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Cleaning company insurance in Germany: keys, surfaces and machines

A cleaning business works every day in other people's buildings, on their floors, glass and equipment, often holding their keys. German standard liability wordings exclude exactly these risks or cap them at small amounts. If you run or are starting a cleaning company in Germany, the questions that matter are the extensions for damage to the property being cleaned and for lost keys.

The question almost everyone asks first

Is liability insurance compulsory for cleaning companies in Germany?

No. Building cleaning is a craft trade that does not require a master craftsman qualification (Annex B1 of the German Crafts Code), and registering the business does not require proof of insurance. In practice you will hardly win contracts without it: property managers, commercial clients and public tenders ask for a certificate, often with a minimum sum for lost keys. Liability under German law has no upper limit, so one lost master key can be a serious blow to a small firm.

Damage to the surface you are cleaning

Most claims against cleaning firms arise at the client's premises: an acidic cleaner etches a stone floor, a scrubber dryer scrapes a glass door, a scraper blade scratches coated glass. Because the cleaner was working on that very surface, German policies treat this as damage to property being worked on (Tätigkeitsschaden). The standard terms of a Betriebshaftpflicht exclude it.

Trade policies for cleaning firms add it back, usually with a sub-limit and an excess. Check whether both fixtures, such as floors and walls, and movable items, such as carpets and furniture, are included, and whether damage caused by cleaning agents is named. Water seeping under a door during mopping, or data lost because a server was switched off, is not covered by every wording either.

Lost keys and access cards

Offices are often cleaned outside working hours, so your teams hold keys, fobs or access cards. If a key to a master key system is lost, the owner may replace the whole system, and in office buildings or hospitals that quickly runs into five or six figures. Liability cover only pays if key loss is included, and many policies set a sub-limit far below the main limit.

Look for three things: whether electronic access media are covered, whether emergency locks and temporary security are paid for, and what the policy says about key custody. Some wordings require a key register or forbid labelling keys with the client's address. Breaching such conditions can reduce a claim.

Staff, machines and employee theft

Workplace injuries are covered by the BG BAU, the statutory accident insurer every cleaning employer in Germany must join. If the business caused an accident through gross negligence, the BG BAU can recover its costs from the employer, so the liability policy should cover that recourse. Part-time staff and mini-jobbers count as insured employees.

Your own machines are not covered by liability insurance at all. Contents insurance protects them in your storage room, machinery breakdown cover protects against operator error, and theft from a locked van needs its own extension. If a cleaner steals from a client, that is intentional and not a liability claim; commercial crime or fidelity insurance (Vertrauensschadenversicherung) can cover it.

What is covered

  • Injury and property damage to clients, visitors and passers-by
  • Damage to floors, glass and fittings being cleaned, if included
  • Lost third party keys and access cards, up to the agreed sub-limit
  • Damage to rented storage and office premises
  • Recourse claims from the BG BAU after grossly negligent accidents
  • Cleaning machines against breakdown through machinery cover
  • Theft of equipment from a locked vehicle, if included

What is not covered

  • Intentional acts, including theft by your own staff
  • Re-cleaning or poor cleaning work as such
  • Wear and tear of your own machines
  • Asbestos and hazardous material removal, excluded in many wordings
  • Registered vehicles, which need motor insurance
  • Activities not listed in the business description, such as winter gritting

Who needs it

  • Contract cleaners for offices, practices and residential buildings
  • Window and facade cleaners, including work from platforms or ropes
  • Firms doing post-construction, industrial and specialist cleaning
  • Foreign cleaning companies setting up a German branch or GmbH

Who does not need it

  • Domestic helpers employed directly by a private household rather than self-employed

Wheel of misfortune

Spin the wheel of bad luck

Six things that really happen. The wheel picks yours and shows who pays.

