Motor trade insurance in Germany: trade plates, test drives and customer cars
If you run a car dealership or a garage in Germany, you drive vehicles every day that are not registered or do not belong to you. Ordinary business liability barely helps here, because it excludes damage to customer cars in your care and anything to do with driving. Motor trade insurance (Kfz-Handel- und Handwerksversicherung) fills that gap with motor liability and own damage cover for red plates, test drives and vehicles in your custody.
Does a dealer or garage in Germany need its own motor insurance?
For red trade plates, yes. The registration office will not issue a 06 plate without motor third party liability, and the application asks for an eVB number, the electronic insurance confirmation. Own damage cover (Kasko) for customer cars and your stock is optional, but almost every business needs it, because business liability usually does not pay for damage to vehicles you repair, move or test drive. Many policies are based on special conditions for the motor trade, with the standard motor terms (AKB) applying alongside.
Red trade plates: what they allow and what they do not
The red 06 plate lets you drive unregistered vehicles on public roads for three purposes set out in § 41 of the German Vehicle Registration Ordinance (FZV): inspection by an approved examiner, test drives and transfers. The registration office only issues it to reliable vehicle manufacturers, parts manufacturers, garages and dealers, and checks your trade registration and a certificate of good conduct among other documents. Each plate comes with a special logbook in which every vehicle driven on it gets its own page.
The rules are tight. The plate is for your own business only, you must keep a record of the drives, and misuse is an administrative offence. Handing a car to a prospective buyer for several days is not allowed: the Administrative Court of Bayreuth ruled exactly that in 2021 (B 1 K 20.1441). Stretching the rules risks a fine and an argument with your insurer.
Why business liability is not enough for customer cars
Business liability (Betriebshaftpflicht) pays for injury and property damage to third parties. For a motor business it has two built in limits: damage caused by using a motor vehicle belongs to motor liability, and damage to vehicles you are working on or keeping is normally excluded. If a customer's car slides off the lift or is dented while being moved around the yard, a garage without extra cover often pays for it itself.
Motor trade insurance is designed for exactly this. It combines motor liability for red plate drives and customer vehicles with own damage cover for cars left with you for repair, valeting or sale, and for your own stock. How far custody cover reaches, for example to cars that are merely parked overnight, differs from one policy to the next.
Test drives with prospective buyers
When a customer test drives a car from your stock, the motor liability of the red plate or of the registered demonstrator pays for damage to others. Damage to the car itself stays with you unless you have own damage cover or can recover it from the driver. A written test drive agreement, a copy of the ID, a licence check and a clear rule on the excess are essential.
Then there is the buyer who never comes back. Whether the policy treats this as theft or as uninsured misappropriation depends on the wording, and insurers differ widely. It is worth reading that clause before you sign.
Stock on the forecourt and short term plates
A forecourt full of cars is exposed to hail, storm and vandalism hitting many vehicles at once. Own damage cover for stock usually has a limit per vehicle and per site, and the premium is often based on average stock value or the number of plates.
For occasional drives without a red plate there is the short term plate under § 42 FZV, which also needs its own insurance confirmation. If you move cars regularly, a red plate on an annual policy is usually simpler, because liability and own damage cover then follow the same rules for every drive.
What is covered
Motor liability for drives on red 06 plates
Liability on test and transfer drives with customer vehicles, depending on the policy
Own damage cover for customer cars in your custody for repair, valeting or sale
Own damage cover for your vehicle stock on site
Damage while moving vehicles around the yard
Hail, storm, fire and theft affecting parked stock, under partial cover
Accidents on test drives with prospective buyers, under comprehensive cover
Transfers to customers and to the roadworthiness test
What is not covered
Faulty repairs and putting them right, which is warranty
Private use of the red plate or lending it to others
Wear and tear and pure operating damage to the vehicle, depending on the policy
Misappropriation by a prospective buyer, unless specifically included
Vehicles that are only parked and not being worked on, in basic policies
Deliberately caused damage
Who needs it
New and used car dealers
Independent and franchised garages
Body shops, paint shops and tyre businesses with customer cars on site
Valeting and smart repair businesses
Manufacturers and converters moving vehicles before registration
Who does not need it
Parts traders without red plates who never drive or keep other people's vehicles
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
Customer car slides off the lift, four to five figures, depending on the car. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays. Damage to a car being worked on is custody damage. Business liability and liability only red plate cover do not pay; comprehensive cover for customer cars does.
Test driver rear ends another car, damage to the other car and to yours. Budget policy: pays in part, Strong policy: pays. The other driver is paid from the red plate's motor liability. Damage to your stock car is only paid by comprehensive cover.
Hailstorm over the forecourt, often five or six figures for the whole site. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays. Hail falls under partial cover. Without own damage cover for stock, the dealer pays for every dent; with it, up to the agreed site limit.
Test driver never comes back, value of the car. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays in part. Whether this counts as theft or misappropriation is down to the wording. Strong policies include it, often only if ID and licence were checked.
Mechanic scrapes car on the door, around EUR 1,000 to 5,000. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays. Moving a car around your site is custody damage. Basic policies only cover time on the lift, strong ones the whole yard.
Brakes fitted wrong, job redone, labour and parts for the redo. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: does not pay. Redoing your own work is warranty. No policy pays for it; at most, consequential damage to other property or people is covered.
What it costs
The premium follows the business, not a single car. A small used car dealer with one red plate and a dealership with a large stock and its own workshop are worlds apart. Meaningful figures need the number of plates, stock value and workshop turnover.
What drives the premium
Number of red plates and type of vehicles, for example cars, vans or motorcycles
Average value of your stock and the maximum value per vehicle
Scope of own damage cover for customer cars and stock
Workshop turnover or number of staff
Site security such as fencing, lighting and CCTV
Excess and claims history
We do not publish sample premiums, because the range between a small trader and a large dealership makes any single figure misleading. Your premium is fixed only in the quote we obtain for you.
