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Insurance for winter clearing, snow clearing and gritting services in Germany

A winter clearing service sells safety on pavements, car parks and driveways. If someone still falls, the first thing their lawyer asks for is your clearing log. A single broken hip can cost more than a small snow clearing business earns in several winters. This page explains what cover you need in Germany, where the traps are and what it costs.

Insurance for winter clearing services

The question almost everyone asks first

Who pays if someone falls on an area I was supposed to clear?

Your public liability, provided winter clearing is expressly covered. The insurer checks whether you breached your duty, pays justified claims and defends unjustified ones. Your clearing log with time, weather and grit used is often decisive. Without it, proving you did your job is hard.

What goes wrong in this trade

  1. 01

    A fall on ice

    A pensioner slips outside a supermarket at seven in the morning and breaks a hip. Treatment, rehab and damages for pain add up fast.

  2. 02

    Too late, too little

    With freezing rain one pass is not enough. If your contract requires regritting and you do not, you are liable for the fall at lunchtime.

  3. 03

    Damage from the plough

    The plough blade rips out paving stones or hits a parked car.

  4. 04

    Salt damage

    Road salt attacks concrete, underground car parks and plants. Owners demand the cost of repairs.

  5. 05

    Broken machinery

    The snow blower swallows a stone, the spreader motor fails at minus twelve.

  6. 06

    Working at night

    Drivers start at three in the morning in the dark and on ice. Falls and road accidents are common.

Risk radar
Liability 5Fire and water 3Theft 3Cyber 1Downtime 3Health 4

Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.

The insurance you need

Essential

Business liability

Pays for injury and property damage from clearing and gritting and from damage caused by equipment, if winter clearing is named in the policy. Without proof of cover, property managers rarely award contracts.

Strongly advised

Car insurance

Ploughs, tractors and pick ups on public roads need motor liability. Comprehensive cover protects the expensive vehicles themselves.

Machinery breakdown

For snow blowers, spreaders, sweepers and attachments that are easily damaged in use.

Accident insurance

Adds around the clock cover to the Berufsgenossenschaft (statutory accident insurer), for you as owner and for casual staff.

Depends on the business

Business contents

Replaces salt, tools and equipment in your store after burglary, fire or storm.

What it costs: example prices

Premiums depend on the number and size of sites, private or public clients, vehicles and staff. Supermarket car parks with heavy footfall push the price up.

InsuranceExampleTypical range
Business liabilityClearing service with one vehicle and around 30 sites, €5 million limitabout €300 to €700 a year
Business liabilityWinter service for retail car parks with eight staffabout €1,200 to €3,500 a year
Car insuranceCompact tractor with plough and spreader, liability and partial coverabout €250 to €600 a year
Machinery breakdownSnow blower, spreader and sweeper worth €40,000about €500 to €1,100 a year
Accident insuranceOwner, €100,000 disability sumabout €150 to €350 a year

For comparison: One serious fall in a customer car park can cost as much as ten years of public liability.

All premiums are guide figures from our quoting work, excluding German insurance premium tax,

October 2026.

Your premium depends on sites, clients and claims history.

Sources of the price examples

Our suggestions: three packages

01

Small clearing service

For: sole traders with one vehicle and residential sites

  • Business liability
  • Car insurance
  • Accident insurance

Together about €700 to €1,600 a year

Request this package

02

Winter service business

For: three to ten vehicles, commercial sites and car parks

  • Business liability
  • Car insurance
  • Machinery breakdown
  • Business legal expenses
  • Accident insurance

Together about €4,000 to €12,000 a year

Request this package

03

All year round

For: businesses with winter clearing in winter and grounds or caretaking work in summer

  • Business liability
  • Car insurance
  • Machinery breakdown
  • Business contents
  • Business legal expenses

Together individual, usually from about €5,000 a year

Request this package

The worst day in winter clearing

Six things that really happen to winter clearing services, all on one January day with freezing rain. Tap through and see who pays.

Damage so far€24,400
  1. The plough blade catches an edge and rips out twenty paving stones.

    €2,400 · Paid by: Business liability

  2. On a driveway the tractor slides into a parked car.

    €3,800 · Paid by: Car insurance

  3. A woman falls outside the entrance of a residential block and breaks her wrist.

    €9,000 · Paid by: Business liability

  4. The snow blower sucks in a stone and the gearbox is wrecked.

    €2,900 · Paid by: Machinery breakdown

  5. A casual driver slips getting down from the tractor and injures a knee.

    €4,500 · Paid by: Accident insurance

  6. A client cuts your invoice over allegedly missed call outs, and you need a lawyer.

    €1,800 · Paid by: Business legal expenses

Which package would you have had?

Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €24,400

Illustrative amounts before any excess.

What is paid depends on the policy terms.

Practical tips from your broker

  1. Have winter clearing and damage caused by equipment written expressly into your public liability.
  2. Keep a clearing log with time, weather, area and grit used, ideally with photos or GPS.
  3. Set out areas, times and frequency of call outs in writing in every contract.
  4. Choose a high limit; injuries with lasting effects are expensive.
  5. Insure attachments separately if needed; motor comprehensive does not always include them.
  6. Register casual and seasonal staff with the Berufsgenossenschaft.

Why NAMMERT for your business

We read the small print on winter clearing

Not every policy covers clearing duties taken over by contract and damage from equipment. As a broker we compare exactly these points.

Explained in English

German policy wording can be hard going. We explain the clauses that matter in plain English.

Family run since 1989

Our work is free for you; the insurer pays our commission.

Frequently asked questions

Questions and answers

Is insurance compulsory for winter clearing in Germany?

Not for winter clearing itself.

Ploughs and tractors on public roads need motor liability,

and clients almost always ask for proof of public liability.

What does public liability for a clearing service cost?

In our quoting work about €300 to €700 a year for a small business with one vehicle.

Retail car parks and more staff cost considerably more.

Am I liable for falls in the afternoon?

If your contract requires regritting during lasting ice, yes.

That is why times and frequency belong in every contract.

Is damage to paving from the plough covered?

Only if your public liability includes damage caused by equipment while working.

Not every policy does.

How do I protect myself against false claims?

With a complete clearing log.

Time, weather, area and grit used are often the decisive evidence.

NAMMERT insurance broker

Request quotes for Winter clearing

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

Personal accident insurance (private Unfallversicherung)

Be specific, for example software developer in an office, or electrician on building sites

For example motorcycling, diving, climbing, paragliding

For example accident pension, cover when travelling home, help at home after an accident

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

Machinery breakdown insurance in Germany

Today's price for equivalent new machines including freight and installation

For example machine list, leasing, security measures, previous claims

4Your current policy
5How can we reach you?

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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