Business liability
Covers damage to customers' devices during repair, to doors and locks on call outs, and injuries in the workshop.
Insurance broker / Business types / Services
Insurance for repair shops, cobblers and locksmiths in Germany
You work on things that belong to your customers and are often worth a lot: the smartphone with every photo on it, the heirloom watch, the made to measure shoes, the front door. If something goes wrong during a repair or a device disappears from the workshop, you are liable. This page shows which insurance picks that up and what it costs.
The question almost everyone asks first
Does my liability insurance pay if a customer's device breaks while I repair it?
Only if damage to items you work on is included. The things you are working on are excluded in basic tariffs, and they are exactly what breaks in your trade: the display when opening, the movement when changing a battery, the door frame when drilling out a lock. Get the limit for damage to worked items and for customers' devices in your custody confirmed in writing.
What goes wrong in this trade
- 01
Broken while opening
The display cracks when heated, the watch glass shatters, the heel ends up crooked. Damage to items you work on is everyday business in this trade.
- 02
Workshop break-in
Customers' phones, laptops and watches stay in the shop overnight. Attractive for burglars, expensive for you.
- 03
The wrong door
A locksmith opens a flat for someone who does not live there. Or the door is destroyed unnecessarily while opening it.
- 04
Data on the device
Photos deleted, data viewed, storage passed on: repairing phones and computers is also about data protection.
- 05
Batteries on fire
Damaged lithium batteries can catch fire, even days after you accept the device. A workshop fire hits your equipment and customers' devices.
- 06
Hands and eyes
Tiny parts, soldering irons, chemicals and grinding dust. Cuts, burns and eye injuries are typical accidents at work.
Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.
The insurance you need
Essential
Strongly advised
Business contents
Replaces tools, spare parts and, if included, customers' devices in the workshop after burglary, fire or water.
Electronic equipment
For measuring and soldering stations, key cutting machines and diagnostic equipment, which are expensive and fail after power surges.
Depends on the business
Cyber insurance
Helps if customer data from repaired devices leaks or your till system is attacked.
Car insurance
The locksmith's service vehicle with tools and spare locks needs suitable protection against break-ins.
Business legal expenses
For disputes with customers over estimates, uncollected devices and warranty.
Occupational disability
Protects your income if your eyes or hands can no longer manage fine work.
What it costs: example prices
Small repair workshops pay little. It gets more expensive with call outs, as with locksmiths, and with high limits for damage to valuable customer devices.
| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Business liability | Phone, watch or shoe repair in a shop, no call outs | about 100 to 300 euros a year |
| Business liability | Locksmith, 3 to 10 million euros cover | about 300 to 500 euros a year |
| Business contents | Workshop with tools, spare parts and customers' devices worth 30,000 euros | about 150 to 400 euros a year |
| Electronic equipment | Soldering stations, measuring and cutting machines worth 15,000 euros | about 100 to 250 euros a year |
For comparison: Public liability for a small repair workshop costs roughly as much per year as one or two screen replacements on a recent smartphone.
Guide figures excluding German insurance premium tax, as of September 2026. The locksmith example comes from publicly quoted tariffs; the other figures are guide figures from our own quoting experience. Valuable watches or jewellery in your custody change the contents premium considerably.
Sources of the price examples
Our suggestions: three packages
01
Counter
For: small workshop in a shop without call outs
- Business liability
- Business contents
Together about 250 to 700 euros a year
Request this package02
Workshop
For: repair business with valuable customer devices and expensive equipment
- Business liability
- Business contents
- Electronic equipment
- Cyber insurance
Together about 700 to 1,600 euros a year
Request this package03
Call out
For: locksmith with emergency service and service vehicles
- Business liability
- Business contents
- Electronic equipment
- Car insurance
- Business legal expenses
Together about 1,500 to 3,500 euros a year
Request this packageThe worst day in the repair shop
Six things that really happen to repair services, all on one single Saturday. Tap through the day and see who pays.
Damage so far€37,500
-
Opening a foldable phone, the main display cracks. The customer wants the current value of the device.
-
Changing the battery in a collector's watch damages the movement. The manufacturer's repair is expensive.
-
A locksmith drills open a security door that could have been opened without damage. Door and frame have to be replaced.
-
Power surge in the building: soldering station and key cutting machine are ruined.
-
Private photos from a repaired laptop have ended up in the wrong hands. Lawyer, report, compensation.
-
Break-in at the shop: 25 customer devices, spare parts and the cash float are gone.
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
- Have damage to customers' devices you work on expressly included, with a limit that matches your most expensive jobs.
- Include customers' devices as other people's property in the contents policy, against burglary, fire and water.
- Store damaged batteries in a fireproof box and keep a record of it. It lowers the fire risk and helps with the claim.
- As a locksmith: before every opening, check ID and the right to live there, and record this in writing.
- Have customers sign on acceptance that data loss is possible, and only delete or back up data on request.
- Also agree cover for loss of keys in your custody, for example for locking systems you manage for customers.
Why NAMMERT for your business
We find the custody clause
Customers' devices in your workshop are a special case that many tariffs only deal with briefly. As a broker we compare several insurers at exactly this point.
We know claims settlement from our own work
In boat insurance we settle claims ourselves. We know which photos, receipts and estimates an insurer wants to see.
Workshop, vehicle and private cover together
Liability, contents, equipment, service vehicle and your private cover are handled by us from one source.
A family business since 1989
Like you, we have small jobs and big responsibility. Our advice costs you nothing; the insurer pays our commission.
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Does a repair service need public liability insurance?
Not by law, but in practice yes. One damaged premium smartphone or security door costs more than the annual premium.
What does insurance for a locksmith cost?
Public liability is about 300 to 500 euros a year, depending on the limit. With contents, equipment and vehicle, correspondingly more.
Are customers' devices insured after a break-in?
Only if other people's property is included in your contents policy. Public liability usually does not pay after a break-in, because you are not liable without fault.
Who pays if data is lost during a repair?
Pure data loss is often only covered to a limited extent by public liability. Data protection breaches are a matter for cyber insurance.
Which statutory accident insurer is responsible?
That depends on the trade: key and metal work usually BGHM, repair of electrical goods and electronics usually BG ETEM. The Berufsgenossenschaft assigns you according to the work you actually do.
Am I liable if I open the wrong door?
Yes, if you did not check the right of entry properly. Public liability then pays for damage to the real resident's property. Careful checks also protect you from criminal complaints.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Repair service
The recommended covers are already ticked. Change what does not fit; we obtain quotes and come back with a comparison. You can write in English.
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We will be in touch within one working day. If it is urgent: +49 3375 29 12 77.
Related trades
Who pays if a customer's phone dies while we are replacing the screen?
Is ordinary contents insurance enough for my jewellery?
Am I liable if a customer crashes because of the brakes after a service?
Official classification
This page covers the following classes of the German WZ 2025 (identical to NACE at four digits):
- 95.23 Reparatur und Instandhaltung von Schuhen und Lederwaren
- 95.29 Reparatur und Instandhaltung von Gebrauchsgütern a. n. g.
- 95.40 Vermittlungstätigkeiten für die Reparatur und Instandhaltung von Datenverarbeitungsgeräten und Gebrauchsgütern sowie von Kraftwagen und Krafträdern
Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), WZ 2025. All business types
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