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Insurance for freelance nurses and self employed carers in Germany

Freelance nurses and self employed carers in Germany work on their own account, in home care, in counselling or as agency nurses. They are personally liable for every mistake, and social security law has its own rules: compulsory pension insurance, the Berufsgenossenschaft and the question whether you count as self employed at all. This page shows what you should insure and what it costs.

Insurance for freelance nurses

The question almost everyone asks first

As an agency nurse, am I covered by the care home's liability insurance?

Do not rely on it. As a self employed nurse you are liable for your own mistakes; the facility's policy mainly protects the facility and its employees. Your own professional liability policy covers your work wherever you are.

What goes wrong in this trade

  1. 01

    Care errors

    A fall during a transfer, a mixed up injection, a missed pressure sore: you pay for the consequences from your own assets.

  2. 02

    Damage in other homes

    On home visits an aid breaks, water leaks or a key goes missing.

  3. 03

    Status checks

    If the pension insurer classifies you as an employee, back payments and disputes with clients follow.

  4. 04

    Losing your ability to work

    Back, knees, infections: a self employed carer who cannot work has no income.

  5. 05

    Accidents on the road

    Many kilometres between jobs, often in your own car and in all weather.

Risk radar
Liability 5Fire and water 1Theft 1Cyber 2Downtime 4Health 4

Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.

The insurance you need

Essential

Professional indemnity

Pays for injury, property damage and financial loss from your care work and defends you against unjustified claims.

Car insurance

Motor liability is compulsory; declare business use for your visits.

Strongly advised

Depends on the business

Accident insurance

Also pays for accidents in your free time, which the Berufsgenossenschaft does not cover.

What it costs: example prices

Professional liability is cheap; income protection and your car cost more. The premium depends on your field, such as intensive care or counselling.

InsuranceExampleTypical range
Professional indemnityFreelance nurse in home care, €3 million coverabout €100 to €300 a year
Professional indemnityAgency nurse in intensive care and hospitals, €5 million coverabout €250 to €600 a year
Occupational disabilityNurse aged 35, €1,500 monthly benefitabout €1,000 to €2,000 a year
Business legal expensesSelf employed without staffabout €250 to €600 a year

For comparison: Professional liability costs about as much a year as two or three hours of a freelance nurse's fees.

Guide prices from our quoting practice, as of October 2026.

Income protection depends heavily on age and health.

The sources below support the legal statements; we obtain the exact quote for you.

Sources of the price examples

Our suggestions: three packages

01

Start

For: nurse at the start of self employment

  • Professional indemnity
  • Car insurance

Together about €600 to €1,300 a year, mostly for the car

Request this package

02

Self employed

For: nurse with regular clients and home visits

  • Professional indemnity
  • Car insurance
  • Occupational disability
  • Business legal expenses

Together about €2,000 to €4,000 a year

Request this package

03

Full cover

For: agency nurse in intensive care with full income protection

  • Professional indemnity
  • Car insurance
  • Occupational disability
  • Business legal expenses
  • Accident insurance

Together about €2,500 to €5,000 a year, depending on age

Request this package

The worst day as a freelance nurse

Five things that really happen to freelance nurses, all on a single Monday here. Tap through the day and see who pays.

Damage so far€43,500
  1. On the way to your first visit you slide into a parked car.

    €4,000 · Paid by: Car insurance

  2. A patient falls during a transfer and breaks a wrist.

    €15,000 · Paid by: Professional indemnity

  3. While cleaning, a patient's hearing aid falls into the sink and is ruined.

    €2,500 · Paid by: Professional indemnity

  4. The pension insurer classifies your main contract as employment; you appeal.

    €4,000 · Paid by: Business legal expenses

  5. A slipped disc puts you out of work for months.

    €18,000 · Paid by: Occupational disability

Which package would you have had?

Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €43,500

Illustrative amounts before any excess.

What is paid depends on the policy terms.

Practical tips from your broker

  1. Name all activities in the policy: basic care, treatment care, intensive care, counselling and training.
  2. Include lost keys and damage to things in your care.
  3. Have your status checked before a large contract, for example with a formal status determination procedure.
  4. Register with the BGW and check your insured sum; it determines benefits after a work accident.
  5. Protect your income early; the younger and healthier you are, the lower the premium.

Why NAMMERT for your business

We compare for the self employed

Norman Nammert acts as an insurance broker and obtains quotes from several insurers, from professional liability to income protection.

We know claims from practice

In boat insurance we handle claims ourselves. That experience goes into our advice.

Advice in English

Liability, car, income and pension with one contact person. Advice is free of charge; the insurer pays our commission.

Frequently asked questions

Questions and answers

Do I need professional liability as a freelance nurse in Germany?

No law requires it in general.

Without it you pay for care errors from your private assets.

Do I have to pay into the pension scheme as a self employed nurse?

Yes, if you work in nursing, maternity,

infant or child care and regularly employ no staff subject to insurance (§ 2 SGB VI).

Am I covered by the BGW as a self employed nurse?

Anyone self employed in health care or welfare is covered by statutory accident insurance by law

under § 2 (1) no.

9 SGB VII.

Can I work as an agency nurse in a care home?

In 2019 the Federal Social Court ruled that agency nurses in inpatient care homes are as a rule

employees.

Self employment there is only possible by way of exception.

How much does professional liability cost for nurses?

About €100 to €300 a year for home care, about €250 to €600 for intensive care and hospital work.

These are guide prices from our quoting practice.

NAMMERT insurance broker

Request quotes for Freelance nurse

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

Car insurance in Germany (liability, partial and fully comprehensive)

Most precise with the HSN and TSN codes from the registration document

Occupational disability insurance (Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung)

For example data analyst in an office, or civil engineer with site visits

We discuss details personally for an anonymous enquiry

For example how long you plan to stay in Germany, self-employment, existing policies

Professional indemnity insurance in Germany (Berufshaftpflicht)

For example tax adviser with payroll, freelance software developer,

architect for residential buildings

For example current policy abroad, clients in the US, side activities,

expiry date of existing cover

Business legal expenses insurance in Germany (Firmenrechtsschutz)

For example plumbing business, tax practice, online shop for electronics

Existing disputes cannot be insured, but knowing about them helps us advise you

4Your current policy
5How can we reach you?

Related trades

Home care

Home care

Who pays if a carer loses a patient's key?

Midwife

Midwife

How much of my liability premium do the health insurers pay back?

Live-in care

Live-in care

Who is liable if a placed carer does not help a senior get up and she falls?

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