Farm insurance in Germany: what the farm package covers and where it stops
If you buy, lease or inherit a farm in Germany, you take on a home, a workshop, a warehouse, livestock housing and a business in one place. German insurers cover this with a farm package, often called a Hof-Police: farm liability, buildings, contents including animals and stored produce, and loss of income after property damage. Crops in the field and outbreaks of animal disease are outside the package and need their own policies.
What does a German farm package include, and what is left out?
It has four modules: farm liability including liability for your animals, the buildings, the contents (machinery, stored feed and harvest, livestock) against fire, storm and other named perils, and loss of income after such damage. Left out are hail, frost and drought on standing crops (crop insurance), animal disease and the death of individual animals from illness (livestock insurance) and machinery breakdown. Registered tractors need their own motor liability policy.
One contract, four modules
Most German insurers sell farm cover as a package with modules you choose. Liability pays for damage the farm causes to others. Buildings cover protects barns, livestock housing, machinery sheds and usually the farmhouse. Contents cover takes in everything movable: machinery and equipment, feed and harvested produce in store, and the animals, as long as they are lost to fire, lightning, storm or another insured peril.
The fourth module is the one most often skipped. After a barn fire the property cover pays for rebuilding, but not for the milk that cannot be delivered for months or for renting replacement housing. That is what loss of income cover (Ertragsausfall) is for, and it pays only for the agreed indemnity period. Livestock housing is rarely rebuilt and restocked in under a year.
Liability: animals, spraying and side businesses
Under section 833 of the German Civil Code (BGB) the keeper of an animal is liable for the damage it causes. For animals kept to earn a living the law grants relief: the keeper is not liable if he can show that the animals were supervised with proper care. The burden of proof is his, and in practice it comes down to things like the condition of the fence. When cattle get onto a main road, serious injuries are likely, which is why limits of EUR 5 to 10 million are appropriate.
The second question is whether the policy describes the farm as it operates today. A farm shop, holiday flats, livery horses, contract work for neighbours, winter road clearing for the municipality, solar panels and biogas plants are included, capped or excluded depending on the insurer. The same goes for spray drift onto a neighbour's crop and for water pollution from slurry, diesel or silage effluent. Sort these out before signing, because the insurer will look at them first after a claim.
Buildings and contents: reinstatement value, animals and wiring
Farm buildings are large, often old and expensive to replace. What matters is whether the policy pays reinstatement value (Neuwert) and whether the insurer waives the underinsurance rule. Without that waiver, every claim is reduced in proportion if the sum insured was set too low. For old barns, debris removal and the extra cost of meeting current building rules matter as well.
Electricity is the most common identified cause of farm fires: in a 2012 analysis by the German Institute for Loss Prevention (IFS) it accounted for 23 percent of the farm fires investigated. Many policies therefore require regular inspection of the electrical installation, and missing an inspection can reduce the payout. For animals, check the detail: fire and lightning are standard, while death from ventilation failure in closed housing is usually a separate extension.
Where crop and livestock insurance begin
The farm package covers the harvest only once it is brought in and stored. While grain, maize or fruit is still in the field, only crop insurance responds, meaning hail cover or multi-peril cover for hail, storm, heavy rain, frost and drought.
It is similar with animals. The package replaces animals killed by fire, lightning or storm. If the veterinary authority orders a cull after a disease outbreak, the public animal disease fund (Tierseuchenkasse) pays the value of the animals up to statutory maximums. The income lost afterwards is covered only by a separate disease business interruption policy, and the death of a valuable individual animal by livestock mortality insurance.
What is covered
Bodily injury and property damage to third parties arising from the farm
Keeper's liability for farm animals, including escaped grazing stock
Personal liability of the farming family, included in many packages
Farm buildings and usually the farmhouse against fire, escape of water, storm and hail
Machinery, equipment and fittings as contents
Feed, harvested produce and supplies in store
Livestock lost to fire, lightning and explosion, with storm depending on the policy
Loss of income and extra expenses after insured property damage
Debris removal, demolition and firefighting costs
Environmental liability for slurry, diesel and crop protection products in normal quantities, depending on the policy
What is not covered
Hail, frost, drought and heavy rain on standing crops (crop insurance)
Animal disease and death of individual animals from illness or accident (livestock insurance)
Machinery breakdown and operator error (machinery insurance)
Registered tractors and trailers on the road (motor liability)
Flood and other natural hazards unless expressly included
Side businesses that are not named in the policy
Damage caused intentionally
Wear and tear and gradual deterioration of buildings
Who needs it
Full-time arable, grassland and livestock farms
Part-time farmers, whose personal liability policy excludes the farm
Farms with a shop, holiday lets or livery horses
Buyers of a German farm whose bank requires proof of buildings cover
Successors taking over a family farm and its existing policy
Who does not need it
Owners who have let all their land and keep no animals: homeowner's buildings cover and property owner's liability are usually enough
Wheel of misfortune
Spin the wheel of bad luck
Six things that really happen. The wheel picks yours and shows who pays.