See all six cases
  1. Stone cleaner etches a marble lobby, roughly €5,000 to €30,000. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays. The floor was the property being cleaned. Standard terms exclude it, trade policies cover it up to the sub-limit.
  2. Hospital master key goes missing, often five to six figures. Budget policy: pays in part, Strong policy: pays. Small key limits do not pay for a large locking system. Only a high key limit covers the full replacement.
  3. Visitor slips on a freshly mopped floor, a few thousand euros, more with lasting injury. Budget policy: pays, Strong policy: pays. Without a warning sign the business is liable. Bodily injury is the core of every liability policy.
  4. Mop water reaches the server room, roughly €10,000 to €50,000. Budget policy: pays in part, Strong policy: pays. Water damage is usually covered, data loss and downtime at the client not in every wording.
  5. Pressure washer stolen from the van, roughly €2,000 to €8,000. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays. Liability never covers your own kit. Theft from a locked vehicle needs a property extension.
  6. Client demands a free re-clean, a few hundred euros per visit. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: does not pay. Redoing your own work is performing the contract, not a liability claim. No policy pays for it.

What it costs

Premiums depend mainly on payroll or turnover, on the activities you carry out and on the extensions you choose. Office cleaning alone costs far less than facade work with high-pressure equipment or glass cleaning at height.

What drives the premium

  • Activities in the business description
  • Payroll, turnover or headcount
  • Sub-limits for damage to cleaned property and lost keys
  • Excess per claim
  • Value of machines and equipment
  • Claims history

We do not publish sample premiums, because payroll and activities vary too much between cleaning firms. Your premium is fixed in the quote we obtain for you.

The policy levels on the market

01

Standard liability

Business liability with around EUR 3 million and no or small cover for cleaned surfaces and keys. Too thin for a firm working in client buildings.

02

Cleaning trade policy

Typically EUR 5 million combined, damage to cleaned property, keys and access cards with their own sub-limit, rented premises and work machines. The usual choice for small and mid-sized firms.

03

Package with property cover

Trade liability with a high key limit, plus contents, machinery breakdown, business interruption and optional fidelity cover. For firms with vans, expensive machines and large clients.

How to recognise a good policy

CriterionMinimum standardStrong policyWhy it matters
Limit of indemnity EUR 3 million combined EUR 5 to 10 million combined In hospitals or large office blocks even property damage gets expensive fast.
Damage to cleaned property fixtures only, small sub-limit fixtures and movable items, cleaning agents named Etched stone and scratched glass are the most common claims in the trade.
Lost keys third party keys with a fixed sub-limit high limit, access cards, emergency locks and security included Replacing a master key system costs many times a small limit.
Excess fixed excess per claim low or no excess for surface and key claims Small claims are frequent, a high excess eats the cover.
Windows, facades and pressure washing window cleaning named facades, roofs, pressure washing, platforms and rope access Some insurers exclude these or charge extra.
Machines away from base equipment at your premises breakdown and theft from vehicles and client sites The kit is rarely where contents insurance applies.

Insurers on the German market

Many German commercial insurers offer cover for cleaning firms, as a dedicated trade policy or as a module in a business package. The list describes the German market; it says nothing about which insurers we work with.

InsurerBackground
Allianzcommercial lines with modules for trades and services
AXAcommercial lines through agents and brokers
HDIpart of the Talanx group, small business and trades
R+Vinsurer of the German cooperative banks
VHVfocus on construction and trades, mainly through brokers
SIGNAL IDUNAlong-standing ties to the German crafts sector
Haftpflichtkasseliability specialist, sold through brokers
Markelspecialty insurer in Munich, brokers only

Compare the wordings of all tariffs Cleaning firms 11 tariffs from 7 providers, as of 24 October 2026

From the BaFin register

127

127 insurers supervised by BaFin, the German regulator, are licensed for this class of insurance.

(Allgemeine Haftpflicht)

