Professional indemnity
Required by law under § 67 StBerG for every tax adviser and every professional firm; pays your clients' financial losses.
Insurance broker / Business types / Professional services
Insurance for tax advisers, tax practices and auditors in Germany
A missed objection, a forgotten deadline for an investment deduction, a payroll entry booked wrongly: in a tax practice small mistakes quickly cost clients five-figure sums. That is why German law makes professional indemnity compulsory for tax advisers (Steuerberater). This page explains the required sums, what they cost and where practices still have gaps.
The question almost everyone asks first
Are my payroll and bookkeeping staff covered?
Yes, if they are declared in the policy. Most tariffs charge a supplement per employee, around 80 to 170 euros a year for each full-time member of staff depending on the sum insured. If you hire new people and do not declare them, you risk a dispute over payment. Check once a year that the number in the policy is right.
What goes wrong in this trade
- 01
Tax office deadlines
Objection, application and filing deadlines run in parallel for hundreds of clients. A single forgotten deadline can trigger late filing surcharges and lost tax benefits.
- 02
Planning errors
Conversions, business splits and succession planning have consequences for years. An overlooked detail in inheritance tax quickly reaches six figures.
- 03
Payroll
Wrongly calculated social security contributions often only surface in a payroll audit. The back payment for four years hits the client, and the recourse claim hits the practice.
- 04
Client data
Tax advisers hold bank details, salaries and tax IDs of thousands of people. Attackers know this, and tax practices are among the businesses most often targeted.
- 05
Business advice
Business plans, company valuations and financing advice sit at the edge of the tasks reserved to tax advisers. Whether they are covered depends on the wording of the policy.
- 06
Owner absence
In a sole practice everything depends on one person. If they fall ill in the busy season, deadlines pile up and clients leave.
Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.
The insurance you need
Essential
Strongly advised
Cyber insurance
Covers forensics, recovery, reporting duties and downtime if your practice software or email accounts are attacked.
Business liability
Pays for injury and property damage, such as a client falling in your office; that is not a financial loss and is not part of the compulsory cover.
Business contents
Replaces furniture and computers and pays to recreate documents after fire, water or burglary.
Occupational disability
The professional pension scheme (Versorgungswerk) usually only pays for total disability; private cover closes the gap before that.
Depends on the business
Business interruption
Keeps paying salaries and rent if the practice cannot work for weeks after property damage.
Company pension (bAV)
Helps retain tax assistants in a tight labour market and brings tax advantages for the practice.
What it costs: example prices
The premium depends on fee income, the sum insured, the number of employees and the legal form. Specialist adviser titles (Fachberater) lower the premium with some insurers.
| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Professional indemnity | Sole tax adviser, compulsory cover of 250,000 euros, fees up to 50,000 euros | around 260 to 820 euros a year |
| Professional indemnity | Sole practice, 250,000 euros, three full-time bookkeepers | around 900 to 1,300 euros a year |
| Professional indemnity | Partnership with three tax advisers, 1 million euros per claim, fees of 1 million euros | around 2,400 to 5,200 euros a year |
| Cyber insurance | Practice with ten workstations and remote access | around 800 to 2,500 euros a year |
| Business contents | Furniture and equipment worth 60,000 euros | around 130 to 400 euros a year |
For comparison: The compulsory cover of a small sole practice costs about as much a year as two or three simple income tax returns for employees.
Guide prices excluding German insurance premium tax, as of September 2026, from published tariff examples and rate sheets; cyber and contents are guide values from our own quoting experience. Your premium depends on your practice and the insurer, and we obtain the exact quote for you.
Our suggestions: three packages
01
Appointment
For: Newly qualified, sole adviser, practice on the side
- Professional indemnity
Together around 260 to 820 euros a year
Request this package02
Practice
For: Sole practice with a bookkeeping team and its own offices
- Professional indemnity
- Cyber insurance
- Business liability
- Business contents
Together around 2,000 to 4,500 euros a year
Request this package03
Firm
For: Tax advisory company or partnership with several qualified advisers
- Professional indemnity
- Cyber insurance
- Business liability
- Business contents
- Business interruption
- Company pension (bAV)
Together around 5,000 to 12,000 euros a year
Request this packageThe worst day in a tax practice
Six things that really happen in tax practices, all on a single day in May. Tap through the day and see who pays.
Damage so far€212,000
-
The deadline for objecting to an estimated tax assessment has passed. The client has to pay 18,000 euros of tax he does not owe.
-
The pension insurance fund audits a client: mini-jobbers were processed wrongly for four years. Back payment plus late payment surcharges.
-
When a GmbH shareholding was sold, a holding period was overlooked. The capital gain is taxed in full.
-
An email with malware encrypts the server. Forensics, recovery and notifying 900 clients.
-
A client slips on the freshly mopped stairs to the office and breaks his ankle.
-
Short circuit in the server room: smoke spreads through the offices, computers and furniture are covered in soot.
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
- Report every new full-time and part-time bookkeeper to the insurer, otherwise the premium basis is wrong and your cover can be challenged.
- Check that business advice such as business plans, subsidy advice and company valuations is explicitly covered.
- For planning advice on succession and conversions, choose at least 1 million euros per claim; the compulsory sum is rarely enough.
- When moving into a professional firm, check the sums under § 55f StBerG: 1 million euros per claim with limited liability, 500,000 euros without.
- Look for cyber cover that also pays for downtime in the busy season and provides a crisis service around the clock.
- Agree run-off cover before you give up or sell the practice; mistakes from past years often only surface in a tax audit.
Why NAMMERT for your business
We compare the clauses that matter
As a broker we collect quotes from several insurers and show how they count employees, what they mean by business advice and where sublimits apply.
We know claims handling first hand
In boat insurance we settle claims ourselves. That experience helps you when an insurer hesitates over a recourse claim from payroll work.
One contact for practice and family
Professional indemnity, offices, team pensions and your private cover all sit with us in one place.
Family business since 1989
Our work costs you nothing, as the insurer pays our commission. You speak to people who know your policy.
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
How high must a tax adviser's professional indemnity be?
At least 250,000 euros per claim, with an annual maximum of at least 1 million euros. For firms with limited liability, 1 million euros per claim applies.
What does professional indemnity for tax advisers cost?
For a small sole practice with compulsory cover around 260 to 820 euros a year. With staff and a higher sum, the premium quickly rises to 1,000 euros or more.
Does the tax advisory company need its own cover too?
Yes. Since the reform of professional law on 1 August 2022, every professional firm must have its own professional indemnity, whatever its legal form.
What applies to auditors?
Auditors need professional indemnity of at least 1 million euros per claim under § 54 WPO. If you hold both qualifications, you need a policy that covers both professions.
Does the insurer pay my client's late filing surcharges?
Yes, if they are caused by a mistake of the practice, such as a forgotten deadline. Surcharges the client caused himself are not covered.
Do I also need cyber insurance?
Professional indemnity pays your clients' losses, not your own costs after an attack. Only cyber insurance pays for forensics, recovery and downtime.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Tax adviser
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.
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Official classification
This page covers the following classes of the German WZ 2025 (identical to NACE at four digits):
- 69.20 Wirtschaftsprüfung und Steuerberatung; Buchführung
Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), WZ 2025. All business types
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