Business liability
Pays for damage during delivery and fitting in customers' homes, including escaping water, provided fitting work and damage to items being worked on are included.
Insurance broker / Business types / Retail and wholesale
Insurance for furniture stores, kitchen studios and interiors retailers in Germany
A furniture retailer earns its money not only in the showroom but above all in other people's homes: kitchens are installed, wardrobes fixed to walls, dishwashers plumbed in. That is exactly where the expensive losses happen. This page explains how to insure the showroom, deliveries and fitting work, and what it costs.
The question almost everyone asks first
Who pays if my fitter drills into a water pipe while installing a kitchen?
Your public liability policy, as long as fitting work in customers' homes and damage to pipes and cables are explicitly included. With a policy written for retail only, that cannot be taken for granted. Water damage to the flat below quickly runs into five figures. What usually remains excluded is the work itself: a new worktop ruined while being cut to size is your own risk.
What goes wrong in this trade
- 01
Fitting in the customer's home
A pipe drilled through, a leaking connection at the sink or dishwasher, a wall cabinet that tears out of the wall: fitting mistakes are the most expensive losses in furniture retail.
- 02
Deliveries
Freshly painted stairwells, parquet in the hallway, door frames: carrying a sofa causes small and large damage every day.
- 03
Fire in the showroom
Upholstery, wood and soft furnishings burn fast, and smoke leaves even undamaged furniture unsellable.
- 04
Water in the warehouse
Wood and fabric are sensitive, and a burst pipe in the warehouse can ruin several weeks' worth of sales.
- 05
Heavy lifting
Back injuries and crushed hands among fitters and drivers are frequent causes of long absences.
- 06
Disputes over measurements and defects
Kitchens measured up wrongly, late deliveries and complaints end up in court more often than in other areas of retail.
Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.
The insurance you need
Essential
Strongly advised
Business contents
Replaces showroom stock, warehouse goods and fittings after fire, water damage, storm and burglary.
Business interruption
Keeps paying rent and wages if the showroom or warehouse stays closed after a fire.
Cargo insurance
Covers goods damaged on your own van or while being carried in, as goods in transit cover for your own vehicles.
Fleet insurance
For vans and lorries, where motor liability is compulsory; several vehicles on one policy are often cheaper.
Depends on the business
Business legal expenses
For disputes with customers over measurements and defects, with manufacturers over late deliveries and with landlords.
Group accident insurance
Tops up the statutory accident cover from the Berufsgenossenschaft for fitters and drivers who carry heavy loads and spend much of the day on the road.
What it costs: example prices
The premium depends mainly on whether you only sell, or also deliver and fit. Kitchen studios with their own fitters pay considerably more for liability than an interiors shop that does not deliver.
| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Business liability | Interiors shop without its own fitting service | around 80 to 300 euros a year |
| Business liability | Kitchen studio with two fitting teams | around 500 to 1,500 euros a year |
| Business contents | Showroom and warehouse worth 150,000 euros | around 400 to 1,000 euros a year |
| Cargo insurance | Goods in transit on your own delivery van | around 180 to 500 euros a year |
| Business interruption | Loss of income for up to twelve months | around 150 to 450 euros a year |
For comparison: For a kitchen studio, a year of liability cover including fitting work plus contents insurance costs about as much as a good three seater sofa from the showroom.
Guide figures excluding insurance tax, as of September 2026. Entry level prices and goods in transit follow published tariff examples; liability with fitting work and business interruption are guide figures from our own quoting practice.
Our suggestions: three packages
01
Shop
For: interiors or home accessories shop without delivery or fitting
- Business liability
- Business contents
Together around 450 to 1,100 euros a year
Request this package02
Studio
For: kitchen or furniture studio with its own fitters and one delivery van
- Business liability
- Business contents
- Business interruption
- Cargo insurance
- Fleet insurance
Together around 2,000 to 4,500 euros a year
Request this package03
Furniture store
For: furniture store with a warehouse, several fitting teams and a fleet of vehicles
- Business liability
- Business contents
- Business interruption
- Cargo insurance
- Fleet insurance
- Business legal expenses
- Group accident insurance
Together around 5,000 to 12,000 euros a year
Request this packageThe worst day in the furniture store
Six losses of the kind that furniture and kitchen retailers know well, all on a single Thursday. Tap through and see who pays.
Damage so far€174,900
-
While the dishwasher is being connected, a fitting works loose. By evening there is water in the kitchen and in the flat below.
-
A wardrobe slips while being carried and knocks a hole in the freshly painted stairwell wall.
-
The load on the delivery van shifts on a bend, and a solid wood dining table splits.
-
Reversing into a driveway, the delivery van clips a garden gate.
-
A customer takes you to court, claiming the kitchen was measured up wrongly.
-
A short circuit in a lamp in the showroom starts a fire. Sofas and upholstered beds are burnt or covered in soot.
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 fitting work in customers' homes, water and electrical connections and damage to items being worked on explicitly included.
- Check whether subcontracted fitters are covered by your policy or must show proof of their own liability insurance.
- Insure goods in transit on your own vehicles, because motor insurance does not pay for damage to the load.
- Agree cover in your liability policy for damage to rented and borrowed property, such as lift linings and stairwells.
- Name goods held in external storage and furniture stored temporarily at customers' premises, so they do not fall outside the cover.
- Choose at least 5 million euros of cover; escaping water in blocks of flats often affects several homes at once.
Why NAMMERT for your business
We read the fitting clauses closely
Whether connection work and damage to pipes are covered can make a difference of thousands of euros. As a broker we compare several insurers on exactly this point.
We know how water damage is settled
In boat insurance we settle claims ourselves, and water is part of daily life there. We know how cause, leak detection and drying have to be documented.
Shop, fleet and fitters together
Your business, vehicles, staff cover and personal protection sit with one contact, reachable on +49 3375 29 12 77.
A family business since 1989
Many furniture stores have grown over generations, and so have we. Our advice is free of charge for you.
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Does a furniture retailer need public liability insurance?
Not by law, but if you deliver and fit furniture, you are in other people's homes every day. Without liability cover that includes fitting work, you pay for water damage yourself.
How much does insurance cost for a kitchen studio?
With your own fitters, liability usually costs 500 to 1,500 euros a year. Adding contents, goods in transit and vehicles, a studio often pays between 2,000 and 4,500 euros.
Is damage to delivered goods insured?
Not through motor insurance. For that you need goods in transit cover for your own vehicles.
Will insurance pay if my fitters install something wrongly?
Consequential damage to the customer's home and belongings, yes. Putting right your own work is usually not covered.
Are subcontractors covered?
Every policy handles this differently. Often your own liability for subcontractors is insured, but their personal liability is not. Ask them for proof of cover.
Who pays if a fitter is injured while carrying furniture?
For accidents at work, the BGHW, the statutory accident insurer for retail. Group accident insurance pays on top, and also covers leisure time.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Furniture retail
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.
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Official classification
This page covers the following classes of the German WZ 2025 (identical to NACE at four digits):
- 47.55 Einzelhandel mit Möbeln, Einrichtungsgegenständen und sonstigem Hausrat
Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), WZ 2025. All business types
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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