Schadeclaim van een klant: wie betaalt de kosten nu?

One clumsy move. And suddenly, it’s no longer about your work.

You turn around to grab something. The tripod tips over. You miss it. And a fraction of a second later, a crack runs through a monumental mirror in your client’s home. Not because you were reckless. Not because you don’t take your work seriously. Just because you work in real spaces, with real objects, and sometimes in unpredictable situations.

Or you’re working on an interior design project. You move a sample, accidentally bump into an object, and suddenly the conversation shifts. It’s no longer about atmosphere, layout, or material choices. But about damage. And above all: who’s going to pay for this?

Moments like these often feel bigger than the amount of money involved. Because it’s not just about money. It’s about trust. About professionalism. About your reputation.

And about the question that virtually every creative entrepreneur asks themselves at such a moment: Am I liable for this? Damage does not automatically mean liability. That’s the most important thing to know right away. Just because damage occurs doesn’t automatically mean you have to foot the bill.

You can be present when something happens without being legally liable. Conversely, damage can also result from your actions, your equipment, an employee, or a contractor, in which case liability does indeed apply.

So the question isn’t just whether there’s damage. The main question is: who is legally responsible?

When are you liable?

In the Netherlands, liability is usually assessed based on the rules governing torts.

Simply put: if someone suffers damage as a result of your actions or omissions, you may be required to compensate them for that damage. The legal basis for this is found in Article 6:162 of the Civil Code.

For creative self-employed professionals, this becomes surprisingly concrete.

Consider situations in which:

• you damage a client’s property during a photo shoot;

• a cable from your equipment causes someone to trip;

• an object you placed falls over;

• your work later causes damage to something else.

At that point, it’s no longer about feelings of guilt. It’s about the facts. What exactly happened? What agreements were in place? Could the damage have been prevented? And is the damage sufficiently documented?

Only then does the next question come into play: Is this damage covered by your insurance?

What happens without insurance?

Without insurance, you’re on your own

If there’s no insurance, the entire case lands on your desk. You request photos and supporting documents. You assess the damage. You’ll review your order confirmation, terms and conditions, and any agreements made. And if a customer continues to insist that you’re responsible, you’ll have to decide for yourself what the next step should be.

Pay up? Negotiate? Or seek legal advice?

That sounds straightforward—until you realize that a damage claim rarely stops at the first amount mentioned.

A broken mirror costing €3,200 is annoying enough. But some situations escalate further. Consider someone who trips over your equipment and is temporarily unable to work. Or a store that loses revenue because an installation causes damage and is temporarily out of service. Then it’s no longer just about a damaged object. It’s about liability with potentially much greater financial consequences.

What many business owners underestimate is that it’s not just the damage that costs money. Figuring out liability also takes time, energy, and sometimes legal assistance. And without liability insurance, you usually end up paying those costs yourself.

The financial impact is one thing. The mental strain is often just as great.

Because on top of your ongoing projects, deadlines, and clients, you suddenly have a new issue on your hands that demands attention, discussion, and creates uncertainty.

Creative entrepreneurship already comes with enough risks and uncertainties.

A damage claim without a safety net adds yet another layer of uncertainty—both professionally and personally.

What does a business liability insurance policy cover in the event of property damage?

A general liability insurance policy (AVB) is intended to cover damage to other people and their property that arises from your work.

At Oddny, this is covered under the liability insurance for creative freelancers. The standard coverage is €2,500,000 per claim and €5,000,000 per insurance year, with coverage throughout Europe. For many creative freelancers, the premium starts at €9.63 per month.

If a covered claim arises, the insurer considers three things.

What happened? Are you liable? And what is the amount involved?

After that, the insurer can compensate for the damage and provide legal assistance when necessary. The latter is no small matter. Sometimes the client is genuinely upset, but their claim isn’t entirely legally sound. Sometimes the damage is real, but the amount claimed is too high. Sometimes a third party is involved.

A general liability insurance policy helps you avoid reacting out of panic in such situations.

It doesn’t make you any less responsible. It helps you handle your responsibility professionally.

When is damage not covered by a general liability insurance policy?

No insurance policy covers everything.

A professional liability insurance policy usually does not cover work that you have to redo because the result is unsatisfactory. If a client rejects your design, doesn’t like your photos, or feels that your advice wasn’t good enough, that is not considered ordinary business damage.

Intentional acts are also excluded, as is damage caused by motor vehicles or aircraft. Different requirements—and sometimes different insurance policies—apply to cars, buses, or drones.

An important consideration for creative professionals is custody. This refers to items belonging to someone else that you have in your care, rent, borrow, or are working on. Examples include borrowed clothing for a photo shoot, client products for product shots, rented props, or an object you’re temporarily working on.

If such an item is damaged, it isn’t always automatically covered. The difference lies in your relationship to the object. A mirror that just happens to be hanging in the room is different from a work of art that you’re holding for the shoot.

That’s why it’s a good idea to ask before the assignment: Which of the client’s items will be temporarily under my responsibility?

What about “work-related” damage?

The term “damage on the job” sounds like it only applies to employees. For self-employed professionals, it’s broader: damage that occurs while you’re working.

If you’re working at a client’s home, in an office, gallery, studio, store, or event venue, you’re in an environment that doesn’t belong to you. You don’t always know how fragile a floor is. You don’t know every walking route. You don’t know if a piece of furniture is loose, a wall has just been painted, or a cable tray is half-open.

That’s why claims often arise not from major mistakes, but from ordinary movements.

A bag is set down. A lamp is moved. A ladder is bumped. A sample falls off the table.

For the Tax Authority and the Chamber of Commerce, the distinction between private and business entrepreneurship is often already important; a similar principle applies to liability. Context matters: Did this happen while you were working, for a client, with your equipment, or under your responsibility? The Chamber of Commerce explains the basics of business risk and liability for self-employed professionals.

What should you do if a client files a claim for damages?

Don’t respond to the substance of the claim out of panic.

First, send a brief acknowledgment of receipt. State that you take the report seriously and will carefully review the situation. Do not yet admit liability or promise payment.

Then gather information: photos, date and time, who was present, what your assignment was, which items belonged to you and which to the client, whether there was a contract, if there are any witnesses, and if there’s a repair estimate.

If you have general liability insurance, report the damage to your insurer promptly. Don’t wait until the conversation with the client has reached an impasse. Reporting it early helps keep the tone calm.

A good way to phrase it is:

“I’m sorry this happened. I’ll report the situation to my insurer and get back to you as soon as the facts and coverage have been reviewed.”

That’s a human response without leaving yourself open to criticism.

How do you prevent a single claim from dictating everything?

You can’t prevent every incident. That’s not the goal.

However, you can organize your work in a way that makes it less likely for a claim to get out of hand. Take photos of vulnerable areas in advance. Ask which items should not be moved. Secure cables. Include agreements regarding client materials in your order confirmation.

And review your general liability insurance policy before anything happens, not after.

Damage to your client’s work or property affects more than just money. It affects your ability to continue working, your client’s trust, and the sense that your profession is safe enough to continue practicing.

Good liability insurance for self-employed professionals won’t eliminate that discomfort. But it does ensure that you’re not on your own.