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Insurance for CNC machining, turning and subcontract manufacturing in Germany

A machining centre costs as much as a house, and one spindle crash can put it out of action for weeks. Your parts also end up in other companies' machines, vehicles and plants, so a tolerance error in a batch gets expensive there, not in your shop. Here is how CNC machining, turning and subcontract manufacturing businesses in Germany protect themselves and what it roughly costs.

Insurance for CNC machining businesses

The question almost everyone asks first

Is it covered if my operator crashes the spindle into the workpiece?

Yes, that is the classic case for machinery breakdown insurance. It pays repair or replacement after operator error, clumsiness or short circuit, less your excess. Contents insurance alone does not cover this; it mainly pays for fire, water, storm and burglary.

What goes wrong in this trade

  1. 01

    Machine crash

    Wrong zero point, a forgotten tool or a program error and the spindle collides. Repair and downtime quickly cost five figures.

  2. 02

    Tolerance error in a batch

    A hole pattern is a tenth of a millimetre out and the customer only notices during assembly. Then it is about sorting, rework and line stoppages.

  3. 03

    Chips and coolant

    Oily chips, oil mist and extraction units are typical fire starters, especially with magnesium and titanium.

  4. 04

    Customer material

    Many subcontractors machine expensive stock or castings supplied by the customer. Scrap it and the customer wants it replaced.

  5. 05

    Data and programs

    CAM files, drawings and machine programs sit on your network. Ransomware stops production just like a fire.

  6. 06

    Hands near the machine

    Cuts, crush injuries and metal splinters in the eye are among the most common accidents in machining.

Risk radar
Liability 4Fire and water 5Theft 3Cyber 3Downtime 5Health 4

Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.

The insurance you need

Essential

Business liability

With extended product liability for removal and refitting, inspection and sorting costs, and processing damage to supplied material.

Machinery breakdown

Pays after collisions, operator error and short circuits on machining centres, lathes and measuring machines.

Business contents

Replaces machines, tools, fixtures and stock after fire, water, storm and burglary.

Strongly advised

Business interruption

Covers lost profit and fixed costs while production stands after fire or breakdown, ideally linked to the machinery and contents policies.

Cyber insurance

If CAM stations, machines and ERP are networked, an attack halts production.

Depends on the business

What it costs: example prices

Machine values, turnover, customer industries and fire protection decide the premium. Supplying the car or medical device industry makes product liability dearer than tool making or one off parts.

InsuranceExampleTypical range
Business liabilitySmall job shop, turnover up to €400,000, €3 million limitabout €600 to €1,500 a year
Business liabilitySupplier with 20 staff, extended product liabilityabout €3,000 to €8,000 a year
Machinery breakdownThree machining centres worth €900,000 in total, €2,500 excessabout €2,500 to €6,000 a year
Business contentsMachines, tools and stock worth €1.2 millionabout €1,200 to €3,000 a year
Cyber insuranceSmall business, €250,000 sum insuredabout €700 to €1,800 a year

For comparison: Machinery breakdown cover for one machining centre costs about as much a year as a good set of vices and clamps.

Guide figures from our own quoting work, excluding German insurance premium tax, October 2026.

We obtain the exact premium from several insurers.

The sources below support the legal statements.

Sources of the price examples

Our suggestions: three packages

01

Workshop

For: Small turning or milling shop with two to four machines

  • Business liability
  • Business contents
  • Machinery breakdown

Together about €2,500 to €6,500 a year

Request this package

02

Subcontractor

For: Batch production for industrial customers, several shifts

  • Business liability
  • Business contents
  • Machinery breakdown
  • Business interruption
  • Cyber insurance

Together about €8,000 to €20,000 a year

Request this package

03

Supplier with own hall

For: Machining for automotive or medical technology, own building

  • Business liability
  • Business contents
  • Machinery breakdown
  • Business interruption
  • Cyber insurance
  • Commercial buildings
  • Group accident insurance

Together individual, usually from about €20,000 a year

Request this package

The worst day in a CNC shop

Six losses that happen in turning and milling shops, packed into one Tuesday. Tap through and see who pays.

Damage so far€411,000
  1. After a tool change the five axis spindle drives into the fixture.

