Insurance and liability

Who carries which risk when you hand over your car

Including what is not covered

Monarch Drive is a sole proprietorship without its own fleet: I drive your car, or your client's car. That places cover differently than at a haulier with a truck, and those differences are worth knowing beforehand. Below is who is responsible for what, per situation. Everything here is also in the transport agreement we sign together before every assignment.

This is a translation for convenience. The Dutch text and the signed Overeenkomst van Vervoer are the versions that apply.

1. Chauffeur services for motor trade businesses

I drive as a driver authorised by you. The car stays under your garage policy and its cover for customers' vehicles, exactly as when your own employee moves it.
Before the first trip I ask you to confirm that your policy insures an engaged third party as driver. If it does not, I do not drive until that is arranged. A day's delay beats an uninsured kilometre.
If damage occurs through my doing, I cover the excess myself up to € 500 per event.

2. Chauffeur services for private clients

You remain the owner and the policyholder; I drive your own car with your permission. Third-party cover follows the registration, comprehensive cover is yours.
Your insurance details are recorded in the agreement, not in a conversation. The transport agreement you sign before departure has three fields: the type of cover on your policy, the excess, and whether your policy permits the car to be driven by someone engaged to do so for payment. That third field is not a formality. Insurers indicate that a clause about paid transport is usually aimed at taxi and courier use, not at having your own car driven by a driver you engage for the purpose. Your permission as the owner is simply not the same thing as cover from your insurer, and policies differ. That is why I ask you to have it confirmed: then we sort it out before departure rather than after.
Damage through my doing: I cover the excess myself up to € 500 per event.
If you lose no-claim years because of damage caused by me, I reimburse that loss up to € 1,500. One claim can raise your premium for years, and that is a cost you would otherwise carry while the mistake was mine. The calculation and the cap are set out in the agreement beforehand.

3. Drive-it-Back: vehicle transport by road

Your car travels under your own insurance. I notify the trip in writing beforehand, with route and dates, and I ask you to have that notification confirmed by your insurer before I accept the assignment. That puts it on paper that your cover continues, so you know where you stand beforehand rather than afterwards.
During the trip I am the custodian of your car. Damage through my doing: I cover the excess myself up to € 500 per event. If the car is comprehensively insured, that cover does the rest. If it only carries third-party cover, it does not: above that € 500 there is then no cover for damage to your own car. That is why I only carry out Drive-it-Back in a comprehensively insured car. If your car carries third-party cover only, I do not accept the assignment. That costs me work, and it is a deliberate choice: above that € 500 there would be nothing, leaving me with a bill I cannot carry and you with a car that is not paid for. Better a no beforehand than that conversation afterwards.
Here too: if you lose no-claim years because of damage caused by me, I reimburse that loss up to € 1,500. The calculation and the cap are set out in the transport agreement beforehand.
In the transport agreement you record that you and your insurer will not seek recourse against me, barring intent or deliberate recklessness. Discuss that clause with your insurer; we only sign after you have done so.
I currently do not hold a garage policy covering customers' vehicles. I state this because you ought to know it, rather than discover it when damage occurs. I am actively looking for cover, but I promise nothing: several insurers and brokers say that cover for customers' vehicles is designed for work carried out at a business, not for professionally driving a client's car over long distances. If cover is arranged, it will be stated here. Until then the division above applies, in writing.

4. Luggage and personal belongings in the car

You may load the car with your own luggage and household goods. On a trailer or truck that is usually not allowed; with me it is, because the car simply drives. If you are moving or have a second home, that saves a separate shipment.
The contents travel at your expense and risk. My liability and the € 500 excess concern the vehicle, not what is inside it. Leave valuables, cash and important documents at home, or carry them yourself.
Practical: stay within the car's permitted load, keep the rear view and mirrors clear, and secure the load. I drive with the car locked and stay overnight only in enclosed or guarded parking. What you send along, we note together on the inspection form.

5. What I do provide instead of a policy

A 360° inspection with photo documentation at departure and arrival, signed by both of us: existing damage, mileage, fuel level, condition of the interior.
A copy of my ID and Chamber of Commerce extract beforehand. You know who is driving away.
One fixed driver per car. On a normal assignment I drive myself. Only for large or business assignments requiring several drivers at once do I bring in people I select and brief myself, agreed with you beforehand. You always know who is driving your car; never an unknown stand-in on the day. Beyond that: a daily update en route, live location on request, and overnight stops only in enclosed or guarded parking.

6. If something does happen

I report it within 24 hours, in writing and with photos, including when it counts against me. For damage to third parties I complete a European accident statement on the spot.
Dutch law applies to every assignment. If we cannot resolve it together, the Midden-Nederland district court has jurisdiction. If you are a consumer, you may within one month after I invoke that choice still opt for the court that has jurisdiction by law.

Have a question that is not answered here?

Ask it, including the awkward ones. A client who knows exactly where they stand beforehand is the client with whom nothing goes wrong afterwards.

This sheet as a PDF ↓

The same text on one page, to keep or forward to your insurer. It is attached to every quote as standard.

Version 1.8 — 9 September 2026. This sheet is a readable summary. Where it differs from the signed transport agreement, that agreement prevails. Amounts exclude VAT.