Insurance for tailors, alteration shops and sewing studios in Germany
A tailor's shop usually holds more of other people's clothes than its own. A wedding dress, a made to measure suit, a customer's leather jacket: if it is cut too short, scorched by the iron or stolen overnight, you are liable. Whether you run a bespoke tailoring business, an alteration shop or a small sewing studio in Germany, this page explains which insurance makes sense, what it costs and where the usual gaps are.
Will my business liability pay if I ruin a customer's dress while altering it?
Only if damage to items being worked on is explicitly included. Many liability policies exclude damage to things you are currently working on, or pay only a small sum. For a tailor this is the most important part of the policy, so check the limit and the excess per claim.
What goes wrong in this trade
01
Cut too short or scorched
Trousers end up too short, the iron is too hot, silk changes colour under steam. The customer wants the price of a new garment.
02
A wedding dress days before the wedding
Damage to an item with a fixed date costs more than the fabric: replacements have to be found under time pressure.
03
Burglary and fire
Dozens of customers' garments hang on the rails. Without suitable contents cover you pay for other people's clothes yourself.
04
Machine breakdown
The industrial sewing machine or overlocker fails in the busy season and orders pile up.
05
Customers in the shop
A customer trips over a cable in the fitting room or is hurt by a pin.
06
Your own hands
If you live from your eyes, back and fine motor skills, a long illness means no income.
Pays for injuries and property damage to customers. For tailors, the key element is damage to customers' garments while you work on them, with an adequate limit.
Covers machines, fabrics, accessories and customers' clothes in the shop against fire, burglary and water damage. Third party property must be included.
For disputes with customers over defects and prices, with your landlord and with staff.
What it costs: example prices
Premiums depend on turnover, number of staff and above all on the limit for damage to items being worked on and the value of customers' garments in the shop.
Insurance
Example
Typical range
Business liability
Alteration shop, one owner, €3 million cover, damage to worked items up to €10,000
about €80 to €200 a year
Business liability
Bespoke tailor with three staff, damage to worked items up to €25,000
about €180 to €450 a year
Business contents
Shop with equipment and customers' garments worth €40,000 in total
about €150 to €400 a year
Machinery breakdown
Embroidery and industrial sewing machines worth €25,000
about €150 to €350 a year
Business interruption
Small shop, 12 months indemnity period, €60,000 gross profit
about €120 to €300 a year
For comparison: Liability cover for a small alteration shop costs about as much a year as taking up ten pairs of trousers.
All figures are guide values from our quoting work, excluding German insurance premium tax,
as of October 2026.
We found no published tariffs specifically for tailors; the sources document the legal position.
Six things that really happen to tailors, all on one Saturday in May. Tap through and see who pays.
Damage so far€22,300
While shortening a wedding dress, the lace is cut too short. A replacement and a rush job are needed.
€2,400 · Paid by: Business liability
The steam iron leaves a shiny mark on a made to measure suit.
€1,200 · Paid by: Business liability
A customer trips over a loose carpet edge in the fitting room and breaks his wrist.
€6,500 · Paid by: Business liability
The embroidery machine stops with a motor failure.
€3,800 · Paid by: Machinery breakdown
A customer refuses to pay for the alteration and threatens to call a lawyer.
€900 · Paid by: Business legal expenses
Burglary through the back door: customers' leather jackets and coats are gone.
€7,500 · Paid by: Business contents
Which package would you have had?
Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €22,300
Illustrative amounts before any excess.
What is paid depends on the policy terms.
Practical tips from your broker
Have damage to customers' garments while you work on them written into your liability policy, with a limit that also covers a wedding dress or a fur coat.
Include customers' clothes in your contents insurance; many policies otherwise cover only your own property.
Note the condition and value of expensive items on the order slip when you take them in.
Check the excess: with many small claims a low excess pays off, with rare large ones a higher excess saves premium.
Keep the contents sum up to date, especially before the wedding and ball season.
If you work alone, look at income protection early; it gets more expensive every year.
Why NAMMERT for your business
Focus on damage to customers' items
As an insurance broker we compare several insurers and check the element that matters most for tailors: damage to the garment you are working on.
Shop and workroom together
Liability, equipment, customers' garments and machines are reviewed together so no gap opens between policies.
Business and private in one place
Norman Nammert, your insurance broker, looks after your business and your personal cover together, with one named contact.
Family business, placing cover since 1989
Our work is free for you; the insurer pays our commission. We advise in English or German.
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
Is insurance compulsory for tailors in Germany?
No, there is no statutory insurance duty.
Business liability including damage to items being worked on is still the most important cover,
because you handle other people's property every day.
What does damage to items being worked on mean?
Damage to something you are currently working on,
such as a garment that is cut wrongly or scorched.
Many liability policies exclude it, so it must be included explicitly.
Are customers' clothes covered after a burglary?
Only if your contents insurance includes third party property and the sum insured covers the value
of customers' garments in the shop.
What does insurance for an alteration shop cost?
Liability starts at about €80 a year.
With contents insurance small shops usually pay €250 to €600 a year.
These are guide values from our quoting work.
Do I need a master craftsman qualification to open a tailor's shop?
No.
Bespoke tailoring is listed in Annex B of the German Crafts Code,
so no master qualification is required to open the business.
Am I covered by statutory accident insurance as the owner?
Employees are covered by law.
For yourself you can take out private accident insurance or voluntary cover with the responsible
employers' liability insurance association.
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