Insurance for commercial agents and sales agencies in Germany
As a commercial agent you are a business on four wheels: the car is office and store room, the sample case is worth thousands of euros, and your income depends on your health and on the commission from a single manufacturer. Liability cover is cheap; the expensive gaps are elsewhere. This page shows exactly where, and what protection costs.
Do I really need business liability insurance as a sales agent?
Yes. It costs little and covers what private liability insurance excludes: everything that happens in the course of your work. You knock over a display at a customer's premises, a sample injures someone or you lose the key to a showroom. Advice errors that only cost money are financial losses, however, and they have to be included expressly.
What goes wrong in this trade
01
Accident on the road
40,000 to 80,000 kilometres a year: your accident risk is higher than in almost any other job, and without a car there are no appointments.
02
Samples stolen from the car
At a motorway services or outside the hotel the car is broken into, the collection is gone and the season starts next week.
03
Damage at the customer's
Setting up a display, a shelf tips over; a sample device causes a short circuit in the shop.
04
Wrong information
You promise a delivery date or a technical feature that turns out to be wrong, and the customer claims for the loss.
05
Ill without sick pay
As a self employed agent you get no continued pay from an employer and usually no sickness benefit from your health insurer unless you arrange it.
06
Disputes over commission
If the manufacturer terminates your contract, the fight is over the indemnity claim under § 89b HGB, often worth more than a year's income.
Covers injury and property damage during customer visits, at trade fairs and caused by samples, with lost keys and ideally with financial loss included.
Daily sickness benefit bridges the first weeks in which no commission comes in.
What it costs: example prices
Liability cover for a sales agent is cheap because the office risk is low. The car, income protection and samples cost more; there the premium depends on mileage, age, health and the value of the goods.
Insurance
Example
Typical range
Business liability
Sole agent, €3 million for injury and property damage
about €80 to €200 a year
Business liability
With financial loss up to €250,000, for example for technical advice
about €200 to €450 a year
Cargo insurance
Sample collection up to €20,000, theft from the car included
about €150 to €400 a year
Business legal expenses
Contract and employment law for sole traders
about €250 to €600 a year
Occupational disability
Age 40, €2,000 monthly pension until 67, field sales
about €1,200 to €2,200 a year
For comparison: Public liability costs about as much a year as two tanks of fuel for your company car.
Guide prices as of September 2026,
based on published tariff examples and on our own quoting practice.
Disability income premiums depend heavily on age and health; we obtain the exact quote for you.
Six things that really happen to sales agents, all on a single Tuesday. Click through the day and see who pays.
Damage so far€44,100
A rear end collision in rush hour; your own car has to go to the garage.
€6,500 · Paid by: Car insurance
At a customer's shop the display stand tips over and smashes a glass cabinet.
€1,800 · Paid by: Business liability
Lunch break at the services: window smashed, the sample collection is gone.
€14,000 · Paid by: Cargo insurance
The master key to a customer's showroom is lost and the locking system has to be replaced.
€4,800 · Paid by: Business liability
The manufacturer terminates your contract and disputes the indemnity claim. Your lawyer expects two court instances.
€12,000 · Paid by: Business legal expenses
You fall on the hotel stairs and break your ankle. Six weeks without customer visits.
€5,000 · Paid by: Accident insurance
Which package would you have had?
Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €44,100
Illustrative amounts before any excess.
What is paid depends on the policy terms.
Practical tips from your broker
Have financial loss included in public liability if you give customers technical advice or promise delivery dates.
Insure the sample collection separately and check whether theft from the locked car is covered at night too.
Choose legal expenses cover with contract law for the self employed: otherwise the dispute over the indemnity claim is not covered.
Sign up voluntarily with the Berufsgenossenschaft or take out private accident insurance, because as a self employed agent you are not covered automatically.
Check that your disability income policy reflects field sales: people who drive and carry a lot are rated differently from office workers.
Have cover for lost keys to customer premises written in explicitly, with at least €50,000.
Why NAMMERT for your business
We think about your commission
As a broker we compare several insurers and start with what threatens your income, not with what is easiest to sell.
We know claims handling from the inside
In boat insurance we handle claims ourselves. When evidence is needed after a theft from the car, we know what the insurer wants to see.
Car, business and private cover with us
Company car, sample case, income protection and your private cover sit with one contact who is reachable even while you are on the road.
Family run since 1989
Free of charge for you, as the insurer pays our commission. You talk to people, not to a queue.
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
What insurance does a sales agent in Germany need?
Public liability and motor insurance are the foundation.
Often more important is protecting your own income with disability income cover and daily sickness
benefit.
If you carry samples, you need sample collection insurance.
Are samples in the car covered by motor insurance?
No.
Partial comprehensive cover protects the car itself, not the goods inside it.
That is what sample collection or transit insurance is for.
How much does public liability cost for a sales agent?
For a sole agent about €80 to €200 a year.
With financial loss included, about €200 to €450.
Am I covered by the Berufsgenossenschaft?
Not automatically as a self employed agent.
You can insure yourself voluntarily or take out private accident insurance.
Employees of an agency, by contrast, are covered by law.
Will legal expenses insurance pay in a dispute over the indemnity claim?
Only business legal expenses cover that includes contract law for the self employed.
Many basic tariffs exclude exactly this dispute, so it pays to read the terms.
Do I need the same policies as an insurance agent?
No.
Insurance intermediaries with their own licence need compulsory professional indemnity cover under
§ 34d GewO (German Trade Regulation Act).
This page is for commercial agents who sell goods or services.
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