Cost:
Budget policy Strong policy
See all six cases
Short circuit sets the barn on fire, six to seven figures, depending on the building. Budget policy: pays, Strong policy: pays. Fire is the core of buildings and contents cover. Whether the payout is enough depends on reinstatement value and the underinsurance waiver.
Ventilation fails, animals suffocate, the value of the animals affected. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays. Suffocation after ventilation failure is not fire damage. Basic packages leave it open, strong ones include it expressly.
Cattle escape and cause a road crash, up to millions where people are injured. Budget policy: pays, Strong policy: pays. Keeper's liability is part of farm liability. The insurer also checks whether you can show proper supervision.
Hail flattens the wheat in the field, up to a full year's harvest. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: does not pay. No farm package insures standing crops. That is what hail and multi-peril crop insurance are for.
Spray drifts onto the neighbour's crop, the yield of the damaged crop. Budget policy: pays in part, Strong policy: pays. Drift damage is capped or tied to conditions in some packages. It gets expensive when the neighbour farms organically.
Disease outbreak, farm under restriction, months without revenue. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays in part. The animal disease fund pays the value of culled animals up to maximum rates. Lost income from disease is at most a limited extra in the package and belongs in a separate policy.
What it costs
There is no meaningful average premium for a German farm. An arable holding without animals and a dairy unit with new housing are different risks, and insurers price them on area, livestock numbers and building values. No independent price comparison for farms is published, so we do not quote sample figures.
What drives the premium
Type of farming: arable, livestock, special crops or mixed
Area farmed and number of animals
Reinstatement value, construction and age of the buildings
Modules and perils chosen, above all natural hazards and loss of income
Side businesses such as a farm shop, holiday lets, contract work or energy production
Excess and claims history
Your premium is known once we have obtained a quote based on your area, livestock and building values.
The policy levels on the market
01
Liability only
Farm liability including animals, with buildings and contents left in older separate contracts. Cheap, but gaps between contracts only show up in a claim.
02
Package with property modules
Liability, buildings and contents in one contract against fire, escape of water, storm and hail. The right core for most farms.
03
Full package
Adds loss of income with a sufficient indemnity period, natural hazards, an underinsurance waiver and extensions for side businesses. For livestock farms and high building values.
How to recognise a good policy
Criterion
Minimum standard
Strong policy
Why it matters
Liability limit
EUR 5 million combined
EUR 10 million combined or more
A road accident with escaped cattle can leave several people seriously injured.
Side businesses
contract work and direct sales up to a turnover cap
every activity actually carried out is named in the policy
Only the farm described in the contract is insured.
Spray drift and environment
environmental liability for normal storage quantities
spray drift and environmental damage cover expressly included
Crop protection and slurry can damage neighbouring crops and watercourses.
Reinstatement and underinsurance
reinstatement value for buildings in good repair
reinstatement value with underinsurance waiver and rebuilding elsewhere
With too low a sum insured, every claim is cut proportionally.
Livestock in contents
fire, lightning, explosion
also storm, electrocution and suffocation after ventilation failure
In closed housing animals die quickly once ventilation stops.
Loss of income
12 months indemnity period
18 to 24 months, including replacement housing and bought-in feed
Planning, permits and construction often take more than a year.
Natural hazards
storm and hail
flood, heavy rain and weight of snow included
Large roofs and sheds are exposed to snow load and cloudbursts.
Electrical inspection duties
regular inspection by a qualified electrician required
clear intervals, extended after a clean inspection
A missed inspection can cost part of the payout after a fire.
Insurers on the German market
Farm business in Germany is written mainly by insurers with rural roots: mutuals, public insurers and the cooperative banking group. The list describes the German market and says nothing about which insurers we work with.
