Insurance for music schools, dance schools and art schools in Germany
In a private music or dance school, children fill the building in the afternoon, adults in the evening and an audience at the weekend. Add loan instruments, a grand piano worth more than your car and teachers working on a freelance basis. This page explains who is liable for what and which insurance picks up the bill.
Are we liable if a child is hurt in a dance class?
Only if you are at fault, for example through a lack of supervision, a slippery floor or an exercise unsuitable for the child's age. Your public liability then pays medical costs and compensation for pain and suffering. If the accident happens without any fault on your part, the child gets nothing, because private classes are not covered by the statutory accident insurance for pupils. Group accident insurance closes this gap.
What goes wrong in this trade
01
Children on the premises
Running in the corridor, fingers caught in a door, a fall in the dance studio: your duty of supervision and keeping the premises safe are at the heart of your liability.
02
Instruments and the grand piano
A concert grand, drum kits, loan violins for beginners: water damage, toppling over and theft hit valuables that hardly anyone keeps an eye on.
03
Loan instruments at the student's home
The cello falls over on the bus, the flute is left on the train. Who pays depends on the loan agreement and on cover away from the premises.
04
Concerts and recitals
A rented town hall, someone else's stage lighting, hundreds of parents: damage to the venue and falls in the audience are on your account.
05
Freelance teachers
Freelance teachers often work in the school's name. The German pension insurance (Rentenversicherung) looks closely at whether they are genuinely self employed, and liability does not always follow the contract.
06
Noise and neighbours
Drum lessons in a block of flats, dance music until 10 pm: disputes with landlords and neighbours quickly end up in court.
For student administration, direct debits and online lessons involving sensitive data about children.
What it costs: example prices
Premiums depend on the number of teachers and students, on whether you teach dance or music and on the value of the instruments. Dance schools holding balls and parties are rated higher than one to one lessons only.
Insurance
Example
Typical range
Business liability
Music school with turnover up to 30,000 euros and 3 million euros cover
about 110 to 250 euros a year
Business liability
Dance school with classes, an end of course ball and five employees
about 300 to 700 euros a year
Business contents
Grand piano, instruments and furnishings worth 50,000 euros
about 180 to 350 euros a year
Electronic equipment
Loan instruments worth 15,000 euros, with cover away from the premises
about 200 to 450 euros a year
Group accident insurance
300 students in lessons and on the way there
about 150 to 400 euros a year
For comparison: Liability and contents cover for a small music school cost about as much a year as having a grand piano tuned two or three times.
Guide prices excluding German insurance tax, as of September 2026,
based on published tariff examples for trainers,
instruments and contents and on our own quoting experience.
Six things that really happen in music and dance schools, all on a single Friday with a recital in the evening. Tap through the day and see who pays.
Damage so far€39,100
The heating upstairs is leaking, and water has dripped onto the grand piano overnight. Soundboard and action have swollen.
€16,000 · Paid by: Business contents
After drying out, the teaching room stays closed for three weeks while fees and rent keep running.
€5,500 · Paid by: Business interruption
In the children's ballet class, a girl slips on a loose floor panel and breaks her forearm.
€4,800 · Paid by: Business liability
A student leaves the loan violin on the bus, and it never turns up again.
€1,200 · Paid by: Electronic equipment
At the recital in the rented school hall, a music stand falls into the council's stage lighting.
€2,600 · Paid by: Business liability
A father falls on the poorly lit stairs to the hall and badly injures his knee.
€9,000 · Paid by: Business liability
Which package would you have had?
Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €39,100
Illustrative amounts before any excess.
What is paid depends on the policy terms.
Practical tips from your broker
Have supervision of minors, dance events and performances in third party venues expressly included.
Insure the grand piano at its replacement value as a separate item, and check whether damage from heating and humidity is covered.
Set out in the loan agreement who is liable for lost or damaged loan instruments, and insure them with cover away from the premises.
Ask freelance teachers for proof of their own professional liability cover, or include them by name in your policy.
Offer group accident insurance for children; parents ask about it, and it often costs only a few euros per student.
Choose at least 5 million euros of cover if you hold dance events with lots of guests.
Why NAMMERT for your business
We compare for schools
Not every tariff understands supervision duties, loan instruments and dance balls. As a broker we get offers from several insurers and show you where they really differ.
We know claims first hand
In boat insurance we handle claims ourselves. When the value of a grand piano is being argued over after water damage, we know which evidence counts.
School and private life in one place
Many school owners teach themselves. We look after your income protection, your own instrument and the school together.
A family business since 1989
We are a family business ourselves and stay your contact for years. Our work is free for you, as the insurer pays our commission.
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
Does a private music school need liability insurance?
Not by law, but when you teach children it is essential.
Landlords and local councils usually ask for it before letting rooms.
Are the students at our dance school covered for accidents?
No.
The statutory accident insurance for pupils applies to general and vocational schools,
not to private classes.
Group accident insurance taken out by the school closes the gap.
Is a loan instrument insured at the student's home?
Only if you have insured it with cover away from the premises,
or if the loan agreement requires the student to insure it.
The parents' household contents policy often does not pay for instruments belonging to someone
else.
Are freelance teachers covered by the school's insurance?
Often not, because they count as self employed.
Have them added to your policy or ask them for their own professional liability cover.
What does insurance for a dance school cost?
Public liability usually costs between 300 and 700 euros a year.
With contents, accident cover for students and loss of income,
the total is often 1,800 to 3,800 euros.
Does insurance cover noise complaints from neighbours?
No, noise is not an insured loss.
In a dispute with neighbours or your landlord,
business legal expenses insurance with a tenancy module does help.
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