Insurance for car repair garages and vehicle workshops in Germany
Every day your garage holds cars worth several hundred thousand euros that do not belong to you. A test drive on red trade plates, a fire in the workshop, a forgotten wheel nut: ordinary public liability insurance does not cover exactly these cases. This page explains what a garage really needs and what it costs.
Are my customers' cars insured while they are in my workshop?
Not under ordinary public liability, because things in your care are excluded there. For this there is motor trade insurance with garage risk cover (Kfz-Handel- und Handwerksversicherung): it covers customers' vehicles against fire, theft, storm and damage on your premises and during test drives. Without this policy, in the worst case nobody pays for the customers' cars after a workshop fire.
What goes wrong in this trade
01
Customers' vehicles in your care
A fire, a break-in or a hailstorm in the yard hits cars that do not belong to you. Several vehicles at once quickly add up to six figures.
02
Test drives
An accident happens on a test drive with red trade plates. Without the right insurance, you pay for the damage to the customer's car yourself.
03
Faulty repairs
Wheel nuts not tightened, brakes fitted wrongly, oil forgotten: follow-on accidents and engine damage come after collection.
04
Lifts and machines
Vehicle lifts, diagnostic equipment and wheel alignment systems are expensive and essential for the business.
05
Waste oil and fuels
Leaking tanks, waste oil and battery acid contaminate soil and sewers; the authority orders the cleanup.
06
Diagnostic data
Workshop software, customer data and online access to manufacturer portals are a target for attackers.
Pays for injury and property damage inside and outside the workshop, with motor trade supplementary liability for consequential damage from faulty repairs and environmental risks.
Business legal expenses cover for disputes over repair invoices, warranty and damage assessments.
What it costs: example prices
A car repair garage needs two core policies: public liability and motor trade insurance. The premium for the second depends on the number of trade plates, vehicles in stock and the value of customers' vehicles in your care at the same time.
Insurance
Example
Typical range
Business liability
€100,000 turnover, €3 million cover, €1,000 excess
about €410 to €900 a year
Fleet insurance
Motor trade insurance, small garage with one red trade plate, entry tariff
about €190 to €600 a year
Fleet insurance
Garage with garage risk cover for up to ten customers' vehicles and comprehensive cover
about €1,200 to €3,500 a year
Business contents
Tools, parts stock and fittings worth €100,000
about €350 to €900 a year
Machinery breakdown
Vehicle lifts, tyre and alignment equipment worth €80,000
about €400 to €1,000 a year
For comparison: Liability and motor trade insurance for a small garage cost roughly as much per year as four to five services on a compact car.
Guide prices excluding German insurance premium tax, as of September 2026.
The entry prices for liability and motor trade insurance come from published tariff information
(from €34.10 and from €16.09 a month); the other ranges are guide values from our quoting practice.
Six claims as car repair garages really experience them, all on a single Friday. Go through the day and see who pays.
Damage so far€221,500
Overnight, two customers' cars in the yard were broken into and their navigation units removed.
€6,800 · Paid by: Fleet insurance
A customer reports that a wheel came off on the motorway after a tyre change. Accident involving two vehicles.
€24,000 · Paid by: Business liability
On a test drive with red trade plates, a mechanic runs into the car in front. Both cars are damaged.
€9,500 · Paid by: Fleet insurance
The vehicle lift lowers because of a hydraulic fault. The lift is broken and the car on it damaged.
€14,000 · Paid by: Machinery breakdown
The diagnostic device for driver assistance systems fails after a power surge.
€7,200 · Paid by: Electronic equipment
A short circuit in an electric car in the workshop starts a fire. Three customers' vehicles and the workshop fittings are destroyed.
€160,000 · Paid by: Fleet insurance
Which package would you have had?
Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €221,500
Illustrative amounts before any excess.
What is paid depends on the policy terms.
Practical tips from your broker
Take out motor trade insurance with garage risk cover; only that covers customers' vehicles in your care.
Look for motor trade supplementary liability: it pays for consequential damage from faulty repairs, which public liability often excludes.
Set the maximum sum for customers' vehicles so that a full yard of expensive cars is covered.
Name work on electric and hybrid vehicles expressly; the fire risk and values are higher.
Environmental liability and environmental damage insurance belong in the package if you store waste oil, fuels and batteries.
Check whether test drives by customers and pick-up and delivery services are covered.
Why NAMMERT for your business
We know the garage gap
Between public liability and motor insurance, it is often precisely the customers' cars that are missing. We compare several insurers and close this gap.
Vehicle damage is our daily work
As an underwriting agent we handle claims on boats, engines and trailers ourselves. We speak the language of surveyors and workshops.
One contact person
Workshop, red trade plates, your own vehicles and your private provision are handled together.
Free for you since 1989
The insurer pays our remuneration. You work with a family business that will still be there for you.
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
What insurance does a car repair garage need?
At least public liability and motor trade insurance.
Add contents, machinery and electronics insurance for lifts and diagnostic equipment.
What is motor trade insurance?
In German it is called Kfz-Handel- und Handwerksversicherung:
a combined policy for garages and dealers.
It covers red trade plates, test and transfer drives, your own vehicles and,
under the garage risk, your customers' vehicles.
How much does insurance cost for a garage?
Published figures show public liability from around €410 a year and motor trade insurance from
around €190.
With garage risk cover for several customers' vehicles,
it is usually €1,200 to €3,500 in our experience.
Who pays if a wheel comes off after my repair?
Public liability with motor trade supplementary liability pays for the consequential damage to
other vehicles and people.
Redoing your own work remains a warranty matter.
Do I need separate insurance for red trade plates?
Yes, red trade plates are only issued with proof of motor liability cover.
It is usually part of motor trade insurance.
Are electric cars a particular risk in the workshop?
Yes, because of the fire risk from damaged batteries and the high vehicle values.
Name work on high-voltage systems and agree the parking rules with the insurer.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Car repair garage
The recommended covers are ticked.
Change what does not fit; we compare quotes, in English.
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