Insurer
Background
R+V
insurer of the German cooperative banks, bundles farm risks in its AgrarPolice
LVM
mutual from Münster with farming origins, sold through its own agencies
Allianz
agricultural business through agents and brokers
Versicherungskammer Bayern
public insurer in Bavaria and the Palatinate
VGH
public insurer in Lower Saxony
Provinzial
public insurer within the savings banks group
Mecklenburgische
mutual insurer with its own agricultural line
Concordia
mutual insurer based in Hanover
From the BaFin register
163
163 insurers supervised by BaFin, the German regulator, are licensed for this class of insurance.
(Allgemeine Haftpflicht, Feuer, Hagel-, Frost- und sonstige Sachschäden)
A stand-alone policy for tenants without buildings of their own, or where the buildings are insured elsewhere.
Farm buildings and contents
Fire, escape of water, storm and hail for buildings, machinery, stores and animals, with natural hazards as an option.
Loss of income (Ertragsausfall)
Replaces lost margin and extra costs after property damage. Not the same as disease business interruption (Ertragsschaden) for livestock.
Companion policies
Crop insurance, livestock insurance, machinery breakdown, solar and legal expenses run separately and should be matched to the package.
Myth or truth
True or false?
Five things people say about this insurance. Guess first, then see the answer.
Farmers in Germany are required by law to hold farm liability insurance.
This is false.
False. There is no general duty. Only registered vehicles need motor liability cover. Liability itself is unlimited, so going without is not sensible.
For farm animals the keeper's liability is less strict than for a pet dog.
This is true.
True. Under section 833 sentence 2 BGB the keeper of an animal kept for his livelihood is not liable if he proves proper supervision. The proof is his to deliver.
The farm package also pays when hail destroys crops in the field.
This is false.
False. Stored produce is insured, standing crops are not. The field needs crop insurance.
Livestock is insured against fire as part of the farm contents.
This is true.
True. The herd counts as farm contents. The policy pays for insured perils, not for illness or epidemic disease.
A registered tractor is covered by the farm's liability policy.
This is false.
False. Registered vehicles need their own motor liability policy. Only working machines exempt from registration can be included in farm liability.
Common mistakes
Leaving building sums insured unchanged while construction costs rise
Not declaring a new farm shop, holiday flat or livery yard
Assuming the package pays for hail in the field or disease in the herd
Skipping loss of income, or agreeing too short an indemnity period
Missing the electrical inspection the policy requires
Taking over a farm without having the policy transferred and reviewed
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Is farm liability insurance compulsory in Germany?
No, there is no statutory duty.
Given the liability for animals, machinery and land, no farm should run without it.
The only compulsory cover is motor liability for registered vehicles.
I only farm part-time. Does my personal liability policy cover it?
As a rule it does not.
German personal liability policies exclude business and farming risks.
Even a few hectares or a handful of cattle call for farm liability cover.
Are my animals insured under the farm package?
Yes, as part of the contents against the insured perils, mainly fire and lightning,
with storm or suffocation after ventilation failure depending on the policy.
Illness, epidemic disease and accidents to individual animals belong to livestock insurance.
Does the package pay for hail?
For buildings and roofs yes, if storm and hail are insured.
For crops in the field no, that takes hail or multi-peril crop insurance.
What is the difference between Ertragsausfall and Ertragsschaden?
Ertragsausfall in the farm package follows property damage such as a fire.
Ertragsschaden insurance pays when animal disease or official restrictions stop production,
even if nothing was destroyed.
Livestock farms often need both.
Is the tractor included?
Registered tractors and trailers have their own motor liability policy.
As contents, machinery is insured against fire or storm but not against breakdown or operator
error.
Slow working machines that need no registration can be included in the farm liability.
What happens if my cattle escape and cause an accident?
The liability insurer examines whether you are liable,
pays justified claims and defends unjustified ones.
For farm animals liability falls away if you can prove proper supervision, so a documented,
regularly checked fence is worth a great deal.
Are holiday lets and a farm shop included automatically?
Not automatically.
Many packages include them up to a number of beds or a turnover cap, others need an endorsement.
Declare any side business before it starts.
Can I get the policy documents in English?
German insurers issue farm policies and wordings in German, and German law applies.
We go through the contract with you in English so you know what each module does before you sign.
Why use a broker for a farm package?
We compare the contract with what actually happens on your farm, check the joins with crop,
livestock and machinery cover,
and stay with you through a claim.
Gaps are common after extensions and conversions.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Farm package policy
We obtain quotes and come back with a comparison, free of charge.
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