Skip to content

Insurance broker / Business types / Professional services

Insurance for research institutes, laboratories and development companies in Germany

In a laboratory, years of work sit in a single freezer: cell lines, samples and prototypes that cannot simply be bought again. Add equipment worth as much as a family home, chemicals and confidential data. If you run studies with human participants, German law also requires specific insurance. This page explains what you need and what it costs.

Insurance for research and development

The question almost everyone asks first

Are our samples insured if the freezer fails?

Only if you have agreed it. Standard contents insurance pays for fire, water and burglary, not when a compressor dies or the power goes off. There are extensions for spoilage of refrigerated goods, usually tied to temperature monitoring with an alarm. What matters is how the value is calculated: often the insurer only pays the cost of recreating the samples, not the research time that was lost.

What goes wrong in this trade

  1. 01

    Frozen samples

    A freezer failure over the weekend destroys cell lines and samples collected over years. This is often the most expensive claim in a lab.

  2. 02

    Lab equipment

    Mass spectrometers, microscopes and sequencers cost six figures and are sensitive to power surges, water and operating errors.

  3. 03

    Chemicals and fire

    Solvents, gases and heating cabinets are typical causes of fire. A fire often also hits neighbouring tenants in the technology park.

  4. 04

    Studies with people

    In clinical trials and observational studies, participants can be harmed. The compulsory insurance must be in place before the first participant is enrolled.

  5. 05

    Knowledge and data

    Research data, patent drafts and formulations are sought after. Attacks aim to steal or encrypt them.

  6. 06

    Prototypes at partners

    If you supply samples and prototypes to partners, you are liable for damage they cause, even before the product is on the market.

Risk radar
Liability 4Fire and water 4Theft 2Cyber 4Downtime 4Health 3

Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.

The insurance you need

Essential

Business liability

Covers injury and property damage from lab operations, environmental risks and prototypes; product and environmental liability are part of it.

Strongly advised

Electronic equipment

Insures lab equipment and measuring devices against breakage, operating errors, power surges and water.

Business contents

Replaces furniture and supplies and, with the right extension, spoiled refrigerated goods after fire, water and burglary.

Cyber insurance

Helps with data theft, encrypted servers and reporting duties for study data.

Depends on the business

Machinery breakdown

For refrigeration, cleanroom systems and test rigs against machinery breakdown.

Cargo insurance

For shipping samples and moving equipment to partners, including under cold chain conditions.

D&O insurance

For managing directors of investor-backed start-ups who are personally answerable for grants and funding.

What it costs: example prices

What counts is the type of research, the value of equipment, the handling of hazardous substances and whether people take part in studies. Trial participant insurance is priced per study.

InsuranceExampleTypical range
Business liabilityDevelopment company with 15 staff, lab and prototypesaround 1,000 to 3,500 euros a year
Electronic equipmentLab and measuring equipment worth 500,000 eurosaround 1,500 to 4,000 euros a year
Business contentsFurniture, supplies and refrigerated goods worth 1 million eurosaround 1,200 to 3,000 euros a year
Cyber insuranceResearch company with study and patent data, 500,000 euros coveraround 800 to 2,500 euros a year
Cargo insuranceShipping samples in cool boxes within Europearound 200 to 600 euros a year

For comparison: Liability and contents cover for a small development company cost about as much a year as one or two months' salary for a lab assistant.

Guide prices excluding German insurance premium tax, as of September 2026,

from our own quoting experience; published tariff examples for this sector are rare.

Insurers price trial participant insurance per study.

We obtain the exact quote for you.

Sources of the price examples

Our suggestions: three packages

01

Start-up

For: New company with a small lab or development office

  • Business liability
  • Business contents
  • Cyber insurance

Together around 2,000 to 5,000 euros a year

Request this package

02

Laboratory

For: Lab with expensive equipment, frozen samples and sample shipping

  • Business liability
  • Electronic equipment
  • Business contents
  • Business interruption
  • Cyber insurance
  • Cargo insurance

Together around 6,000 to 14,000 euros a year

Request this package

03

Institute

For: Research company with installations, investors and a management team

  • Business liability
  • Electronic equipment
  • Business contents
  • Business interruption
  • Cyber insurance
  • Machinery breakdown
  • D&O insurance

Together from around 15,000 euros a year, calculated individually

Request this package

The worst day in the lab

Six things that really happen in labs and development companies, all on a single Monday after a long weekend. Tap through the day and see who pays.

