Professional indemnity
Required by law and professional rules; pays for treatment errors, missing informed consent and harm to patients.
Insurance broker / Business types / Health and care
Insurance for doctors' surgeries, group practices and medical care centres in Germany
For doctors in Germany, professional liability insurance is not a matter of caution but an obligation, and for doctors treating statutory health insurance patients the law even sets the minimum sum. The gaps are elsewhere: the ultrasound scanner that stops working after water damage, the downtime when you yourself fall ill, and the patient data that leaks in an attack. This page shows what you need and what it costs.
The question almost everyone asks first
How high does my professional liability cover have to be?
For doctors with a statutory health insurance licence and no employed doctors, § 95e SGB V requires at least €3 million for injury and property damage per claim and at least double that per year. If you employ doctors, work in a group practice with employees or in a medical care centre (MVZ), it is €5 million per claim and three times that per year. The regional association of statutory health insurance physicians (Kassenärztliche Vereinigung) checks the proof. In surgical specialties more makes sense, because birth injuries and serious treatment errors can reach these sums.
What goes wrong in this trade
- 01
Treatment errors
A missed diagnosis, a wrong dose, a complication after a procedure: injury claims arising from treatment can reach millions.
- 02
Consent not documented
Even with flawless treatment you are liable if informed consent cannot be proven. Many cases turn on exactly that.
- 03
Expensive equipment
Ultrasound, ECG, lab and endoscopy quickly cost six figures and are sensitive to water, power surges and operating errors.
- 04
Patient data
Practice management software, the national health data network (Telematikinfrastruktur) and email: an attack paralyses the practice and triggers reporting duties under the GDPR.
- 05
You are out of action
Illness or accident of the practice owner: rent, salaries and leasing keep running while income stops.
- 06
Needlestick and infection
Needlestick injuries and infections are among the most common workplace accidents in practices, for your staff and for you.
Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.
The insurance you need
Essential
Strongly advised
Business contents
As practice contents insurance it replaces furnishings, equipment and medicines after fire, burst pipes, storm and burglary.
Business interruption
As practice downtime cover it pays running costs if the practice is closed after damage or because you are ill.
Electronic equipment
Covers ultrasound, ECG, lab and IT even after operating errors, power surges and liquid damage.
Cyber insurance
Pays for IT forensics, recovery, data protection notifications and downtime after an attack on practice software and patient data.
Occupational disability
Protects your income if you can no longer practise for good; it complements your professional pension scheme (Versorgungswerk), which often pays only if you cannot work at all.
Depends on the business
Business legal expenses
For disputes with your landlord, staff or the Kassenärztliche Vereinigung, for instance over recourse claims.
Company pension (bAV)
Medical assistants are in demand; a company pension helps you keep them.
What it costs: example prices
Professional liability depends above all on the specialty: general practice and non surgical specialties pay little, surgery and obstetrics many times more. Practice size, employed doctors and the chosen sum insured also count.
| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Professional indemnity | General practice, first set up, single handed practice | about €300 to €800 a year |
| Professional indemnity | General practice, established, with employed doctors, €5 million | about €1,500 to €5,000 a year |
| Professional indemnity | Surgical specialty, for example surgery or orthopaedics with procedures | about €5,000 to €15,000 a year and more |
| Business contents | Practice contents worth €150,000 | about €300 to €700 a year |
| Business interruption | Practice downtime with a €500 daily rate, including illness of the owner | about €600 to €1,500 a year |
| Cyber insurance | GP practice with practice software and Telematikinfrastruktur | about €400 to €1,200 a year |
For comparison: For a GP practice, basic cover of professional liability and practice contents costs about as much a year as the practice turns over in one working day.
Guide prices excluding insurance tax, as of September 2026, based on published tariff examples and on our own quoting practice. Professional liability premiums differ widely by specialty; we obtain the exact quote for you.
