Cargo insurance
Goods in transit and carrier's liability is compulsory under § 7a GüKG and covers your liability for the load under the HGB (German Commercial Code) and CMR.
Insurance broker / Business types / Transport and logistics
Insurance for hauliers and road carriers in Germany
If you carry goods in lorries over 3.5 tonnes in Germany, you may not even set off without goods in transit liability insurance. On top of that come motor liability, comprehensive cover and the question of what happens after a crash with a full load. This page shows what is compulsory, what makes sense and what it costs.
The question almost everyone asks first
Do I need goods in transit liability even with just one lorry?
Yes, as soon as you carry goods commercially in a vehicle over 3.5 tonnes gross weight, counting any trailer. The duty under § 7a GüKG applies from the first vehicle, the minimum is €600,000 per event, and the certificate must be on board for every journey. If it is missing at a roadside check you face a fine and problems with your operating licence.
What goes wrong in this trade
- 01
Accidents with injuries
A lorry involved in a crash can quickly cause damage running into millions. That is what motor liability is for, and its limit should be well above the legal minimum.
- 02
Cargo damage
A shifting load, an emergency stop, tipping over on a bend: the carrier pays for damaged goods up to the statutory liability limit.
- 03
Theft on the road
Curtains slashed, diesel siphoned off, the whole trailer gone: motorway services and unsecured car parks are crime scenes.
- 04
Driving hours and fines
Roadside checks, tachographs, toll back charges: proceedings against drivers and operators cost time and legal fees.
- 05
Lorry off the road
After an accident the vehicle spends weeks in the workshop. Leasing, driver's wages and jobs keep running.
- 06
Backs and loading accidents
Drivers climb in and out dozens of times a day, secure loads and couple trailers. Falls and back injuries are common.
Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.
The insurance you need
Essential
Fleet insurance
Motor liability is compulsory for every vehicle; comprehensive cover protects the lorry itself, and from three vehicles it goes into a fleet policy.
Strongly advised
Business liability
Covers damage away from road traffic, for example when loading and unloading with a customer's forklift or in your own yard.
Business legal expenses
With motoring legal expenses for fines and criminal proceedings, disputes over freight charges and employment law.
Depends on the business
Group accident insurance
Extra accident cover for drivers, including off duty and during overnight stops on the road.
Business interruption
Helps if the yard and workshop are out of action after a fire.
Occupational disability
For owners who drive themselves: your back and health decide your income.
What it costs: example prices
Motor insurance makes up the largest share. Goods in transit liability is priced per vehicle by weight, area of operation and level of liability.
| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo insurance | Goods in transit liability, 7.5 tonne lorry, regional traffic up to 150 km, statutory liability | about €280 to €350 a year |
| Cargo insurance | Goods in transit liability, truck and trailer over 7.5 tonnes, Germany | about €450 to €580 a year |
| Cargo insurance | Truck and trailer over 7.5 tonnes, Germany and Europe under CMR | about €620 to €800 a year |
| Fleet insurance | 7.5 tonne lorry in goods transport, liability only | from about €2,500 a year |
| Fleet insurance | 7.5 tonne lorry with liability and comprehensive | about €2,500 to €5,000 a year |
For comparison: Goods in transit liability for a 7.5 tonne lorry costs about as much a year as one full tank of diesel for the same vehicle.
The goods in transit figures come from a published tariff (excluding German insurance premium tax, €125 excess, surcharges for refrigerated, tanker and silo vehicles), the motor figures from public comparison data. As of September 2026. Heavy articulated lorries cost considerably more to insure.
Our suggestions: three packages
01
One lorry
For: Owner driver with a single vehicle
- Cargo insurance
- Fleet insurance
- Business legal expenses
Together about €3,300 to €6,500 a year
Request this package02
Fleet
For: Business with three to ten lorries and employed drivers
- Cargo insurance
- Fleet insurance
- Business liability
- Business legal expenses
- Group accident insurance
Together about €12,000 to €50,000 a year
Request this package03
Europe
For: Long distance haulage with articulated lorries at home and abroad, own yard
- Cargo insurance
- Fleet insurance
- Business liability
- Business legal expenses
- Group accident insurance
- Business interruption
Together from about €50,000 a year, priced individually
Request this packageThe worst day on the Autobahn
Six events hauliers know well, all on one Monday. Tap through and see who pays.
Damage so far€128,500
-
At the motorway services the curtain has been slashed and twelve boxes of power tools are missing.
-
A rear end collision in a tailback: the lorry shunts two cars together and a driver is injured.
-
The front of your own lorry is wrecked; radiator and cab have to be replaced.
-
A load of tiles shifts under emergency braking and a third of it is broken.
-
Unloading with the customer's forklift, your driver damages a sprinkler system in the warehouse.
-
Fine proceedings for breaches of driving hours are opened and you need a lawyer.
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
- Carry the insurance certificate under § 7a GüKG in every vehicle and check after every change of vehicle that it still fits.
- Choose a high combined limit for motor liability; €100 million is usual for lorries, and the legal minimum is not enough after a serious crash.
- Have third party trailers, swap bodies and containers included in carrier's liability if you haul other people's equipment.
- Refrigerated, tanker and silo vehicles and high value goods must be declared to the insurer; otherwise cover is missing when a claim comes.
- Park valuable loads only in guarded parking if your policy requires it; many policies make this a condition of cover.
- Motoring legal expenses for the business and drivers pay off for roadside checks, tachograph disputes and accidents where fault is unclear.
Why NAMMERT for your business
Compulsory and optional kept clearly apart
Goods in transit liability, CMR, motor fleet and public liability interlock. As a broker we compare several insurers and close the gaps between them.
Losses we know
In boat insurance we handle claims ourselves, including transit damage to boats on low loaders. We know which photos and consignment notes an insurer wants to see.
One contact for lorries and family
Fleet, carrier's liability, driver cover and your personal provision all run through us.
Family run since 1989
Many hauliers are family businesses, just like us. Our work is free for you; the insurer pays our commission.
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
When does goods in transit liability become compulsory?
For commercial road haulage with vehicles over 3.5 tonnes gross weight including trailers. The minimum is €600,000 per event.
What does goods in transit liability cost for a lorry?
According to a published tariff, about €280 to €800 per vehicle a year, depending on weight, area of operation and level of liability.
Is the load covered by the motor insurance?
No. Motor liability covers third party losses from the accident, comprehensive covers your lorry. You are liable for the load as carrier, and carrier's liability covers that.
What does 8.33 Special Drawing Rights per kilogram mean?
It is the statutory liability limit for cargo damage within Germany and under CMR, around ten euros per kilogram. You are only liable beyond that if you agreed more or acted with gross negligence.
Does the duty also apply to vans under 3.5 tonnes?
No, goods in transit liability is not required by law there. But your customers almost always ask for it.
Which Berufsgenossenschaft is responsible?
The BG Verkehr. Membership of this statutory accident insurer is compulsory as soon as you employ drivers or other staff; as the owner you can insure yourself there too.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Haulier
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.
Related trades
Do I need insurance at all as a forwarder without my own lorries?
I only drive a Sprinter under 3.5 tonnes. Do I still need carrier's liability insurance?
What exactly am I liable for if something breaks during a move?
Official classification
This page covers the following classes of the German WZ 2025 (identical to NACE at four digits):
- 49.20 Güterbeförderung im Schienenverkehr
- 49.41 Güterbeförderung im Straßenverkehr
- 49.50 Transport in Rohrfernleitungen
Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), WZ 2025. All business types
Boat or yacht? Here we are not the broker but the underwriting agency, with our own policies and our own claims handling.
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