‘It was the powers of persuasion of one of your account managers that won us over in the mid-1990s,’ laughs Michel Delbaere. The CEO of Crop’s (a fast-growing food chain specialising in the production and sale of frozen vegetables, fruit and meals) can still depend on the service of the same team today. ‘This continuity and stability in people is very important. It enables us to know what we can expect from each other.’
The growth of Crop’s has coincided with the expansion of the insurance team at Vanbreda: today Crop’s is insured for property, fleet, occupational accidents, employee benefits, marine and credit insurance. ‘Vanbreda’s strong presence in the insurance market ensures a thorough knowledge of the sector and good contacts with all insurers.’
Since Crop’s was founded in 1977, the company has developed into an international player with branches in Costa Rica, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Serbia. ‘Five of the eight locations are insured through Vanbreda.’
Just like Vanbreda, Crop’s is a family business. ‘This familial grounding ensures stability in policy and governance,’ believes Delbaere. ‘It means you’re not suddenly confronted with surprises resulting from changes in management.’
As ex-president of the Flanders’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Michel Delbaere comes into contact with the cream of the Belgian business world. ‘Whenever the topic of insurance is discussed, the name of Vanbreda often comes up. You could say that Vanbreda Risk & Benefits is part of the industrial fabric of Flanders.’
S’Jegers Transport has relied on Vanbreda Risk & Benefits for the management of its risk insurance for many years. What began as an ordinary client relationship has grown into a collaboration in which a professional mindset is held in common: forward thinking, sustainable growth and making choices with an eye to the long term.
Multi Masters Group offers a wide range of facility services to companies and organizations throughout Belgium. Thanks to their total solutions – from cleaning and technical maintenance to security, safety, mobility, and catering – clients can fully focus on their core activities.
In 2024, Vanbreda Risk & Benefits, Belgium’s largest insurance broker, recorded one new cyber incident at Belgian businesses every week. This represents an increase on the previous year of no less than 64%. Although most of these incidents cost no more than 20,000 euros, 4% of businesses lost more than 1 million euros due to downtime. These figures show that cyber attacks are a growing risk for businesses, and the food industry is no exception.
Cyber attacks are hitting Belgian businesses harder than ever: Vanbreda Risk & Benefits, the country’s largest insurance broker, recorded one new cyber incident every week last year. That represents an increase of 64% on 2023. Although three-quarters of these incidents cost no more than 20,000 euros, 4% of businesses lost more than 1 million euros. Despite this, many businesses in Belgium continue to underestimate the risks. The new European legislation* designed to boost businesses’ resilience to cyber attacks should change this situation in 2025.