Our suggestions: three packages
01
Starter
For: first set up or single handed practice in a non surgical specialty
- Professional indemnity
- Business contents
Together about €600 to €1,500 a year
Request this package02
Practice
For: established practice with staff, equipment and practice software
- Professional indemnity
- Business contents
- Business interruption
- Electronic equipment
- Cyber insurance
Together about €2,500 to €7,000 a year
Request this package03
All round
For: group practice or medical care centre with employed doctors
- Professional indemnity
- Business contents
- Business interruption
- Electronic equipment
- Cyber insurance
- Business legal expenses
- Company pension (bAV)
Together about €6,000 to €20,000 a year
Request this packageThe worst day in the practice
Six things that really happen in medical practices, all on a single Monday. Click through the day and see who pays.
Damage so far€288,500
-
A pipe burst in the flat above over the weekend. Water is dripping onto the ultrasound scanner and into reception.
-
The practice software is encrypted and the attacker threatens to publish test results.
-
A patient sues, claiming a tumour was missed at a screening a year ago.
-
An assistant knocks the ECG machine off its trolley and the monitor breaks.
-
A patient slips in the wet entrance area and breaks an arm.
-
After the water damage the practice stays closed for two weeks; salaries and rent keep running.
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
- Check whether your sum insured still meets § 95e SGB V as soon as you employ doctors or move into a group practice: €5 million instead of €3 million then applies.
- Have every activity named in the policy, including self pay services (IGeL), aesthetic treatments, outpatient surgery and expert reports.
- Pay attention to run off cover: patients can bring claims for treatment from your active years many years later.
- Choose practice downtime cover that also pays when you are ill or in quarantine, not only after property damage.
- Insure medical equipment with electronics cover, because contents insurance does not pay for operating errors and short circuits.
- Keep backups and updates current: cyber insurers ask about them and may otherwise reduce the payout.
Why NAMMERT for your business
We check the compulsory sum for you
As a broker we compare several insurers and keep an eye on whether your cover still meets § 95e SGB V after a change in your practice.
We know claims handling from the inside
In boat insurance we settle claims ourselves. We know how insurers examine claims and stand by you when a patient makes a claim.
Practice and private cover with one contact
Professional liability, practice policies, your team's pensions and your private cover are handled together, so you do not have to call five places between two patients.
Family business since 1989
Advice is free for you, as the insurer pays our commission. You speak to people who know your practice.
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Is professional liability insurance compulsory for doctors in Germany?
Yes. The professional codes of the regional medical chambers require every doctor to be adequately insured. For doctors with a statutory health insurance licence, § 95e SGB V has set the minimum sums since 2021, and the Kassenärztliche Vereinigung asks for proof.
How much does professional liability cost for a GP?
When first setting up it starts at about €300 a year; established practices usually pay €1,500 to €5,000 depending on scope. Surgical specialties pay considerably more.
Am I covered by the practice as an employed doctor?
Employed doctors are usually covered by the employer's policy. For work outside it, such as out of hours services, locum work or first aid in your free time, you need your own professional liability.
Does practice downtime cover pay if I am ill?
Only if the policy says so. Many tariffs pay after property damage and after illness or accident of the owner, some also in quarantine. The waiting period is decisive.
Do I need cyber insurance if my practice software runs in the cloud?
Yes. You remain responsible for your patients' data, and an attack on your computers or email inbox can still paralyse the practice.
Are my staff insured at work?
Yes, through the BGW, the statutory accident insurer for health and welfare services. As a self employed doctor you are not insured there automatically, but you can join voluntarily.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Medical practice
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Official classification
This page covers the following classes of the German WZ 2025 (identical to NACE at four digits):
- 86.21 Arztpraxen für Allgemeinmedizin
- 86.22 Facharztpraxen
- 86.91 Erbringung von Dienstleistungen der diagnostischen Bildgebung sowie von medizinischen Laboratorien
- 86.97 Vermittlungstätigkeiten für medizinische, zahnärztliche und andere Gesundheitstätigkeiten
- 86.99 Sonstiges Gesundheitswesen a. n. g.
Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), WZ 2025. All business types
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