not before 2030. The benefit only starts after two years and is at most the minimum wage. Under the proposal, directors of legal entities are not covered. Your own policy only counts under the transitional rules if the end age is at least 55, the waiting period is at most two years and the benefit period is not limited (KVK, the compulsory disability insurance for entrepreneurs explained).
Which insurance must I arrange for my staff?
That depends on your collective agreement. If your business falls under the BIKUDAK agreement, you must offer every employee accident insurance that pays at least €35,000 on death and €70,000 on full disability, with cover 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You must also offer extended WGA gap insurance (BIKUDAK agreement 2026-2027, articles 30 and 37).
WGA gap insurance tops up the income of an employee who becomes partly unfit for work and earns less as a result. The parties to the agreement have made a collective arrangement for both policies. If you do not want to use it, you can apply for an exemption under certain conditions (BIKUDAK agreement, articles 30 and 37).
What does my insurance cover after completion?
After completion, liability insurance covers damage to others caused by your work, for as long as the statutory limitation period runs. That is how the overview of the Dutch Association of Insurers puts it (Dutch Association of Insurers, insurance after the Wkb). Repairing the roof itself is usually not covered, as stated above under the exclusions.
How long a customer can hold you liable, and what you keep for that, is in a separate article: How long are you liable for a leaking roof?. For the insurance, one question matters most: is your liability policy still running when the complaint comes in? At Bovemij you are covered if the claim is made and reported while the policy is in force. If you close your business, you can still report a claim for three years. If you cancel the policy yourself, you cannot (Bovemij, article 1.c). If you switch to another insurer, ask in writing how old jobs remain covered.
- Have the work you do stated on the policy: bitumen with a torch, synthetics, tiles, zinc.
- Ask in writing whether care and custody covers the roof and the water damage below it, and up to what amount.
- Ask which clause applies to fire from torching and hot air guns, what excess and which measures.
- Record the fire measures for each job, with photos and times, so that you can prove them after a claim.
- As a subcontractor, ask whether you are on the client's contractors' all risks policy.
Sources
- Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Act, article 2. In force on 28 October 2026. wetten.overheid.nl
- Ondernemersplein. Business liability insurance. Accessed 28 October 2026. ondernemersplein.overheid.nl
- Bovemij Verzekeringen. Business liability insurance conditions P01B2601, 1 January 2026. bovemij.nl
- Techniek Nederland Verzekeringen. Clauses TN001 Care and custody cover and TN004 Fire-hazardous work. technieknederland.nl
- De Zeeuwse. Construction sector conditions, version DZ-BVB-2601. dezeeuwse.nl
- Dutch Association of Insurers. How can you carry out fire-hazardous work safely? verzekeraars.nl
- Oost-Brabant District Court, 27 August 2025, ECLI:NL:RBOBR:2025:5452 (interim judgment, continued in ECLI:NL:RBOBR:2026:668). rechtspraak.nl
- Dutch Association of Insurers. Information on insuring the risks of construction projects after the introduction of the Wkb. verzekeraars.nl
- UWV. Compulsory insurance. Accessed 28 October 2026. uwv.nl
- KVK. All about disability insurance. Updated 14 July 2026. kvk.nl
- KVK. The compulsory disability insurance for entrepreneurs explained. Updated 21 May 2026. kvk.nl
- Dong, X. S., Choi, S. D., Borchardt, J. G., Wang, X. & Largay, J. A. (2013). Fatal falls from roofs among U.S. construction workers. Journal of Safety Research, 44, 17-24. doi.org
- Collective agreement for Bitumen and Synthetic Roofing Companies (BIKUDAK) 2026-2027, version 6 May 2026. Published by FNV. fnv.nl