Skip to content

Insurance broker / Business types / Transport and logistics

Insurance for towing, breakdown and recovery services in Germany

A towing service works where nobody else is allowed to stop: on the hard shoulder, at night, in the rain, with someone else's car on the hook. Recovery and breakdown work is dangerous for your crew and expensive when a customer's vehicle slides off the flatbed. This page explains, under German law, which insurance is compulsory, where standard liability cover has a gap and roughly what a towing business pays a year.

Insurance for towing and breakdown services in Germany

The question almost everyone asks first

Who pays if a customer's car slides off my flatbed?

Not automatically your business liability policy: damage to property in your care or being worked on is usually excluded. You need an extension for care, custody and control, or separate cover for vehicles you carry and store. Your motor liability pays third parties, not the load on your own truck. This gap is the first thing we check.

What goes wrong in this trade

  1. 01

    Motorway call outs

    Lorries pass the hard shoulder at 80 km/h. Rear end collisions at roadside jobs injure drivers and damage vehicles.

  2. 02

    Damage while loading

    A strap snaps, a winch pulls crooked, the ramp is too steep: the towed vehicle is damaged on the way up or on the road.

  3. 03

    Storage yard

    Impounded and towed vehicles stay with you. Theft, vandalism, hail and fire hit other people's property.

  4. 04

    Burning EVs

    A crashed electric car can catch fire days later in your yard and take neighbouring vehicles with it.

  5. 05

    Truck off the road

    If your only recovery truck is out of action, jobs from contracts go to the next firm on the list.

  6. 06

    Disputes over fees

    Owners dispute towing and storage fees, and garages and clients pay late.

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

Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.

The insurance you need

Essential

Car insurance

Required by law for tow trucks, flatbeds and service vans; choose a high combined limit.

Business liability

Covers damage during roadside assistance and on your premises; add damage to customer vehicles in your care.

Strongly advised

Cargo insurance

Covers the vehicles you carry even when you are not at fault, for instance after an accident of the tow truck.

Fleet insurance

From three vehicles, a fleet policy bundles liability and comprehensive cover, including costly recovery equipment.

Business contents

Workshop, tools, winches and spare parts against fire, burglary and water.

Depends on the business

Group accident insurance

Adds to the Berufsgenossenschaft (statutory accident insurer) for drivers working at dangerous sites.

What it costs: example prices

Tow trucks sit in their own tariff groups. The premium depends on weight, area, claims history and whether you do motorway and police work.

InsuranceExampleTypical range
Car insuranceTow truck up to 7.5 tonnes, liability only, good claims historyabout €1,500 to €3,500 a year
Car insuranceRecovery vehicle over 7.5 tonnes with comprehensive coverabout €5,000 to €12,000 a year
Business liabilityTowing firm with five staff, damage in care up to €100,000 includedabout €800 to €2,500 a year
Cargo insuranceCover for carried customer vehicles up to €80,000 eachabout €600 to €2,000 a year

For comparison: A year of business liability including damage in your care costs about as much as two or three motorway tows.

Guide prices from our quoting practice, as of October 2026, excluding insurance tax.

Published tariffs for towing firms hardly exist; vehicles,

type of work and claims history move the premium a lot.

Sources of the price examples

Our suggestions: three packages

01

One truck

For: Owner driver with a single tow truck

  • Car insurance
  • Business liability
  • Occupational disability

Together about €2,500 to €6,000 a year, excluding income protection

Request this package

02

Yard and workshop

For: Three to six vehicles, storage yard and workshop

  • Fleet insurance
  • Business liability
  • Cargo insurance
  • Business contents
  • Business legal expenses

Together about €10,000 to €30,000 a year

Request this package

03

Heavy recovery

For: Recovery firm with heavy vehicles, motorway and police work

  • Fleet insurance
  • Business liability
  • Cargo insurance
  • Business contents
  • Business legal expenses
  • Group accident insurance

Together individual, usually from about €30,000 a year

Request this package

The worst day at a towing firm

Six things that really happen to towing services, here all in one Friday night. Click through and see who pays.

