Liesbeth Vanheertum: "Van Dessel closely monitors everything, I have great confidence in them."

De Rekruut, a popular brasserie on the outskirts of the city of Turnhout, was established by Gust Vanheertum twenty years ago. His daughters Ann and Liesbeth took over the torch in 2016, and are currently running a thriving business that has space for 190 guests. De Rekruut thereby went through a great growth trajectory, but their insurance broker didn’t follow suit, which is why Ann and Liesbeth became Van Dessel customers last year: “Our file is now closely monitored and continuously adapted to our needs. We no longer need to concern ourselves with the insurances. That’s exactly what we wanted, because we are busy enough as it is with the business.”

Liesbeth, how did you join Van Dessel?

“We are a member of HSA, Horeca Samen Aankopen (Horeca Purchasing Together). This network of catering entrepreneurs aims to save time and costs by grouping purchases together. Van Dessel is one of the partners of HSA. Wim Geenen, an account manager at Van Dessel, presented an interesting insurance solution for the catering sector at the previous New Year’s conference. As we were already unhappy with our broker at that time, we spoke to Wim afterwards. He convinced us to have our insurance file reviewed, and that’s how the ball started rolling.”

Why were you no longer satisfied with the service you received from your broker?

“We were mainly missing the follow-up of our case. Within just a few years, we increased our number of employees from 10 to 35, and our family situation also changed completely. Yet our broker never adjusted our insurances. We therefore had this nagging doubt: were we still sufficiently insured if anything should happen? This was therefore also our main request to Van Dessel: to provide a water-tight insurance for our business and for our private situation.”

How did the take-over of your insurance file work out?

“It actually went really smoothly. The only thing we had to do was to sign a document, scan it in and forward it. Van Dessel came by to collect our file later, in order to analyse it in detail. They then presented us - on a silver platter - with the policies that had to be transferred, the additional insurance policies that should best be taken out and the contracts that could be cancelled. Everything was done in close consultation. So we had the feeling that we didn’t have much additional work, but we were still perfectly informed.”

What do you see as the major benefits of a hospitality business insurance with Van Dessel?

“Certainly the good monitoring. As mentioned before, this is very important for us. Fortunately, we haven’t had much to claim on our insurances yet, but the claims that we have made were immediately addressed. Our account manager arranged virtually everything. I think that’s a blessing, because we’re already so busy with the business.

Having peace of mind is also nice: I’m at least sure now that we are properly protected. Van Dessel deals with everything: from the smallest item to the large stove. We never thought about insuring our multimedia or music system, for example. And our private risks are now also properly covered. VD Horeca Solutions is truly an A-to-Z package, completely tailored to our situation. In addition, I’m very happy with the support in the financial area. We were given a clear overview of the policies and the costs and savings on an annual basis. We previously never had a clear view of this, although insurance policies absorb quite a bit of money. In summary, I can say the following: I have plenty of confidence in Van Dessel, and can sleep soundly at night!”

Thank you for sharing your experience, Liesbeth!