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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
€38,000 · Paid by: Business contents
The practice software is encrypted and the attacker threatens to publish test results.
€25,000 · Paid by: Cyber insurance
A patient sues, claiming a tumour was missed at a screening a year ago.
€180,000 · Paid by: Professional indemnity
An assistant knocks the ECG machine off its trolley and the monitor breaks.
€4,500 · Paid by: Electronic equipment
A patient slips in the wet entrance area and breaks an arm.
€9,000 · Paid by: Professional indemnity
After the water damage the practice stays closed for two weeks; salaries and rent keep running.
€32,000 · Paid by: Business interruption
Which package would you have had?
Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €288,500
Illustrative amounts before any excess.
What 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 handle 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.
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
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.
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