Show all 127 names from the register
  • ADAC Versicherung AG
  • ADLER Versicherung AG
  • AGILA Haustierversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Allcura Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • Allianz Direct Versicherungs-AG
  • Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE
  • Allianz Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • Alte Leipziger Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Ambra Versicherung AG
  • AMMERLÄNDER VERSICHERUNG Versicherungsverein a.G. (VVaG)
  • andsafe Aktiengesellschaft
  • ARAG Allgemeine Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • AXA Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • BA die Bayerische Allgemeine Versicherung AG
  • Badischer Gemeinde-Versicherungs-Verband
  • Baloise Sachversicherung Aktiengesellschaft Deutschland
  • Barmenia Allgemeine Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • BavariaDirekt Versicherung AG
  • Bayerische Hausbesitzer-Versicherungs-Gesellschaft a.G.
  • Bayerischer Versicherungsverband Versicherungsaktiengesellschaft
  • BD24 Berlin Direkt Versicherung AG
  • BGV-Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Concordia Versicherungs-Gesellschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • Continentale Sachversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Cosmos Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • DA Deutsche Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • DARAG Deutschland AG
  • Debeka Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft Sitz Koblenz am Rhein
  • Delvag Versicherungs-AG
  • DEVK Allgemeine Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • DEVK Deutsche Eisenbahn Versicherung Sach- und HUK-Versicherungsverein a.G. Betriebliche…
  • DFV Deutsche Familienversicherung AG
  • Dialog Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Die Haftpflichtkasse VVaG
  • DOCURA VVaG
  • ERGO Direkt Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • ERGO Reiseversicherung AG
  • ERGO Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Euro-Aviation Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • EUROPA Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Fahrlehrerversicherung Verein auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • Feuersozietät Berlin Brandenburg Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • GARANTA Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • Gemeinnützige Haftpflichtversicherungsanstalt Kassel
  • Generali Deutschland Versicherung AG
  • Gothaer Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Gothaer Versicherungsbank VVaG
  • Great Lakes Insurance SE
  • GRUNDEIGENTÜMER-VERSICHERUNG Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • GVO Gegenseitigkeit Versicherung Oldenburg VVaG
  • GVV Direktversicherung AG
  • GVV-Kommunalversicherung, Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • Haftpflichtgemeinschaft Deutscher Nahverkehrs- und Versorgungsunternehmen Allgemein (HDNA) VVaG
  • Hamburger Feuerkasse Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • HanseMerkur Allgemeine Versicherung AG
  • HanseMerkur Reiseversicherung AG
  • HDI Global SE
  • HDI Global Specialty SE
  • HDI Haftpflichtverband der Deutschen Industrie Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • HDI Versicherung AG
  • Helvetia Schweizerische Versicherungsgesellschaft AG Direktion für Deutschland
  • Helvetia Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • HUK-COBURG Haftpflicht-Unterstützungs-Kasse kraftfahrender Beamter Deutschlands a.G. in Coburg
  • HUK-COBURG-Allgemeine Versicherung AG
  • HUK24 AG
  • Hübener Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • IDEAL Versicherung AG
  • INTER Allgemeine Versicherung AG
  • Interlloyd Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • InterRisk Versicherungs-AG Vienna Insurance Group.
  • ISSELHORSTER Versicherung V.a.G.
  • Itzehoer Versicherung/Brandgilde von 1691 Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • Janitos Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • KRAVAG-LOGISTIC Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • Landschaftliche Brandkasse Hannover
  • LBN Versicherungsverein a.G. (VVaG)
  • Lifestyle Protection AG
  • Lippische Landesbrandversicherung AG
  • Lucura Versicherungs AG
  • LVM Landwirtschaftlicher Versicherungsverein Münster a.G.
  • Mannheimer Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Markel Insurance SE
  • Mecklenburgische Versicherungs-Gesellschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • MVK Versicherung VVaG
  • MÜNCHENER VEREIN Allgemeine Versicherungs-AG
  • Neodigital Versicherung AG
  • Newline Europe Versicherung AG
  • nexible Versicherung AG
  • NV-Versicherungen VVaG
  • NÜRNBERGER Allgemeine Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • NÜRNBERGER BEAMTEN ALLGEMEINE VERSICHERUNG AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
  • OKV - Ostdeutsche Kommunalversicherung auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • Ostangler Brandgilde, Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit (VVaG)
  • Pallas Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Provinzial Nord Brandkasse Aktiengesellschaft
  • Provinzial Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • PVAG Polizeiversicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • R+V Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • RheinLand Versicherungs Aktiengesellschaft
  • Rhion Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • S DirektVersicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • SAARLAND Feuerversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • SHB Allgemeine Versicherung VVaG
  • SIGNAL IDUNA Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Sparkassen-Versicherung Sachsen Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Stuttgarter Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • SV SparkassenVersicherung Gebäudeversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • TRIAS Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Uelzener Allgemeine Versicherungs-Gesellschaft a.G.
  • Union Reiseversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • uniVersa Allgemeine Versicherung AG
  • Versicherer im Raum der Kirchen Sachversicherung AG
  • Versicherungskammer Bayern Versicherungsanstalt des öffentlichen Rechts
  • Versicherungsverband Deutscher Eisenbahnen-Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • Verti Versicherung AG
  • VHV Allgemeine Versicherung AG
  • VHV Vereinigte Hannoversche Versicherung a.G.
  • VOLKSWOHL-BUND SACHVERSICHERUNG AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
  • VPV Allgemeine Versicherungs-AG
  • Waldenburger Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • WGV-Versicherung AG
  • WWK Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Württembergische Gemeinde-Versicherung auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • Württembergische Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Würzburger Versicherungs-AG
  • Zurich Insurance Europe AG
  • Öffentliche Feuerversicherung Sachsen-Anhalt

