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Crop insurance in Germany: protecting the harvest against hail, frost and drought

If you farm in Germany, a single hailstorm in June or one night of frost during blossom can wipe out a year of income while rent, seed and machinery costs keep running. Classic hail insurance covers hail and little else. Multi-peril policies can add storm, heavy rain, frost and drought, and several German federal states now pay up to half of the premium for them.

The question almost everyone asks first

Is hail cover on its own still enough?

For many farms it is not. Hail remains the most common insured peril, but late frost in fruit and wine growing and drought in arable farming now cause losses a hail policy never touches. Whether the upgrade pays depends on your crops, location and reserves. Since several federal states started subsidising multi-peril cover, the extra cost has come down considerably for eligible farms.

Hail cover versus multi-peril cover

Hail insurance is the oldest form of crop insurance and is widespread among German farms. It pays for loss of quantity, and often quality, caused by hail on standing crops. Many policies offer storm, heavy rain and severe frost as add-ons.

Multi-peril insurance goes further and bundles several weather perils in one contract: late frost for orchards and vineyards, and increasingly drought for arable land. Because these events hit whole regions at once, the policies use larger deductibles, indemnity caps and sometimes weather indices instead of a loss assessment on each field.

Subsidies are a matter for the federal states

There is no nationwide subsidy in Germany. Each federal state decides for itself, and Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia and Lower Saxony together with Hamburg and Bremen, among others, now pay up to 50 percent of eligible multi-peril premiums. Baden-Württemberg extended its scheme to hail and hops from the 2026 application year. A federal scheme from 2027 is being discussed, but had not been adopted at the time of writing.

Not every policy qualifies. Bavaria, Thuringia and Lower Saxony, for example, require a deductible of at least 20 percentage points of the loss ratio and an indemnity of no more than 80 percent of the sum insured. Bavaria also caps the eligible value per hectare, at 5,000 euros for cereals and 30,000 euros for fruit and wine. Farms apply to the state authorities themselves, within fixed deadlines; in Rhineland-Palatinate the 2026 deadline was 30 September.

Getting the sum insured right

The sum insured is built from area, expected yield and price for each crop. Set it too low to save premium and every claim is cut accordingly. Set it too high and you pay for a harvest the field will never produce. For wine, fruit and hops it is worth reviewing the values every season.

German insurance tax works differently for crops: instead of 19 percent of the premium, it is 0.3 per mille of the sum insured per year for hail, storm, severe frost, heavy rain, flooding and, since 2020, drought.

What is covered

  • Hail damage to standing crops, quantity and depending on the policy quality
  • Storm, heavy rain and flooding as add-ons
  • Late frost and winter kill, especially for orchards and vineyards
  • Drought, as yield cover or index cover
  • Extra cost of resowing after early damage, depending on the policy
  • Arable crops, grassland, vegetables, fruit, wine and hops under separate terms

What is not covered

  • Losses below the agreed deductible
  • Falling market prices after a normal harvest
  • Plant disease and pests unless expressly included
  • Poor husbandry or neglected crop care
  • Crops harvested before the loss adjuster has inspected them
  • Buildings, machinery and stored produce, which need their own cover

Who needs it

  • Arable farms with a high share of rented land or borrowed capital
  • Fruit growers and winemakers for whom one frost night can cost the year
  • Vegetable and specialty crop growers with high values per hectare
  • Farms in regions with frequent early summer drought
  • Young farmers and farms with limited reserves after investing

Who does not need it

  • Farms spread widely across crops and sites with substantial reserves
  • Pure grassland farms with their own fodder reserve that do not want drought cover

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. Hailstorm just before harvest, much of the field's annual revenue. Budget policy: pays, Strong policy: pays. The classic case. A loss adjuster assesses the field and you are paid on the value per hectare less the deductible.
  2. Late frost during blossom, up to the whole crop. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays. Hail cover pays nothing. Only policies with frost cover respond, and they must be in place before the frost period.
  3. Drought summer on arable land, a third of the harvest or more. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays. Drought is only insured with explicit drought cover, either as yield cover or through a weather index.
  4. Heavy rain washes out the seed, resowing and lost yield. Budget policy: pays in part, Strong policy: pays. Many hail policies only include heavy rain as an add-on. Strong policies also pay the extra cost of resowing.
  5. Loss just under the deductible, a few percent of the yield. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: does not pay. Anything below the deductible stays with the farm, even under the best policy.
  6. Full harvest, falling prices, the lost revenue. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: does not pay. Crop insurance covers weather damage to the yield, not market risk.

What it costs

Premiums are charged as a rate on the sum insured for each crop and vary widely with location, crop and perils chosen. Hail rates differ a lot by region, and frost and drought cost considerably more. There are no independently published per hectare prices to compare, so we do not quote example figures. Where a state subsidises, the net premium falls by up to half.

