Insurance for jewellers, goldsmiths and watchmakers in Germany
A jeweller keeps stock worth as much in a few square metres as other retailers hold in an entire warehouse. That attracts burglars and robbers, and the workshop also holds your customers' watches and rings. This page explains how to protect stock, other people's property and your staff, and roughly what it costs.
Is ordinary contents insurance enough for my jewellery?
No. Standard contents policies limit jewellery, watches and precious metals to low sums or exclude them entirely. Jewellers need specialist jewellers' block insurance (Valorenversicherung) that covers stock in the safe, in display cases, in the workshop and in transit. The limits depend on your security: the grade of your safe and your alarm system decide how much can be insured overnight.
What goes wrong in this trade
01
Armed robbery
Armed raiders at opening time or just before closing: besides what they take, there is damage to the display cases and the psychological toll on your staff.
02
Burglary at night
Smash and grab raids through the shop window often take only minutes. Whatever is not in the safe is gone.
03
Distraction theft
Pieces swapped for fakes, couples working together to distract you, forged bank transfers: trickery is only covered if it is expressly included.
04
Customers' items in the workshop
A Rolex in for a service, an heirloom to be reworked: if it is lost or damaged while you work on it, you are liable for its full value.
05
Trade fairs and shipping
At jewellery fairs, on home visits or in an insured parcel, stock is especially exposed and often not covered outside the shop.
06
Closed after the raid
After a robbery the shop stays shut for forensics and repairs, and some staff do not come back.
As jewellers' block insurance it replaces jewellery, watches and precious metals after burglary, robbery, fire and water, including customers' items and commission stock if they are added.
Protects goldsmiths and watchmakers whose income depends on steady hands and good eyesight.
What it costs: example prices
For jewellers, insuring the stock is by far the largest item, and it is always rated individually. What counts is the value of the stock, the safe grade, the alarm system, the location and how much stays in the display cases overnight.
Insurance
Example
Typical range
Business liability
Jeweller or watchmaker with shop and workshop
around 80 to 300 euros a year
Business contents
Jewellers' block cover for 150,000 euros of stock, good safe and alarm
around 1,500 to 4,500 euros a year
Business contents
Jewellers' block cover for 500,000 euros of stock in a city centre
around 5,000 to 15,000 euros a year
Cargo insurance
Insured shipments and two trade fairs a year
around 300 to 1,000 euros a year
Group accident insurance
Three employees with disability benefit
around 150 to 400 euros a year
For comparison: For a small jeweller, basic cover of liability and stock insurance costs about as much a year as a half carat solitaire ring from your own display case.
The liability figures come from a public price comparison.
Insurers do not publish premiums for jewellers' block cover because they assess every shop
individually; the ranges are cautious guide figures from quoting practice,
Six losses that jewellers actually suffer, all on one Thursday in December. Tap through and see who pays.
Damage so far€122,800
Two masked men threaten the sales assistant and empty two display cases of watches.
€85,000 · Paid by: Business contents
The assistant is shoved during the raid and badly injures her shoulder.
€10,000 · Paid by: Group accident insurance
Forensics, new display glass, shock: the shop stays closed for four days in the best week of the year.
€9,000 · Paid by: Business interruption
After ear piercing, a girl's ear becomes badly infected, and her parents claim treatment costs and compensation.
€2,500 · Paid by: Business liability
An insured parcel with a customer's watch on its way to the manufacturer for a service never arrives.
€9,800 · Paid by: Cargo insurance
A supposed regular customer reserves a diamond ring against a bank transfer. The payment confirmation was forged.
€6,500 · Paid by: Cyber insurance
Which package would you have had?
Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €122,800
Illustrative amounts before any excess.
What is paid depends on the policy terms.
Practical tips from your broker
Agree with the insurer how much stock is covered overnight in the display cases and how much in the safe, and stick to it.
Name customers' items in for repair and goods on commission explicitly, with their own sum insured that matches your highest level.
Check whether distraction theft and swaps for fakes are covered, as these often have their own limits.
Insure stock at trade fairs and customer appointments outside the shop separately, and ask whether it must be supervised at all times there.
Keep an up to date inventory with photos and purchase prices somewhere outside the shop; after a robbery it is the most important document you have.
Offer your staff group accident insurance: raids hit the people behind the counter first.
Why NAMMERT for your business
Specialist cover needs comparing
Only a few insurers underwrite jewellers, and their security conditions vary widely. As a broker we obtain several quotes and show you which conditions you can actually meet.
We know how valuables are settled
Yachts are high single values too, and there we handle claims ourselves. We know which evidence an insurer asks for after a robbery and help you provide it in full.
Shop, workshop and private valuables, separate yet together
Business stock, your own jewellery and your personal cover need different policies. With us they sit with one contact, on +49 3375 29 12 77.
Discreet, since 1989
As a family business we treat your security details in confidence. Our advice is free for you; the insurer pays our commission.
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
What does jewellers' insurance cost?
It depends almost entirely on stock value and security, and is calculated individually.
For a small shop with 150,000 euros of stock and good security,
a few thousand euros a year is realistic.
Is customers' jewellery in my workshop insured?
Only if third party property is included.
You are liable for customers' items,
so they should appear in the policy with their own sum insured.
What security does the insurer require?
Typically a certified safe of a set resistance grade,
an intruder alarm connected to a monitoring centre and secured shop windows.
If you do not meet the conditions, you risk losing cover when a claim occurs.
Am I covered at a jewellery fair?
Only with an exhibition extension or transit insurance.
Many policies require that the stock is never left unattended there.
Who pays if an employee is injured in a raid?
The Berufsgenossenschaft, the statutory accident insurer,
pays for treatment and a pension after accidents at work.
Group accident insurance pays a fixed sum on top.
Do I need public liability insurance as a jeweller?
Yes.
It is inexpensive and covers injuries to customers,
for example from ear piercing or a broken display case.
It does not, however, replace insurance for your stock.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Jeweller
The recommended covers are ticked.
Change what does not fit; we compare quotes, in English.
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We will be in touch within one working day. If it is urgent: +49 3375 29 12 77.