Damage so far€138,500
  1. A strap snaps while loading and the customer's SUV lands nose first on the flatbed.

    €9,000 · Paid by: Business liability

  2. On the way to a job your driver misses a small car at a junction.

    €14,000 · Paid by: Car insurance

  3. A lorry clips your recovery truck at a motorway scene.

    €35,000 · Paid by: Fleet insurance

  4. A car falls off the flatbed when the tow truck brakes hard.

    €18,000 · Paid by: Cargo insurance

  5. A crashed car catches fire in the yard and damages the workshop.

    €60,000 · Paid by: Business contents

  6. An owner refuses to pay the towing bill and goes to court.

    €2,500 · Paid by: Business legal expenses

Which package would you have had?

Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €138,500

Illustrative amounts before any excess.

What is paid depends on the policy terms.

Practical tips from your broker

  1. Have damage to customer vehicles in your care explicitly included in business liability, with a limit that matches the cars you move.
  2. Insure carried vehicles separately if you often load expensive cars; liability only pays when you are at fault.
  3. Check which limits your framework contracts with police, motoring clubs or insurers require.
  4. Park crashed electric cars with distance to other vehicles and tell your property insurer about the yard.
  5. Choose a high combined limit in motor liability; the statutory minimum is not enough for serious injuries.
  6. Photograph every vehicle before loading; it settles many disputes.

Why NAMMERT for your business

We find the care gap

The most common gap at towing firms is damage to the customer's car. We check your policies for exactly that.

Comparison for special vehicles

Not every insurer covers tow and recovery trucks. Norman Nammert, as an insurance broker, approaches those that do.

Experience with recovery

From boat insurance we know salvage, transport and claims handling in practice.

Brokering since 1989

A family business, like many towing firms, and we speak English. Our advice costs you nothing; the insurer pays our commission.

Frequently asked questions

Questions and answers

Which insurance is compulsory for a towing service in Germany?

Motor liability for every vehicle, with at least €7.5 million for injury,

€1.3 million for property damage and €50,000 for financial loss.

Everything else is voluntary but often required in framework contracts.

Do I need goods in transit liability?

Not for carrying damaged or broken down vehicles for road safety reasons or to return them;

§ 2(1) no.

3 GüKG exempts this.

Commercially transporting intact vehicles can fall under the GüKG,

which then requires insurance under § 7a with at least €600,000 per event.

Is damage to the towed car covered?

Only if you have arranged it.

Standard business liability excludes other people's property in your care.

You need an extension or transit cover.

What does insurance for a tow truck cost?

Motor liability for a truck up to 7.5 tonnes is typically about €1,500 to €3,500 a year,

much more with comprehensive cover or for heavy recovery vehicles.

These are guide prices from our quoting practice.

What about vehicles in my storage yard?

For fire, theft and vandalism to other people's cars you need a care extension or suitable

property cover.

Declare the yard and the usual number of vehicles.

Are my drivers covered for accidents at work?

Employees are covered by the Berufsgenossenschaft.

Whether you as owner are included depends on its statutes;

otherwise voluntary cover there or private accident insurance makes sense.

NAMMERT insurance broker

Request quotes for Towing service

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

Car insurance in Germany (liability, partial and fully comprehensive)

Most precise with the HSN and TSN codes from the registration document

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 legal expenses insurance in Germany (Firmenrechtsschutz)

For example plumbing business, tax practice, online shop for electronics

Existing disputes cannot be insured, but knowing about them helps us advise you

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

Cargo and transport insurance in Germany

Only for hauliers and own-account transport

For example Incoterms, ADSp, packing, storage, previous claims

Fleet insurance in Germany (Kfz-Flottenversicherung)

For example leasing, insurer's claims report, foreign trips, renewal date

4Your current policy
5How can we reach you?

Related trades

Haulier

Haulier

Do I need goods in transit liability even with just one lorry?

Freight forwarder

Freight forwarder

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

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