What drives the premium

  • Crop and value per hectare
  • Location and loss history of the area
  • Perils insured: hail only or multi-peril with frost and drought
  • Deductible and indemnity cap
  • Your own claims in recent years
  • Eligibility for your state's subsidy

The premium is only fixed once the cropping plan, areas and sites are known. The farm applies for the subsidy itself.

The policy levels on the market

01

Hail insurance

Hail on all declared crops, often with storm and heavy rain as extras. Low premium and a proven field assessment.

02

Multi-peril insurance

Hail, storm, heavy rain and frost in one policy, eligible for subsidy in many states if deductible and cap meet the rules.

03

Multi-peril with drought or index

Adds drought as yield cover or via a weather index tied to a defined station. Higher premium, but protection against the costliest area-wide risk.

How to recognise a good policy

CriterionMinimum standardStrong policyWhy it matters
Perils insured hail only hail, storm, heavy rain, frost and optional drought Many of the costliest recent losses were not caused by hail.
Quality loss quantity only quantity and quality For fruit, wine and vegetables quality drives the price.
Deductible high and fixed selectable and compatible with subsidy rules The wrong deductible rules out the state subsidy.
Value per hectare flat rate set per crop and adjustable each year A low value cuts every claim.
Resowing not covered extra costs of resowing included Early damage can often be rescued by resowing.
Drought cover none yield or index cover with a transparent weather station With index cover the station location decides whether you are paid.

Insurers on the German market

Crop insurance in Germany is a specialist market with few carriers. Vereinigte Hagel is the largest specialist, and a number of property and regional insurers also write hail and multi-peril cover. Listed are insurers under German federal supervision registered for this class. This is a market overview, not a statement about who we work with.

InsurerBackground
Vereinigte Hagelcrop specialist based in Giessen, hail, multi-peril and drought index
R+Vco-insurer in Vereinigte Hagel's crop business since 2015
Allianzhail and multi-peril cover, successor to the former Münchener und Magdeburger Agrar
Versicherungskammer BayernBavarian public insurer offering hail and multi-peril cover
Mecklenburgischemutual insurer based in Hanover with hail and multi-peril cover
VGHpublic insurer in Lower Saxony, multi-peril cover under the state scheme

Compare the wordings of all tariffs Crop insurance 3 tariffs from 3 providers, as of 24 October 2026

From the BaFin register

155

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

(Hagel-, Frost- und sonstige Sachschäden)

Show all 155 names from the register
  • ACM Versicherung AG
  • ADAC Autoversicherung AG
  • ADAC Versicherung AG
  • ADAC Zuhause Versicherung AG
  • ADLER Versicherung AG
  • 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
  • Astra Versicherung AG
  • 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.
  • Bayerische Landesbrandversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Bayerischer Versicherungsverband Versicherungsaktiengesellschaft
  • BD24 Berlin Direkt Versicherung AG
  • Bergische Brandversicherung Allgemeine Feuerversicherung V.a.G.
  • BGV-Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • CG Car-Garantie Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • Concordia Versicherungs-Gesellschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • CONSTANTIA Versicherungen a.G.
  • 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
  • Dolleruper Freie Brandgilde
  • Domestic & General Insurance Europe AG
  • ERGO Direkt Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • ERGO Reiseversicherung AG
  • ERGO Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • EUROPA Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • EXTREMUS Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • Fahrlehrerversicherung Verein auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • Feuer- und Einbruchschadenkasse der BBBank in Karlsruhe, Versicherungsverein auf…
  • Feuersozietät Berlin Brandenburg Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • GARANTA Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • Gartenbau-Versicherung VVaG
  • Gebäudeversicherungsgilde für Föhr,Amrum und Halligen
  • Generali Deutschland Versicherung AG
  • GGG Kraftfahrzeug-Reparaturkosten-Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • 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
  • Hagelgilde Versicherungsverein a.G., gegründet 1811
  • Hamburger Beamten-Feuer-und Einbruchskasse
  • Hamburger Feuerkasse Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • Hamburger Lehrer-Feuerkasse
  • HanseMerkur Allgemeine Versicherung AG
  • HanseMerkur Reiseversicherung AG
  • Harsewinkeler Versicherung VaG
  • 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
  • Häger Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • 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-ALLGEMEINE Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • KRAVAG-LOGISTIC Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • Landschaftliche Brandkasse Hannover
  • LBN Versicherungsverein a.G. (VVaG)
  • Lehrer-Feuerversicherungsverein a.G. für Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg und Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
  • 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
  • Mercedes-Benz Versicherung AG
  • MVK Versicherung VVaG
  • MÜNCHENER VEREIN Allgemeine Versicherungs-AG
  • NEH Neue Hildener Versicherung AG
  • Neodigital Versicherung AG
  • Neuendorfer Brand-Bau-Gilde
  • Newline Europe Versicherung AG
  • nexible Versicherung AG
  • Nordhemmer Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • NV-Versicherungen VVaG
  • NÜRNBERGER Allgemeine Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • NÜRNBERGER BEAMTEN ALLGEMEINE VERSICHERUNG AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
  • OKV - Ostdeutsche Kommunalversicherung auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • Ostangler Brandgilde, Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit (VVaG)
  • OSTBEVERNER Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit (VVaG)
  • Pallas Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • ProTect Versicherung AG
  • Provinzial Nord Brandkasse Aktiengesellschaft
  • Provinzial Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • PVAG Polizeiversicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
  • R+V Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Real Garant Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • RheinLand Versicherungs Aktiengesellschaft
  • Rhion Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • S DirektVersicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • SAARLAND Feuerversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • Schleswiger Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • SCHNEVERDINGER Versicherungsverein a.G.
  • SHB Allgemeine Versicherung VVaG
  • SIGNAL IDUNA Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • SIGNAL IDUNA Unfallversicherung a. G.
  • 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
  • Vereinigte Hagelversicherung VVaG
  • Vereinigte Tierversicherung, Gesellschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • Versicherer im Raum der Kirchen Sachversicherung AG
  • Versicherungsverband Deutscher Eisenbahnen-Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
  • VHV Allgemeine Versicherung AG
  • Volkswagen Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • VOLKSWOHL-BUND SACHVERSICHERUNG AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
  • VPV Allgemeine Versicherungs-AG
  • Waldenburger Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
  • WERTGARANTIE SE
  • 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

