Insurance for electronics manufacturers and electrical engineering firms in Germany
A cold solder joint, a wrongly placed component, a software bug in the controller: in electronics the fault is tiny and the damage is large, because your assemblies sit inside other people's machines, vehicles and medical devices. Add expensive placement lines and sensitive stock. This page shows what to insure in Germany.
That depends on the policy. Many older product liability policies only have hardware in mind. The new EU Product Liability Directive, which must be transposed into German law by December 2026, expressly counts software as a product. Get written confirmation that damage caused by firmware and software in your devices is included.
What goes wrong in this trade
01
A fault in the series
A wrong reel in the pick and place machine or a faulty soldering process affects thousands of assemblies before testing catches it.
02
A fire caused by your product
A power supply overheats, a battery swells: fire damage at the end customer is the most expensive product liability case in the sector.
03
Power surges in production
Lightning or grid fluctuations destroy placement machines, reflow ovens and test systems.
04
Attacks on data and devices
Design data, firmware and update servers are targets for attackers. A manipulated update can disable devices at the customer's site.
05
Valuable components in stock
Chips and modules are small, expensive and easy to sell. Theft and supply shortages hit at the same time.
06
Static and humidity
Wrong storage or water damage in the clean room makes whole batches unusable.
With extended product liability for removal and refitting, further processing and software, because your assemblies are built into other people's devices.
Protects management against allegations about product safety, export control or compliance.
What it costs: example prices
Premiums depend heavily on where your products are used. Assemblies for household appliances are cheaper to insure than those for cars, aviation or medical technology.
Insurance
Example
Typical range
Business liability
Small PCB assembler or electrical engineering firm, up to €500,000 turnover
around €400 to €1,500 a year
Business liability
Electronics manufacturer with 40 staff, extended product liability, industrial customers
around €4,000 to €12,000 a year
Electronic equipment
Placement line and test equipment with a new value of €500,000
around €2,500 to €6,000 a year
Business contents
Components and fittings worth €1 million
around €1,200 to €3,000 a year
Cyber insurance
Manufacturer with around €5 million turnover and its own firmware
around €2,000 to €5,000 a year
For comparison: Liability and contents insurance for a small PCB assembler cost about as much a year as one reel of 5,000 high quality voltage regulators.
Guide figures excluding German insurance tax, as of September 2026.
Electronic equipment insurance is usually priced as a percentage of the sum insured,
at the lower end for modern, well maintained equipment.
The other ranges come from published tariff examples and our own quoting.
Six losses electronics manufacturers really experience, put together on one Thursday. Tap through and see who pays.
Damage so far€411,000
A lightning strike overnight has destroyed the placement machine and two test stations.
€68,000 · Paid by: Electronic equipment
A machine builder reports failed control boards. 3,000 units have to be replaced at the end customer.
€120,000 · Paid by: Business liability
A power supply from your production overheats at an end customer's home, and the kitchen burns out.
€45,000 · Paid by: Business liability
Attackers have taken over the update server and devices fail at customers' sites. Forensics and a rebuild.
€85,000 · Paid by: Cyber insurance
The sea freight with components from Asia arrives water damaged.
€38,000 · Paid by: Cargo insurance
Burglars take processors and memory chips from the store.
€55,000 · Paid by: Business contents
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
Have software and firmware expressly included in your product liability, also for updates you deliver after the sale.
Agree extended product liability with removal and refitting costs and inspection and sorting costs; without these blocks a series defect stays with you.
Insure placement machines under electronic equipment insurance including power surge and lightning, not just under contents insurance.
Check deliveries to the USA and aviation and medical technology separately; they often carry their own exclusions.
Provide for the extra cost of having production done by third parties if your line fails and customers still need supplying.
Arrange the disposal guarantee required by the German Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act in good time if you sell devices to private customers.
Why NAMMERT for your business
We check the policy for software
Whether firmware is covered is often in the small print. As a broker we compare the wordings of several insurers at exactly that point.
Claims practice from our own claims handling
For boats we handle claims ourselves as an underwriting agency, including electronic and power surge damage on board. We know how causes are proved.
Production and management aligned
Product liability, cyber and D&O interlock. We make sure no gap remains between the policies.
A family business since 1989
A fixed contact and short lines of communication, in English if you like. Our work costs you nothing; the insurer pays our commission.
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
Does an electronics manufacturer need extended product liability?
Yes, as soon as your assemblies are built into other people's devices.
Only extended cover pays for removal, refitting and further processing at the customer.
What changes with the new EU Product Liability Directive?
It counts software and digital services as products and makes it easier for injured parties to
prove their case.
It must be transposed into German law by December 2026.
Check your policy for it.
What does electronic equipment insurance cost?
A typical premium is around half a percent to one and a half percent of the sum insured a year,
depending on the age of the equipment, maintenance and the excess.
Does contents insurance pay for power surge damage?
Often only up to a small sum.
For expensive production equipment, electronic equipment insurance is the better protection.
What are my duties under the German Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act?
Anyone placing electrical devices on the German market must register with Stiftung EAR.
For devices sold to private customers, an insolvency proof guarantee for disposal is required.
Which Berufsgenossenschaft is responsible?
BG ETEM, the statutory accident insurer for the sector.
Membership is compulsory as soon as you have employees.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Electronics manufacturing
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