    €38,000 · Paid by: Machinery breakdown

  2. The customer reports 8,000 flanges with offset holes: sorting and replacement at his plant.

    €46,000 · Paid by: Business liability

  3. A titanium block supplied for an aerospace part is machined wrongly.

    €9,000 · Paid by: Business liability

  4. Ransomware locks the CAM stations and order data.

    €28,000 · Paid by: Cyber insurance

  5. Oily chips in the extraction catch fire, damaging two machines and the tool store.

    €180,000 · Paid by: Business contents

  6. Production stops for six weeks while wages and leases keep running.

    €110,000 · Paid by: Business interruption

Which package would you have had?

Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €411,000

Illustrative amounts before any excess.

What is paid depends on the policy terms.

Practical tips from your broker

  1. Insure machines at replacement value and update the list whenever a new one arrives.
  2. Include processing damage to customer supplied material in your liability policy.
  3. If you produce in batches, add extended product liability with removal and refitting costs.
  4. A higher excess on machinery cover cuts the premium noticeably; many shops pay small losses themselves anyway.
  5. Back up CAM data and programs daily, separate from the network; it helps after an attack and the cyber proposal asks about it.
  6. Set the indemnity period for lost income by the delivery time of your most important machine.

Why NAMMERT for your business

Machines and liability in one view

Breakdown, lost income and product liability interlock. We align the parts and compare several insurers.

Claims experience of our own

In boat insurance we handle claims ourselves and know which documents are needed after a machinery loss.

Independent broker

Cover is arranged by Norman Nammert as an insurance broker, not tied to any insurer, and explained in English.

Family business since 1989

Our work is free for you; the insurer pays our commission.

Frequently asked questions

Questions and answers

What insurance does a CNC machining business in Germany need?

Business liability with extended product liability, machinery breakdown and contents insurance.

Often also business interruption and cyber cover.

What does insurance for a small turning shop cost?

For liability, contents and machinery small shops usually pay about €2,500 to €6,500 a year.

That is a guide figure from our quoting work.

Is a machine crash covered?

Under machinery breakdown insurance yes, including operator error.

Without it you usually pay the repair yourself.

Am I liable for my customer's follow on costs?

Under the Product Liability Act you are liable for injury and property damage caused by defective

parts.

For the customer's sorting, removal and refitting costs you need extended product liability.

Do I need a master craftsman to run a CNC shop?

As a precision mechanics craft business yes, because the trade is in Annex A of the Crafts Code.

Industrial firms belong to the chamber of industry and commerce instead.

Is material supplied by my customers insured?

Against fire and burglary under contents insurance if third party property is included.

For mistakes during machining you need processing damage in your liability policy.

NAMMERT insurance broker

Request quotes for CNC machining

The recommended covers are ticked.

Change what does not fit; we compare quotes, in English.

1Who is it for?
2Which insurance?

Choose as many as you like. For each one, the details an insurer needs for a quote appear below.

Personal

Business

3Details

Business liability insurance in Germany (Betriebshaftpflicht)

For example electrical installation in homes, café with outdoor seating, online shop for furniture

For example work at clients' sites, own products, exports to the US, parent company abroad

Business contents insurance in Germany (Inhaltsversicherung)

For example café with bakery, accounting firm, car repair shop

At purchase price, 0 if no stock

For example flood cover, customer property, tools in vehicles, loss of income

Business interruption insurance in Germany (Betriebsunterbrechungsversicherung)

For example metalworking with eight staff, restaurant, dental practice

Turnover minus materials and goods purchased, your tax adviser will know

For example key machinery, flood, long delivery times

Machinery breakdown insurance in Germany

Today's price for equivalent new machines including freight and installation

For example machine list, leasing, security measures, previous claims

Cyber insurance for businesses in Germany

Rule of thumb: cost of three to four weeks of downtime plus recovery

4Your current policy
5How can we reach you?

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I only print from client files. Am I still liable?

Boat or yacht? NAMMERT has its own cover concepts for boats, arranged by the same broker.

Boat insurance

Your broker: Norman Nammert, trading as NAMMERT.

Insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act.

Broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37.

NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH is a separate company.

It does not arrange your contract.

Statutory disclosure (German) · Updated