Damage so far€304,000
  1. The freezer has been off since Saturday, and the alarm went to an old mobile phone. Cell lines and samples are lost.

    €60,000 · Paid by: Business contents

  2. The freezer's compressor cannot be repaired.

    €14,000 · Paid by: Machinery breakdown

  3. A water hose on the lab washer bursts and runs into the mass spectrometer next door.

    €120,000 · Paid by: Electronic equipment

  4. A prototype overheats during a partner's test and damages the partner's test rig.

    €35,000 · Paid by: Business liability

  5. A phishing email opens access to patent drafts. Forensics, lawyers and informing the partner.

    €30,000 · Paid by: Cyber insurance

  6. Until the instrument is replaced, two projects stand still for four weeks. Salaries and rent keep running.

    €45,000 · Paid by: Business interruption

Which package would you have had?

Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €304,000

Illustrative amounts before any excess.

What is paid depends on the policy terms.

Practical tips from your broker

  1. Agree cover for spoilage of refrigerated goods explicitly and clarify how samples are valued: cost of recreation or a fixed amount.
  2. Route temperature alarms to several people and document it; insurers often make this a condition.
  3. Insure lab equipment at replacement value under an electronics policy, including leased and borrowed devices.
  4. Take out trial participant insurance before each study begins and check sums, duration and the late reporting period.
  5. For prototypes and deliveries to partners, look for extended product liability that includes removal and installation costs.
  6. With grants and investors, check whether D&O cover for management is required or sensible.

Why NAMMERT for your business

We look at assets and downtime together

As a broker we align contents, electronics, machinery and business interruption cover so that a lab loss leaves no gap between policies.

We know claims handling from the inside

In boat insurance we handle claims ourselves. We know what evidence an insurer expects for the value of lost samples.

Several insurers compared

Only a few insurers have suitable terms for research. We collect quotes and explain the differences.

Family business since 1989

No cost to you, as the insurer pays our commission. You have one contact for the company and private matters.

Frequently asked questions

Questions and answers

Do we need compulsory insurance for studies with people?

Yes, for clinical trials of medicinal products § 40a AMG requires trial participant insurance of

at least 500,000 euros per person for death or permanent incapacity.

Medical devices are subject to their own rules.

Can research results themselves be insured?

The value of knowledge cannot be insured directly.

What can be insured is the cost of recreating samples and data,

and the loss of income after property damage.

What does insurance for a small lab cost?

Liability, contents and cyber for a start-up are usually between 2,000 and 5,000 euros a year.

With expensive equipment and business interruption cover, 6,000 to 14,000 euros is usual.

Which statutory accident insurer is responsible?

For chemical, pharmaceutical and biotech labs usually the BG RCI,

for development offices without a lab the VBG.

Universities and public institutes are insured through the public accident funds.

Are leased lab devices insured by the leasing company?

The lease often requires you to insure the devices yourself.

Check the contract and add the devices to your electronics policy.

Does liability cover damage caused by our prototypes?

If product liability includes prototypes and samples, yes.

Deliveries to the USA or in series production need special agreements.

NAMMERT insurance broker

Request quotes for Research

The recommended covers are ticked.

Change what does not fit; we compare quotes, in English.

1Who is it for?
2Which insurance?

Choose as many as you like. For each one, the details an insurer needs for a quote appear below.

Personal

Business

3Details

Business liability insurance in Germany (Betriebshaftpflicht)

For example electrical installation in homes, café with outdoor seating, online shop for furniture

For example work at clients' sites, own products, exports to the US, parent company abroad

Business contents insurance in Germany (Inhaltsversicherung)

For example café with bakery, accounting firm, car repair shop

At purchase price, 0 if no stock

For example flood cover, customer property, tools in vehicles, loss of income

Business interruption insurance in Germany (Betriebsunterbrechungsversicherung)

For example metalworking with eight staff, restaurant, dental practice

Turnover minus materials and goods purchased, your tax adviser will know

For example key machinery, flood, long delivery times

Electronic equipment insurance in Germany (Elektronikversicherung)

For example single expensive devices, extra costs, practice downtime

Cyber insurance for businesses in Germany

Rule of thumb: cost of three to four weeks of downtime plus recovery

4Your current policy
5How can we reach you?

Free of charge and without obligation. A person will get back to you.

Related trades

Official classification

This page covers the following classes of the German WZ 2025 (identical to NACE at four digits):

  • 72.10

Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), WZ 2025. All business types

Boat or yacht? NAMMERT has its own cover concepts for boats, arranged by the same broker.

Boat insurance

Updated