Source: BaFin company database, 18 September 2026; EU insurers without a German office excluded.

Legal basis and sources

Products and add-ons

Liability for cleaning firms

Business liability with the trade's typical extensions: cleaned property, keys, rented premises, work machines.

Machinery breakdown

Covers cleaning machines and platforms against breakdown, operator error and short circuit.

Contents and business interruption

Storage, materials and office against fire, burglary, water and storm, plus ongoing costs while the business is down.

Fidelity insurance

Covers theft and dishonesty by your own staff, including at client premises.

Myth or truth

True or false?

Five things people say about this insurance. Guess first, then see the answer.

Cleaning companies in Germany must have liability insurance by law.

This is false.

False, there is no legal obligation. Commercial clients almost always ask for a certificate anyway.

Damage to the floor you are cleaning is covered by any business liability policy.

This is false.

False, German standard terms exclude property being worked on. It has to be added as an extension.

A lost key can cost more than an injury claim.

This is true.

True in some cases. Replacing a large master key system can exceed the cost of a minor accident.

In Germany, injuries to your own cleaners are paid by a statutory insurer.

This is true.

True, the BG BAU pays. After gross negligence by the employer it can claim its costs back.

Liability insurance pays if one of my cleaners steals from a client.

This is false.

False, theft is intentional. Only fidelity insurance with third party cover pays.

Common mistakes

  • Insuring office cleaning only while also doing windows or facades
  • Not raising the key limit when a large client comes on board
  • Assuming access cards count as keys without checking the wording
  • Leaving equipment in the van without theft cover for vehicles
  • Using subcontractors without asking for their certificate

Frequently asked questions

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Does liability insurance pay if a cleaning agent damages a floor?

Only if damage to property being worked on is included.

The floor is what you were cleaning, and the standard German terms exclude that.

Trade policies add it back, usually with a sub-limit and an excess.

How high should the key limit be?

High enough for the most expensive locking system among your clients.

Flats need less than hospitals or office towers.

Many clients write a minimum into the contract, and your policy should meet it.

Are mini-jobbers and part-time cleaners insured?

Yes, all employees are insured while working for the business, whatever their contract.

Agency workers should be named explicitly.

Workplace injuries go to the BG BAU.

What if a cleaner steals from a client?

Liability insurance does not pay, because theft is intentional.

Fidelity insurance that includes third party losses can cover it; without it,

the business is liable itself.

Is my scrubber dryer covered by liability insurance?

Only for damage it causes to others.

Damage to the machine itself needs machinery breakdown cover.

Does my policy from home cover jobs in Germany?

Not automatically.

Many foreign policies limit their territory or are not accepted by German clients.

A German policy with a German certificate avoids discussions in tenders.

Do I need a master craftsman certificate to run a cleaning firm in Germany?

No, building cleaning is a craft trade without that requirement.

You register with the local chamber of crafts (Handwerkskammer).

For insurance, what counts is what you actually do.

Why use a broker?

Because the differences lie in sub-limits and exclusions that brochures rarely show.

We compare cover for cleaned property,

key limits and policy conditions against your sites and stand by you when a claim comes in.

NAMMERT insurance broker

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2Which insurance?

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Personal

Business

3Details

Cleaning company insurance

For example pressure washing, platforms or rope access, disinfection, winter gritting, gardening

For example hospitals or data centres as clients, limits required in tenders, subcontractors,

parent company abroad

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