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Insurance broker / Business types / Transport and logistics

Insurance for self storage, storage units and container sites in Germany

A self storage site looks calm: roller doors, corridors, storage units, container sites in the yard. Yet hundreds of units hold other people’s property you do not control, and one fire can shut the whole site. This page shows which insurance operators in Germany need, how liability for stored goods works and what it costs.

Insurance for self storage operators

The question almost everyone asks first

Am I liable for my tenants’ belongings after a break in?

That depends on the contract. If you undertake to store and keep the items, you are a warehouse keeper and liable under the German Commercial Code if the care of a prudent merchant could have prevented the loss. If you only rent out a lockable unit to which the tenant alone has the key, responsibility for the contents lies much more with the tenant. Put this in the contract and tell tenants to insure their belongings themselves.

What goes wrong in this trade

  1. 01

    Fire

    Gas bottles, fuel cans, batteries and paint stored against the rules can start a fire that destroys many units.

  2. 02

    Break ins

    Thieves crack several locks in one night. Tenants claim compensation and ask about your security.

  3. 03

    Water damage

    A leaking roof or burst sprinkler pipe soaks furniture, files and stock in many units.

  4. 04

    Accidents on site

    A roller door comes down, a customer falls with a trolley, a van hits someone while manoeuvring.

  5. 05

    Loss of rent

    After a major loss, rent is missing for months while finance and staff costs continue.

  6. 06

    Access systems and data

    App or PIN access, online booking and CCTV: an outage locks customers out, a data breach costs money.

Risk radar
Liability 4Fire and water 5Theft 4Cyber 3Downtime 4Health 2

Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.

The insurance you need

Essential

Commercial buildings

Insures the building, container site and roller doors against fire, storm, hail and burst pipes at replacement value.

Business liability

Covers injury and property damage on site and, if included, your liability for goods in your care.

Strongly advised

Business interruption

Replaces missing rent and running costs while the site is rebuilt after fire or water damage.

Business contents

For your own equipment: shelving, trolleys, retail stock like boxes and locks, office.

Electronic equipment

For access control, CCTV, fire alarm and tills against power surges, operating errors and theft.

Depends on the business

Cyber insurance

For online booking, app access and stored customer and payment data.

What it costs: example prices

Building insurance is usually the largest item. It depends on construction, value, fire protection, sprinklers and location. Outdoor container sites are rated differently from a building with a fire alarm system.

InsuranceExampleTypical range
Commercial buildingsBuilding with 400 units, replacement value €3 million, fire, storm, wateraround €3,000 to €7,000 a year
Commercial buildingsOutdoor site with 60 containersaround €800 to €2,000 a year
Business liabilitySite with 400 units, €5 million coveraround €500 to €1,500 a year
Business interruptionRent income €600,000 a year, 12 month indemnity periodaround €1,000 to €3,000 a year
Cyber insuranceOnline booking and app accessaround €600 to €2,000 a year

For comparison: For self storage we compare building sum, loss of rent, cover for goods in your care and security requirements, not just the price.

Guide figures from our own quoting work, October 2026, excluding German insurance premium tax.

Fire protection, sprinklers and rules on prohibited items strongly affect the premium.

The liability rules come from the German Commercial Code (HGB).

Sources of the price examples

Our suggestions: three packages

01

Container site

For: outdoor containers with padlock access

  • Commercial buildings
  • Business liability
  • Business contents

Together around €1,500 to €3,500 a year

Request this package

02

Storage building

For: staffed building with access control and CCTV

  • Commercial buildings
  • Business liability
  • Business interruption
  • Electronic equipment
  • Business contents

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

Request this package

03

Several sites

For: operator with several buildings and online booking

  • Commercial buildings
  • Business liability
  • Business interruption
  • Electronic equipment
  • Cyber insurance
  • Business legal expenses

Together individual, usually from around €15,000 a year

Request this package

The worst day at the storage site

Six losses that really happen at self storage sites, all on one Monday. Tap through and see who pays.

Damage so far€47,000
  1. The early shift finds seven units broken into and a damaged access barrier.

    €4,500 · Paid by: Business contents

  2. A roller door closes too early and injures a customer’s shoulder.

    €7,000 · Paid by: Business liability

  3. A power surge after a storm destroys the access control system.

    €9,000 · Paid by: Electronic equipment

  4. Heavy rain comes through the roof, twelve units are wet and the building needs repair.

    €18,000 · Paid by: Commercial buildings

  5. Until the repair is done, rent from the affected units is missing.

    €6,000 · Paid by: Business interruption

  6. A tenant in arrears sues over the clearance of his unit.

    €2,500 · Paid by: Business legal expenses

Which package would you have had?

Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €47,000

Illustrative amounts before any excess.

What is paid depends on the policy terms.

Practical tips from your broker

  1. Make clear in the rental contract whether you rent out space or take goods into your care; your liability depends on it.
  2. Prohibit dangerous items explicitly and check it; insurers will ask.
  3. Tell tenants in writing to insure their stored belongings themselves.
  4. Insure loss of rent with an indemnity period that matches a realistic rebuild, usually 12 to 24 months.
  5. Fire alarms, CCTV and individual unit alarms lower the premium and make insurers more willing to quote.
  6. Keep records of maintenance and inspection of roller doors and lifts.

Why NAMMERT for your business

We look at liability first

Contract and insurance must fit together. We review both before we request quotes.

Claims experience from boat insurance

Boats spend the winter in other people’s storage halls too. We know questions about custody, security and fire from our own claims work.

Building, business and private in one place

Building, liability, loss of rent and your private cover with one contact person.

Family run, brokering since 1989

Norman Nammert acts as an insurance broker and we can advise you in English. Our work is free for you; the insurer pays our commission.

Frequently asked questions

Questions and answers

Which insurance is compulsory for self storage in Germany?

No law prescribes a specific insurance for renting out storage units.

Banks usually require building insurance for financing,

and running a site without public liability cover is not sensible.

Am I liable for what is in the units?

As a warehouse keeper, meaning you store and keep goods,

you are liable under § 475 HGB for loss and damage unless it could not have been prevented with

the care of a prudent merchant.

For a pure rental of space, the contract decides.

What does insurance for a self storage building cost?

From our quoting work, around €3,000 to €7,000 a year for a building worth €3 million,

plus around €500 to €1,500 for liability and €1,000 to €3,000 for loss of rent.

Are my tenants’ belongings insured through me?

Not through your contents policy, which only covers your own equipment.

Tenants should insure their items themselves;

some household policies pay limited amounts outside the home.

What if a tenant stores prohibited items?

A clear ban in the contract strengthens your position against the tenant.

But your building and loss of rent cover has to carry the loss first;

make sure it does not exclude fires caused by prohibited items.

NAMMERT insurance broker

Request quotes for Self storage

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

Commercial buildings insurance in Germany (Gebäudeversicherung)

From a valuation or your current policy

For example flood cover, solar panels, loss of rent, planned refurbishment

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

4Your current policy
5How can we reach you?

Related trades

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Do I need insurance at all as a forwarder without my own lorries?

Landlord

Landlord

Can I pass the insurance premiums on to my tenants?

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

Boat insurance

Your broker: Norman Nammert, trading as NAMMERT.

Insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act.

Broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37.

NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH is a separate company.

It does not arrange your contract.

Statutory disclosure (German) · Updated