Insurance for metalworking, heat treatment and foundries in Germany
Glowing metal, coolants, quenching baths and presses with a hundred tonnes of force: in metalworking, fire, pollution and serious accidents are not theory. On top of that, your parts end up inside other people's products, and one dimensional error can stop a whole series at the customer. Here is what protects you and what it costs.
Who pays if coolant or quenching oil leaks into the ground?
Environmental liability pays for damage to neighbours and to waters, provided your installations are declared in the policy. If the authorities order the clean-up of soil on your own land, that is a separate building block: environmental damage insurance (Umweltschadensversicherung), and even that only covers your own land if it is expressly included. Many firms only find out after the loss.
What goes wrong in this trade
01
Swarf and oil catch fire
Oily swarf in the skip, extraction systems and quenching baths are typical sources of fire. A fire in the hall quickly costs machines and months of production.
02
Dimensional errors in a series
A wrongly turned bolt is only noticed at the customer's assembly line. Then it is about sorting, replacement and a stopped line.
03
Molten metal and explosion
In a foundry, damp scrap in the furnace is enough for a steam explosion. Damage to furnace, hall and people follows within seconds.
04
Substances in the soil
Coolants, acids, electroplating baths: leaking pipes or drip trays contaminate soil and groundwater.
05
Metal theft
Copper, brass and stainless steel in the yard are in demand. Thieves arrive with a van and often take several tonnes.
06
Presses and loads
Crushing, amputations, burns: the metal sector reports a particularly high number of serious workplace accidents.
For several vans and lorries you use to collect material and deliver parts.
What it costs: example prices
Premiums in metal processing depend heavily on the process: a turning shop costs less than a heat treatment plant, a foundry considerably more than a stamping shop. Turnover, payroll and whether you supply the car industry matter too.
Insurance
Example
Typical range
Business liability
Small turning shop or metalwork shop, up to €300,000 turnover, €3 million cover
around €400 to €1,200 a year
Business liability
Supplier with 25 staff, extended product liability and environmental blocks
around €3,500 to €9,000 a year
Business contents
Machines and material worth €1 million
around €1,200 to €3,000 a year
Machinery breakdown
Presses and CNC machines with a new value of €600,000
around €2,000 to €5,000 a year
Business interruption
Loss of income for twelve months, together with contents insurance
around €600 to €2,000 a year
For comparison: Liability and contents insurance for a small turning shop cost about as much a year as two tonnes of round steel bar.
Guide figures excluding German insurance tax, as of September 2026,
taken from published tariff examples and our own quoting.
Foundries and heat treatment plants are often above these ranges because of the fire risk.
We obtain the exact premium from several insurers for you.
Six losses that happen in turning shops, stamping plants and foundries, put together on one Thursday. Tap through and see who pays.
Damage so far€851,000
Overnight, burglars loaded two tonnes of copper offcuts and brass bars from the yard.
€18,000 · Paid by: Business contents
The customer reports that 40,000 sleeves have the wrong inner diameter. Sorting, replacement and two days of line stoppage.
€72,000 · Paid by: Business liability
The clutch of the big eccentric press breaks. The press is out for six weeks.
€46,000 · Paid by: Machinery breakdown
Coolant has seeped from a cracked drip tray into the neighbouring plot. Soil excavation and an expert report.
€35,000 · Paid by: Business liability
Oily swarf in the skip ignites. The fire spreads to the hall.
€420,000 · Paid by: Business contents
After the fire, production stops for four months while wages and lease payments carry on.
€260,000 · Paid by: Business interruption
Which package would you have had?
Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €851,000
Illustrative amounts before any excess.
What is paid depends on the policy terms.
Practical tips from your broker
Declare every installation holding substances hazardous to water in your environmental liability, from the drip tray to the electroplating bath; undeclared installations are often not covered.
Add environmental damage insurance and check whether damage to your own land is included.
If you supply the car industry: extended product liability with inspection and sorting costs and at least €5 million cover.
Insure metal stocks kept outdoors expressly against theft, otherwise cover often only applies inside a locked building.
With furnaces, heat treatment plants and presses, machinery insurance belongs in the package; a single breakdown often costs more than a year's premium for the whole park.
Set the indemnity period of your business interruption cover to at least 18 months: replacements for special machines and furnaces have long delivery times.
Why NAMMERT for your business
Environmental cover set up properly
Environmental liability, environmental damage and water damage liability are three different things. We sort them out for your installations and obtain quotes from several insurers.
Experience from handling claims ourselves
In boat insurance we handle claims ourselves. We know which documents an insurer wants after a fire in the hall and where it likes to cut.
One contact for business and family
Hall, machines, lorries, your staff's pensions and your own cover all come together with us, and we can handle it in English.
Family owned since 1989
We are a family business, like many metalworking firms. Our work costs you nothing; the insurer pays our commission.
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
Does a metalworking firm need environmental liability?
As soon as you store oils, coolants, acids or baths, yes.
Under the German Water Resources Act you are liable for water pollution even without fault.
Are dimensional errors covered by product liability?
No insurance replaces the faulty parts themselves.
The follow-on costs at the customer, such as sorting, removal and refitting,
can be insured through extended product liability.
What does insurance cost for a turning shop?
General liability for a small turning shop starts at around €400 a year.
With contents insurance, small firms usually pay between €800 and €2,200.
Why is a foundry so expensive to insure?
Molten metal, moulding sand and large halls mean a high fire load,
and damage to the furnace stops everything.
Insurers therefore set fire protection conditions and charge higher premiums.
Is stolen material in the yard covered?
Only if outdoor theft is agreed,
usually with its own limit and conditions for fencing and lighting.
Who pays if an employee is injured at the press?
The BG Holz und Metall, the statutory accident insurer, pays for treatment,
rehabilitation and a pension.
Group accident insurance can pay a lump sum on top.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Metal processing
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.