Hail insurance

Basic cover for all crops, with loss assessment in the field.

Multi-peril insurance

Several weather perils in one policy, the form the states subsidise.

Frost cover for fruit and wine

Late frost during blossom, usually part of a multi-peril policy.

Drought index

Pays on a defined weather measurement, without inspecting each field.

Natural hazards cover for buildings

Related class: farm buildings and stores against heavy rain and flooding, not part of crop insurance.

Myth or truth

True or false?

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

In a drought the government will step in anyway.

This is false.

There is no entitlement. Emergency aid is decided only in exceptional years, paid late and usually covers part of the loss. German states now deliberately back subsidised insurance instead.

Several German states pay part of the premium.

This is true.

True. Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia and Lower Saxony, among others, pay up to 50 percent of eligible multi-peril premiums.

Hail insurance also covers frost.

This is false.

No. Frost is a separate peril, covered only by multi-peril policies or an explicit add-on.

Crop insurance carries very little insurance tax in Germany.

This is true.

Correct. Instead of 19 percent of the premium, the tax is 0.3 per mille of the sum insured per year, for hail, storm, severe frost, heavy rain, flooding and, since 2020, drought.

Any multi-peril policy qualifies for a subsidy.

This is false.

No. States usually require a deductible of at least 20 percentage points and indemnity of at most 80 percent. A policy without these features gets no subsidy.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving values per hectare unchanged for years
  • Missing the state subsidy deadline
  • Choosing a deductible that rules out the subsidy
  • Harvesting or ploughing in before the loss adjuster has visited
  • Not checking which weather station an index policy uses
  • Not reporting new fields or changed cropping

Frequently asked questions

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Is crop insurance compulsory in Germany?

No, it is voluntary.

Banks and landlords do increasingly ask how a farm manages weather risk when larger investments

are involved.

Which German states subsidise multi-peril insurance?

Among others Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia,

Thuringia and Lower Saxony jointly with Hamburg and Bremen,

each paying up to 50 percent of the eligible premium.

Each state sets its own rules on crops, perils and deadlines.

Is there a federal subsidy?

Not so far.

The German Farmers' Association is calling for a nationwide scheme from 2027 under the joint

federal and state agricultural structure programme.

It had not been adopted at the time of writing.

What does a deductible of 20 percentage points mean?

Twenty points are deducted from the assessed loss ratio.

With a 50 percent yield loss you receive 30 percent of the sum insured.

Many state schemes require at least this deductible.

How much insurance tax is payable?

For hail, storm, severe frost, drought,

heavy rain and flooding on crops it is 0.3 per mille of the sum insured per year,

far below the standard 19 percent of the premium that applies to most other insurance in Germany.

How does a drought index work?

It pays when a defined weather value, such as rainfall at a named station over a set period,

falls below a threshold.

There is no assessment on your field.

The downside: if it rains at the station but not on your land, nothing is paid.

When do I need to take out cover?

It depends on insurer and crop.

Frost cover for orchards and vineyards must be in place before the frost period,

hail cover can often still be arranged in spring.

Subsidy applications have their own state deadlines.

Can I get the paperwork in English?

Policy terms and subsidy forms are issued in German.

We explain the terms in English and help you fill in what is needed.

Why use a broker?

Because perils, deductibles, values per hectare and index rules vary widely,

and subsidy eligibility depends on exactly those details.

We obtain quotes, check them against your state's rules and support you with claims.

We are paid by the insurer.

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