Business liability
For shipyards, ports and shore based businesses, including damage to customers' vessels in your care; liability for the ships themselves goes through specialist insurers we approach for you.
Insurance broker / Business types / Transport and logistics
Insurance for shipowners, ferry operators, passenger vessels and shipyards in Germany
Water is where we feel at home: for boats and yachts NAMMERT is an Assekuradeur, an underwriting agency with its own tariffs and its own claims handling. For commercial shipping, ferry operators and shipyards we act as a broker and look for the right cover in the market. This page shows which insurance is compulsory there, what makes sense and what to expect.
The question almost everyone asks first
Does NAMMERT also insure my passenger vessel or my shipyard?
Yes, but in a different role. For pleasure craft and yachts we are an Assekuradeur: we have our own tariffs and handle claims ourselves. For passenger vessels, ferries, cargo ships and shipyards we are a broker: we approach specialist insurers for hull and liability, compare their terms and support you when there is a claim. We put the knowledge from handling boat claims ourselves to work for you.
What goes wrong in this trade
- 01
Collision and allision
Contact with a lock, a landing stage or another vessel: waterway structures and other ships are expensive, and so is the time they are out of use.
- 02
Passengers
Falls on board, injuries while berthing, evacuation after an engine failure: liability towards passengers is strictly regulated.
- 03
Environment and wreck
Leaking fuel, a vessel sunk in the fairway: oil clean up and wreck removal cost many times the vessel's value.
- 04
Customers' vessels at the yard
When craning, in dock, in winter storage and on sea trials, shipyards are responsible for their customers' ships and yachts.
- 05
Machinery breakdown
An engine or gearbox failure lays up a passenger vessel in the middle of the season.
- 06
Work on board and in dock
Wet decks, lines, heavy loads and welding: the risk of accidents for crew and yard workers is high.
Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.
The insurance you need
Essential
Strongly advised
Cargo insurance
Covers cargo and your liability as carrier in inland and coastal shipping.
Machinery breakdown
Covers the yard's cranes, slipways, travel lifts and workshop machinery against breakdown and operating errors.
Commercial buildings
Covers sheds, workshops and landing stages you own, including storm surge where natural hazards are included.
Business interruption
Pays fixed costs and lost income if the yard or passenger vessel is out of action after physical damage.
Depends on the business
Group accident insurance
Extra accident cover for crew and yard workers beyond what the Berufsgenossenschaft pays.
Cyber insurance
Covers booking systems in passenger shipping and networked ship systems.
Boat or yacht? Here we are not the broker but the underwriting agency, with our own policies and our own claims handling.
Boat insuranceWhat it costs: example prices
Commercial shipping has no published rate sheets. Specialist insurers price hull and liability for vessels by value, trading area, passenger numbers and claims history. For shipyards and shore based businesses the premiums are easier to pin down.
| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Business liability | Small shipyard or boatbuilder with ten staff, damage to vessels in care included | about €1,500 to €4,000 a year |
| Machinery breakdown | Travel lift and crane worth €400,000 | about €2,000 to €4,500 a year |
| Commercial buildings | Yard shed with workshop, rebuild value €1.5 million | about €1,500 to €3,500 a year |
| Group accident insurance | Per crew member or yard worker, €100,000 disability benefit | about €80 to €180 a year per person |
For comparison: Public liability for a small shipyard costs about as much a year as craning out and winterising two or three sailing yachts.
Guide prices excluding German insurance premium tax from our own quoting work, as of September 2026. The machinery figures are based on published examples of about 1 per cent of the sum insured. We obtain hull and liability for commercial vessels individually; boats and yachts we price on our own tariffs.
Our suggestions: three packages
01
Boatbuilding
For: Boatbuilders, engine workshops and small winter storage
- Business liability
- Machinery breakdown
- Commercial buildings
Together about €4,000 to €10,000 a year
Request this package02
Shipyard
For: Shipyard with dock, cranes, sheds and employed staff
- Business liability
- Machinery breakdown
- Commercial buildings
- Business interruption
- Group accident insurance
Together about €10,000 to €30,000 a year
Request this package03
Shipowner
For: Passenger or cargo shipping with its own shore operation
- Business liability
- Cargo insurance
- Business interruption
- Group accident insurance
- Cyber insurance
Together priced individually, plus hull and liability for the vessels with specialist insurers
Request this packageThe worst day on the quayside
Six events shipyards and shipping businesses really know, all on one day in October. Tap through and see who pays.
