Business liability
Pays for food poisoning, guests' burns and damage to venues, provided damage to rented property is included.
Insurance broker / Business types / Hospitality
Insurance for caterers, party services and event catering in Germany
A caterer hardly ever works on home ground: you cook in a production kitchen, drive hot boxes across town and set up the buffet in a castle, a company lobby or a marquee. The expensive claims arise precisely where nothing belongs to you, and food poisoning affects 150 guests at once. This page shows what you must cover and what it costs.
The question almost everyone asks first
Am I covered if I damage something at the venue?
Only if your public liability includes damage to rented and borrowed property. Without that, the hall counts as someone else's property in your care, and many basic tariffs exclude exactly this kind of damage. Scorch marks on parquet from a chafing dish burner, red wine on the carpet in a castle and a dent in the lift while unloading are among the most common catering claims.
What goes wrong in this trade
- 01
Many guests, one mistake
A sauce left lukewarm too long affects dozens of people at a wedding or company party.
- 02
Other people's premises
Parquet, carpets, walls and lifts at venues are expensive. Burners, trolleys and crates of drinks leave marks.
- 03
On the road with food
On the way to the client a load of buffet platters slides, or an accident destroys food and equipment.
- 04
Borrowed equipment
Marquees, tableware, refrigerated trailers and poseur tables are often hired. If they break or disappear, you pay.
- 05
Gas burners and chafing dishes
Open flames on buffet tables, gas cookers in a marquee: small fires and burns happen regularly.
- 06
Last minute cancellation
If the chef falls ill or the kitchen burns, booked events collapse and clients demand compensation.
Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.
The insurance you need
Essential
Car insurance
Motor liability for vans and trailers is compulsory; with several vehicles a fleet policy pays off.
Strongly advised
Business contents
Replaces kitchen, tableware, warming equipment and supplies after fire, water, storm and burglary.
Cargo insurance
Covers food and equipment on the way to the client and at the venue.
Depends on the business
Business interruption
Pays fixed costs and lost profit if the production kitchen is out of action after a fire.
Machinery breakdown
Covers the combi steamer, cold room and dishwashing line against sudden breakdown.
Business legal expenses
For disputes with clients over cancellations, cancellation fees and complaints.
What it costs: example prices
Liability cover for a party service is affordable while turnover is small. With large events, marquees, gas and many staff the premium rises, and vehicles come on top.
| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Business liability | Party service, sole trader, around €50,000 turnover, €3 million cover | about €60 to €220 a year |
| Business liability | Caterer with staff and large events, damage to rented property included | about €300 to €900 a year |
| Business contents | Kitchen, tableware and equipment worth €70,000 | about €250 to €600 a year |
| Cargo insurance | Own trips with food and equipment, annual flat rate | about €150 to €400 a year |
| Car insurance | Refrigerated van up to 3.5 tonnes, liability and fully comprehensive | about €900 to €2,000 a year |
For comparison: Basic cover of public liability and contents insurance costs about as much a year as the buffet for ten wedding guests.
Guide prices as of September 2026, based on published tariff examples and on our own quoting practice. Motor premiums depend heavily on the vehicle and no claims history; we obtain the exact quote for you.
Sources of the price examples
Our suggestions: three packages
01
Starter
For: party service from your own kitchen, small celebrations, one vehicle
- Business liability
- Car insurance
Together about €1,000 to €2,200 a year
Request this package02
Catering
For: caterer with a production kitchen, staff and events at outside venues
- Business liability
- Car insurance
- Business contents
- Cargo insurance
Together about €1,800 to €3,800 a year
Request this package03
All round
For: event catering with marquees, several vehicles and large contracts
- Business liability
- Car insurance
- Business contents
- Cargo insurance
- Business interruption
- Machinery breakdown
- Business legal expenses
Together about €3,500 to €8,000 a year
Request this packageThe worst day in catering
Six claims of the kind caterers really see, all on a single wedding Saturday. Click through the day and see who pays.
Damage so far€77,800
-
Loading up, the van reverses into the neighbouring firm's roller door.
-
On a bend the crates of china and glasses tip over; a third is broken.
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A chafing dish burner leaves a scorch mark on the oak parquet of the castle hall.
-
A waiter knocks over a gas burner and a guest suffers burns to the leg.
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The next day 40 guests report vomiting and diarrhoea. The health authority finds salmonella in the mousse.
-
Back in the production kitchen, the combi steamer fails with a control fault.
Which package would you have had?
Illustrative amounts before any excess. Whether and how much is paid depends on the policy terms.
Practical tips from your broker
- Have damage to rented venues and to borrowed equipment included expressly, with a sufficiently high limit.
- Choose at least €5 million cover if you supply events with more than a hundred guests.
- Record the cold chain and temperatures during transport: it helps in a dispute over food poisoning.
- Insure equipment and food on the road with transit insurance, because contents insurance applies only in the kitchen.
- Check that marquees, gas burners and open flames are described in the policy.
- Check whether your kitchen policy also covers takeaway sales and delivery if you offer them on the side.
Why NAMMERT for your business
We think about the outside venue
As a broker we compare several insurers and look first at the clauses on rented property and property in your care, where catering claims most often fail.
We know how adjusters think
In boat insurance we settle claims ourselves. When forty claims arrive after food poisoning, we know how to put them in order.
Kitchen, vehicles and private cover with us
Public liability, vans, transit cover and your own protection are handled by one contact.
Family business since 1989
Our advice costs you nothing, as the insurer pays our commission. You deal with people who know your business.
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
What insurance does a party service in Germany need?
Public liability that includes damage to rented property matters most, plus motor insurance for the delivery vehicle. With your own kitchen add contents insurance, and with valuable equipment transit insurance.
How much does insurance for a caterer cost?
Public liability for small party services starts at about €60 a year; caterers with staff and large events usually pay €300 to €900. Vehicles come on top.
Am I liable for hired tableware and marquees?
Yes, towards the hire company. Whether your insurer pays depends on whether damage to borrowed property is included; many tariffs set their own limits for it.
Who pays for food poisoning at a party?
Your public liability, if the food was the cause. It pays medical costs, lost earnings and compensation for everyone affected, up to the sum insured.
Are goods insured on the way to the client?
Not by motor insurance. Food and equipment in the vehicle need transit insurance, or cover for carrying your own goods (Werkverkehr).
Are casual event staff insured?
At work through the BGN, the statutory accident insurer for food and hospitality, including students and mini jobbers on single evenings.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Catering
The recommended covers are already ticked. Change what does not fit; we obtain quotes and come back with a comparison. You can write in English.
Thank you, we have your request.
We will be in touch within one working day. If it is urgent: +49 3375 29 12 77.
Related trades
Will my insurer pay if guests fall ill after eating?
Who is liable if a guest is injured at an event: the agency, the client or the venue?
Is motor insurance enough for my food truck?
Official classification
This page covers the following classes of the German WZ 2025 (identical to NACE at four digits):
- 56.21 Event-Caterer
- 56.22 Sonstige Caterer und Erbringung sonstiger Verpflegungsdienstleistungen
Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), WZ 2025. All business types
Boat or yacht? Here we are not the broker but the underwriting agency, with our own policies and our own claims handling.
Boat insuranceNAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act, broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37. For boat and yacht insurance we act as underwriting agency, not as broker. Statutory disclosure (German) · Updated