The policy levels on the market
01
Liability for red plates only
Motor liability for red plate drives. Meets the condition for getting the plates, but leaves every bit of damage to the car being driven uncovered.
02
Liability plus partial cover
Adds fire, theft, hail, storm and glass for stock and customer cars in custody. Suits dealers whose biggest risk stands on the forecourt.
03
Liability plus comprehensive cover
Adds accident damage on test and transfer drives, while moving cars and in the workshop. The usual scope for dealerships and garages with customer traffic.
How to recognise a good policy
Criterion
Minimum standard
Strong policy
Why it matters
Customer cars in custody
only while being repaired
also parked before and after the job, including open air sites
Many losses happen in the yard overnight, not on the lift.
Misappropriation on test drives
excluded
included where ID and licence were checked
The buyer who does not return is the most expensive single loss in car trading.
Maximum value per vehicle
fixed amount sized for average cars
matched to the most expensive vehicles in stock and in the workshop
A luxury car in your custody can otherwise exceed the limit.
Liability limit
statutory minimum amounts
well above the minimums, with a high limit per injured person
A serious injury on a test drive can exceed the legal minimums.
Gross negligence
insurer may reduce payment
waiver of the reduction in own damage cover
A key left in a car on the forecourt happens quickly.
Operating damage
excluded
loading, unloading and manoeuvring damage included
Bumps while moving cars around the workshop are among the most common losses.
Permitted drivers
staff only
staff and prospective buyers on test drives
Otherwise there is a gap on the test drive that only shows when something goes wrong.
Insurers on the German market
Motor trade insurance in Germany is mainly written by motor insurers with a commercial book, often based on special conditions the German insurance association GDV publishes as a model. The list describes the German market; it says nothing about which insurers we work with.
Insurer
Background
Allianz
motor trade policy combining liability and own damage for several vehicles
Württembergische
part of the W&W group, dedicated offer for motor trade and garages
Alte Leipziger
publishes its own special conditions for the motor trade
Dialog
specialist insurer in the Generali group with a motor trade concept, broker distribution
NÜRNBERGER
motor insurer with commercial business, sold through agents and brokers
One policy for red plates, customer cars and stock, with liability and own damage cover under the motor trade conditions and the AKB.
Business liability for motor businesses
Covers injury and property damage from running the workshop, such as a customer slipping in reception. It complements the motor trade policy rather than replacing it.
Contents cover for the workshop
For lifts, diagnostic equipment, tools and parts against fire, burglary and water damage.
Short term plate with single cover
For businesses without a red plate that only transfer cars occasionally. Each use needs its own insurance confirmation.
Myth or truth
True or false?
Five things people say about this insurance. Guess first, then see the answer.
You cannot get a red plate without motor liability insurance.
This is true.
True, the application for a 06 plate requires an eVB number. Liability is a precondition; own damage cover stays optional.
I can let a buyer keep the car over the weekend on my red plate.
This is false.
False, the Administrative Court of Bayreuth ruled that leaving a car with a buyer for several days is not allowed. The plate is only for business inspection, test and transfer drives.
If a customer car falls off the lift, business liability pays.
This is false.
False, damage to vehicles being worked on or kept is normally excluded there. You need own damage cover under a motor trade policy.
A private collector can get a red 06 plate.
This is false.
False, 06 plates are only issued to reliable manufacturers, parts makers, garages and dealers.
No insurer pays to redo a faulty repair.
This is true.
True, putting the work right is warranty. At most, damage it causes to other property or people is covered.
Common mistakes
Relying on business liability when a customer car falls off the lift
Buying liability for the red plate only and forgetting own damage cover
Letting buyers test drive without checking ID and licence
Using the red plate privately or lending it to friends
Not raising the per vehicle limit when more expensive cars join the stock
Not keeping a record of red plate drives
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Who can get a red 06 trade plate in Germany?
Only reliable vehicle manufacturers, parts manufacturers, garages and dealers.
The registration office typically asks for your trade registration, a certificate of good conduct,
a commercial register extract for companies and the eVB number of your motor liability insurer.
Private individuals cannot get a 06 plate.
Can a customer test drive alone on a red plate?
A test drive is a business drive and therefore allowed.
Leaving the car with a buyer for several days is not,
as the Administrative Court of Bayreuth decided in 2021.
For cover, it also matters whether the customer counts as a permitted driver under the policy.
Does business liability pay for damage to a customer car?
Usually not.
Damage to vehicles you are working on or keeping, and damage caused by driving, is excluded there.
Motor trade insurance with own damage cover for vehicles in custody is designed for this.
Is a faulty repair covered?
No.
Putting your own work right is warranty and a business risk.
Consequential damage, for example to the car after the repair while it is still in your workshop,
may be covered depending on the policy.
What is the difference between a red plate and a short term plate?
The red 06 plate is for motor businesses and is reused for many vehicles (§ 41 FZV).
The short term plate under § 42 FZV covers one vehicle for a few days.
Both need motor liability insurance.
What liability limit makes sense?
German law requires at least EUR 7.5 million for bodily injury in motor liability.
A limit well above that, with a high amount per injured person, is sensible,
because on test drives people drive cars they do not know.
Are cars on the forecourt covered overnight?
Under partial cover against hail, storm, fire and theft,
if they belong to the insured stock or are customer cars in your custody.
Some policies require site security or set a limit for the whole site.
Why use a broker in Germany?
Because policies differ on custody, misappropriation, permitted drivers and limits,
and these points only show when there is a loss.
The wording is in German; we compare it,
check it against your business and support you when something happens.
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