Insurance for electronics shops, phone shops and repair counters in Germany
An electronics shop sells small things of great value: a tray of smartphones is worth as much as a small car and fits into a rucksack. Add customers' devices waiting for repair and lithium batteries that can catch fire. This page explains how to protect all of that and what it costs.
Who pays if a customer's phone dies while we are replacing the screen?
Insurers call this damage to third party property you are working on, and many public liability policies exclude exactly that. If you do repairs, you need to have damage to items in your care and items being worked on written into the policy. For a customer's lost data you are usually only liable if you acted negligently, so get written confirmation before every repair that a backup has been made.
What goes wrong in this trade
01
Burglary and smash and grab
New smartphones, tablets and headphones are easy to carry and quick to sell on. Thieves are often through the shop window and gone in under two minutes.
02
A battery catches fire
Swollen batteries from customers' devices, power banks in the stockroom, e-scooters on charge: lithium fires burn hot, are hard to put out and leave toxic smoke behind.
03
Devices in your care
If a phone dies for good on the repair bench or is stolen from the workshop, you have to replace it.
04
Customer data
Transferring data or unlocking a phone puts photos, chats and passwords in front of you. A data leak or a nosy member of staff can prove expensive.
05
Accessories imported from Asia
Unbranded charging cables and power adapters you import yourself: if one overheats at a customer's home, you are liable as the importer.
06
Fraud at the till
Fake payment slips, phone contracts signed with someone else's ID and rigged returns cost you stock and commission.
Replaces stock, shop fittings and customers' devices after burglary, robbery, fire and water, with a theft limit high enough for what you actually hold.
Legal expenses cover for disputes with suppliers, with network operators over commission, or with your landlord.
What it costs: example prices
Liability cover is cheap, while burglary cover costs more than for other shops because theft is so tempting. What matters is the value of your stock, your security, the location and whether you repair devices.
Insurance
Example
Typical range
Business liability
Phone shop without repairs, 3 million euros cover
around 80 to 250 euros a year
Business liability
Shop with repair workshop, damage to items being worked on included
around 200 to 600 euros a year
Business contents
Stock and fittings worth 150,000 euros, burglary included, good security
around 700 to 1,800 euros a year
Cyber insurance
Small shop with till system, customer database and web shop
around 400 to 900 euros a year
Electronic equipment
Workshop equipment worth 15,000 euros
around 150 to 400 euros a year
For comparison: For a small phone shop, liability and burglary cover together cost roughly as much a year as one new top of the range smartphone.
Guide figures excluding insurance tax, as of September 2026.
Liability and cyber are based on publicly quoted price examples.
Burglary cover for electronics shops is a guide figure from our own quoting practice,
because insurers price it case by case given the theft risk.
Six losses of the kind electronics and phone shops really face, all on a single Friday. Tap through and see who pays.
Damage so far€100,200
Smash and grab: a drain cover goes through the window and two display cases of new smartphones are emptied.
€42,000 · Paid by: Business contents
Opening a tablet, a technician tears a ribbon cable and the mainboard is finished. The customer wants a new device.
€900 · Paid by: Business liability
An employee has copied customers' photos onto a private USB stick. Lawyer, report to the data protection authority, letters to everyone affected.
€7,500 · Paid by: Cyber insurance
The soldering station falls off the bench and cracks the repair microscope.
€2,800 · Paid by: Electronic equipment
A swollen battery at the drop off counter ignites. Fire in the workshop, soot all through the shop.
€36,000 · Paid by: Business contents
After the fire the shop stays closed for three weeks while rent and wages keep running.
€11,000 · Paid by: Business interruption
Which package would you have had?
Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €100,200
Illustrative amounts before any excess.
What is paid depends on the policy terms.
Practical tips from your broker
Have damage to customers' devices in your care and on your bench written explicitly into your liability policy, with a limit that suits the repairs you do.
Agree with the insurer which stock has to go into the safe overnight and up to what value the display cases are covered.
Keep faulty and swollen batteries in a fireproof container; many insurers ask about this.
Check your products liability for accessories you import yourself, even if they are only charging cables.
Choose a cyber policy with round the clock assistance, because an attack on the till on a Saturday cannot wait until Monday.
Keep a repair log with serial numbers and the condition of each device on arrival; it cuts short any argument about earlier damage.
Why NAMMERT for your business
We find insurers willing to cover electronics
Not every insurer is keen on phone shops. As a broker we approach several and compare their security requirements and theft limits.
We know how the other side works
Because we handle boat claims ourselves, we know how an insurer examines a burglary. We help you submit stock lists and police reports so that nothing has to be requested twice.
Shop, web shop and private cover together
Your business, cyber cover, car and personal protection all sit with one contact, reachable on +49 3375 29 12 77.
A family business since 1989
For decades we have looked after businesses where a small team gets a lot done. Our work costs you nothing.
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
What insurance does a phone shop need?
Public liability, including damage to items being worked on if you do repairs,
and contents insurance with a high burglary limit.
Cyber cover is worth having as soon as you store customer data.
What does insurance for an electronics shop cost?
Liability cover starts at around 80 euros a year.
With burglary cover for the stock, small shops usually budget 800 to 1,600 euros a year.
Are customers' devices covered in a break in?
Only if third party property is included in your contents insurance.
Ask for the exact limit that applies to customers' devices.
Am I liable for a customer's lost data?
Yes, if you acted negligently.
Point out the need for a backup before every repair and have the customer sign to say so.
Will insurance pay for a fire started by a customer's battery?
Contents insurance pays for fire damage to your shop.
Make sure you meet any conditions on how batteries are stored,
or the insurer may reduce the payout.
Do I need electronic equipment insurance for my workshop?
It makes sense if you use expensive kit such as microscopes or testing and programming devices.
Unlike contents insurance, it also pays for operating errors and drops.
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