Damage so far€336,000
-
Craning a customer's yacht into winter storage, a strap slips and the keel slams onto the pier.
-
The travel lift is losing hydraulic oil from a burst line, and the motor is damaged.
-
A welder falls from staging in the dock and is badly injured.
-
On an inland vessel a load of steel coils shifts during discharge, and three coils are damaged.
-
Storm surge: half a metre of water stands in the yard shed.
-
The yard is at a standstill for six weeks and repair jobs go elsewhere.
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
- Shipyards need damage to customers' vessels in their care named expressly in their liability cover, with a limit that matches the most valuable vessel in storage.
- Sea trials with customers' vessels must be covered; many policies do not include this automatically.
- Near the coast, storm surge and flooding belong in buildings and contents cover, otherwise the most typical loss is missing.
- Depending on size and use, seagoing vessels need compulsory certificates for wreck removal, bunker oil and passenger liability, which must be carried on board.
- Have machinery breakdown and business interruption aligned, especially for passenger vessels with a short season.
- You can refer your customers' boats and yachts straight to us: we have our own tariffs for them as an Assekuradeur.
Why NAMMERT for your business
Underwriting agency for boats, broker for commercial shipping
For boats and yachts we write our own tariffs and handle claims ourselves. For shipyards, ferries and shipowners we compare offers from specialist insurers as a broker.
We know losses on the water
Crane damage, winter storage, storm surge: we handle cases like these ourselves in boat insurance, and we use that knowledge for your yard.
Yard and customers in one place
Your business insurance runs through us, and your customers can insure their yachts with us. That shortens the path when something happens in winter storage.
Family run since 1989
Free for you in our broker role; the insurer pays our commission. You speak to people who know ships and harbours.
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Is NAMMERT an insurer or a broker for ships?
For boats and yachts we are an Assekuradeur, an underwriting agency with our own tariffs and our own claims handling. For commercial shipping, ferries and shipyards we are a broker and place the risk with specialist insurers.
Which insurance is compulsory in sea shipping?
Depending on vessel size and use, liability cover for wreck removal, bunker oil pollution and towards passengers, each with an official certificate. The details depend on flag, size and trading area.
Is there compulsory insurance on inland waterways?
There is no general legal obligation. But ports, lock operators and clients regularly ask for proof of liability cover.
Are customers' yachts in winter storage covered by the yard?
Only if the yard's liability includes damage to property in its care and the yard is at fault. Damage that is nobody's fault, such as from a storm, is only covered by the owner's hull insurance.
Which Berufsgenossenschaft is responsible?
For sea and inland shipping the BG Verkehr. Shipyards and boatbuilders usually belong to the BG Holz und Metall, the statutory accident insurer for wood and metal trades.
What does insurance for a small shipyard cost?
Liability, machinery and buildings usually come to €4,000 to €10,000 a year for a small boatbuilding business, depending on sheds, cranes and the value of vessels in storage.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Shipping
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.
Thank you, we have your request.
We will be in touch within one working day. If it is urgent: +49 3375 29 12 77.
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Official classification
This page covers the following classes of the German WZ 2025 (identical to NACE at four digits):
- 33.15 Reparatur und Instandhaltung von zivilen Schiffen, Booten und Yachten
- 50.10 Personenbeförderung in der Hochsee- und Küstenschifffahrt
- 50.20 Güterbeförderung in der Hochsee- und Küstenschifffahrt
- 50.30 Personenbeförderung in der Binnenschifffahrt
- 50.40 Güterbeförderung in der Binnenschifffahrt
Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), WZ 2025. All business types
Boat or yacht? Here we are not the broker but the underwriting agency, with our own policies and our own claims handling.
Boat insuranceNAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act, broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37. For boat and yacht insurance we act as underwriting agency, not as broker. Statutory disclosure (German) · Updated