Voorschot

Advance payment

An advance payment ('voorschot') is a partial, anticipatory payment a liable party or its insurer makes to the injured party before the full extent of the damage is definitively established. In injury practice the advance is central, as it can take years before all heads of damage — such as future income loss, medical costs and pain and suffering — are fully mapped out. A legal basis for claiming an advance is in Article 6:83 BW (default) and Article 223 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Rv), which allows the court to grant an interim measure in the form of an advance during ongoing proceedings.

Features and variants

Practical consequences

An advance is set off against the final compensation. If the victim receives more advance than the definitively established damage, the excess must in principle be repaid. It is therefore wise to record advance arrangements in writing and specify which heads of damage the advance relates to.