Insurance for 3D printing services and additive manufacturing in Germany
A printed spare part breaks in a client's machine, a powder fire stops the laser sintering system, a client's CAD file ends up online. 3D printing services and additive manufacturing businesses count as manufacturers under the German Product Liability Act, often for parts whose final use they do not even know. This page explains what should be insured in Germany and what it costs.
I only print from client files. Am I still liable?
Often, yes. Whoever makes a part is a manufacturer under § 4 ProdHaftG, including of a component. Defects in material, print parameters or finishing are yours. If the fault lies in the client's design, that can relieve you, but it has to be established first. Public liability with extended product liability pays to defend unjustified claims in the meantime.
What goes wrong in this trade
01
Part fails at the client
A printed bracket breaks, a machine stops; removal, replacement and downtime cost the client many times the price of the part.
02
Unknown end use
A prototype is fitted, without telling you, into series production or safety relevant parts, for example in vehicles or medical devices.
03
Powder and heat
Metal and plastic powders, lasers and heated beds bring fire and dust explosion risks into the workshop.
04
Machinery breakdown
Faulty optics, an operating error or a power surge stops a machine worth six figures.
05
Client data
Unpublished designs and CAD files are trade secrets. A leak can trigger contractual penalties and claims.
06
Shipping
Delicate parts break in transit and the client's deadline is missed.
For parts on the way to clients and to trade fairs.
What it costs: example prices
The premium depends on turnover, the industries you supply and the printing processes. Plastic parts for models and design are cheap to insure, metal parts for vehicles or medical devices much more expensive.
Insurance
Example
Typical range
Business liability
Small plastic print service, turnover up to 250,000 euros, 5 million euros cover
around 400 to 1,000 euros a year
Business liability
Industrial metal printing for machine builders, turnover 2 million euros
around 3,000 to 9,000 euros a year
Machinery breakdown
Laser sintering system worth 250,000 euros
around 1,500 to 3,500 euros a year
Electronic equipment
Twenty plastic printers, scanners and computers worth 60,000 euros
around 400 to 900 euros a year
Business contents
Equipment and material worth 150,000 euros
around 400 to 1,000 euros a year
Cyber insurance
Business with ten workstations and a client portal
around 600 to 1,600 euros a year
For comparison: Product liability for a small print service costs about as much a year as one spool of specialist filament a month.
Guide figures from our quoting experience, excluding German insurance premium tax,
as of October 2026.
The sources confirm the legal rules mentioned; we obtain your premium based on processes,
Six things that really happen in additive manufacturing, all on one Friday. Step through the day and see who pays.
Damage so far€192,000
A printed gripper jaw breaks in a client's packaging line. Removal, replacement and one shift of downtime.
€28,000 · Paid by: Business liability
Metal powder ignites while the build chamber is being emptied. The system is damaged.
€60,000 · Paid by: Machinery breakdown
Soot and extinguishing powder in the workshop: cleaning, material and stock have to be replaced.
€35,000 · Paid by: Business contents
Three weeks without the laser sintering system: orders have to be passed to other suppliers.
€40,000 · Paid by: Business interruption
Ransomware encrypts the file server holding several clients' designs.
€25,000 · Paid by: Cyber insurance
A box of delicate prototypes arrives broken at the client's trade fair stand.
€4,000 · Paid by: Cargo insurance
Which package would you have had?
Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €192,000
Illustrative amounts before any excess.
What is paid depends on the policy terms.
Practical tips from your broker
Ask about the end use and record it in the order; safety relevant parts must be declared to the insurer.
Look for extended product liability with removal and installation costs and combination and mixing damage; without it a policy often pays little for industrial clients.
Check deliveries to the USA and Canada; many policies exclude or limit these countries.
Declare powder storage, extraction and fire protection openly, or you risk disputes and reductions after a fire.
Insure industrial systems against machinery breakdown at replacement value; spare parts and service are expensive.
Agree liability in writing with your clients, especially who is responsible for the design.
Why NAMMERT for your business
Product liability in detail
Norman Nammert, as an independent insurance broker, compares the building blocks of extended product liability that make the difference for 3D printing.
Machine, premises and data together
We align machinery, contents, business interruption and cyber cover so that no gap is left between policies.
Free of charge
We have arranged insurance since 1989. The insurer pays our commission, not your business.
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
Am I a manufacturer as a 3D printing service?
Usually yes.
Under § 4 ProdHaftG a manufacturer is anyone who has made an end product,
a raw material or a component.
That applies even if you print from client data.
Am I liable even without fault?
Under § 1 ProdHaftG yes, for injury and damage to privately used property caused by a product
defect.
For property damage the injured party bears the first 500 euros under § 11.
Does the Product Liability Act cover damage at business clients?
No, it does not cover damage to property used for business or financial losses.
You are liable for those under contract and tort, and that needs extended product liability cover.
What does liability cover for a 3D printing service cost?
For small plastic printing businesses around 400 to 1,000 euros a year,
for metal printing with industrial clients more like 3,000 to 9,000 euros.
These are guide figures from our quoting experience.
Is a powder fire covered?
Through contents and machinery insurance, if the risk was declared correctly.
Business interruption insurance covers the downtime that follows.
Is there a cap on product liability?
For injuries caused by the same defective product,
§ 10 ProdHaftG caps liability at 85 million euros.
Claims under contract and tort are separate.
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