01
Statutory minimum
Exactly the legal minimum with the permitted aggregate. Satisfies the chamber, rarely enough for larger mandates.
Home / Insurance broker / Business
Professional indemnity in Germany: mandatory for some, essential for most
Professional indemnity insurance, in German Berufshaftpflicht or Vermögensschadenhaftpflicht, covers financial loss caused by a mistake in your advice, design or service. For lawyers, tax advisers, doctors, architects and insurance intermediaries it is a legal requirement with fixed minimum limits. For consultants, IT contractors and agencies it is voluntary, but clients often demand it.
The question almost everyone asks first
Do I need professional indemnity insurance to work in Germany?
If you practise a regulated profession, yes. Lawyers and tax advisers must insure at least EUR 250,000 per claim, doctors with a statutory health insurance licence EUR 3 million, and insurance intermediaries EUR 1,564,610. Architects' requirements depend on the federal state. IT contractors, consultants and agencies have no legal duty, but German law holds them fully liable for negligent work, and many clients and contracting platforms will not sign without a certificate.
Act committed versus claims made: a difference that matters when you move
UK and US professional indemnity policies almost always work on a claims-made basis: the policy in force when the claim is made responds. Traditional German Vermögensschadenhaftpflicht works the other way round. It covers mistakes made while the policy was in force, even if the claim arrives years after the policy has ended.
This matters when you relocate or switch insurers. If you move from a claims-made policy abroad to an act-committed policy in Germany, your earlier work may fall between the two unless the new policy includes retroactive cover or the old one has an extended reporting period. Many German policies for IT and consultancy now use claims made, so read the trigger clause before you sign.
Regulated professions: the minimum is not the right amount
The statutory minimums were set a long time ago and cover an average claim. EUR 250,000 is enough for a lawyer handling tenancy disputes, but not for one advising on a company acquisition. The annual aggregate is also capped: for lawyers and tax advisers it may be limited to four times the minimum, and one systematic error can trigger several claims in the same year.
Firms need their own cover. Since the 2022 reform of the Federal Lawyers' Act, a law firm with limited liability must insure EUR 2.5 million per claim, or EUR 1 million if it has no more than ten lawyers (§ 59o BRAO). A PartG mbB, the German partnership with limited professional liability, only keeps that limitation while the required insurance is actually in force.
Recognition of foreign qualifications and foreign policies
Professionals who have their qualification recognised in Germany join the German chamber and must show German-compliant cover to be admitted. A policy from your home country is rarely accepted as it stands, because the chamber checks the minimum sums, the aggregate, the exclusions and whether the insurer is authorised to write business in Germany.
For unregulated work, clients sometimes accept a foreign policy if it covers work in Germany and claims under German law. Check the territorial and jurisdiction clauses: some policies exclude claims brought in German courts or cover only the country where they were issued.
What is covered
- Pure financial loss caused by errors in advice, representation, design or audit
- Legal defence costs against unjustified claims
- Mistakes by employees and employed professionals
- Missed deadlines, calculation and transcription errors
- For doctors and architects also bodily injury and property damage
- Earlier mistakes if retroactive cover is agreed
- Claims after the policy ends, if run-off cover or an extended reporting period applies
- Office liability for visitors and premises, depending on the policy
What is not covered
- Knowing breaches of professional duties
- Work outside the insured professional activity
- Refund of your own fees
- Fines, penalties and contractual penalties
- Embezzlement by staff, which needs fidelity insurance
- Work connected with the US or Canada unless agreed
- Circumstances known before the policy started
Who needs it
- Lawyers, tax advisers, auditors and notaries (mandatory)
- Doctors and dentists in private or statutory practice
- Architects and engineers, depending on federal state and chamber
- Insurance, investment and mortgage intermediaries (mandatory under trade law)
- Freelance IT specialists, consultants, translators, agencies and designers
Who can do without
- Employees whose work is fully covered by their employer's firm policy
- Tradespeople without design work, for whom business liability fits better
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
- Dev's bug takes a client's shop offline, four to six figures, depending on downtime. Budget policy: pays, Strong policy: pays. Lost sales at the client are a pure financial loss. IT professional indemnity is built for exactly this.
- Consultant misses a subsidy deadline, the lost grant, often five figures. Budget policy: pays, Strong policy: pays. The client loses money because a filing came too late. That is a classic covered professional error.
- Designer uses a photo without a licence, a few hundred to a few thousand euros per image. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays. Copyright claims are excluded in many basic wordings. Media and IT policies include them, which matters because German warning letters are common.
- Client data lost in a cloud migration, five figures. Budget policy: pays in part, Strong policy: pays. Data loss at the client is sub-limited or excluded in simple policies. Strong IT policies pay for the restoration.
- You promised 20 % savings and hit 5 %, whatever the guarantee promised. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: does not pay. A contractual guarantee goes beyond statutory liability. No PI policy pays for promises you were not legally obliged to make.
- Tax adviser files the return late, late filing surcharges and interest. Budget policy: pays, Strong policy: pays. The surcharge hits the client because of the adviser's mistake. That financial loss is covered.
What it costs
Premiums depend mainly on profession, fee income and the limit chosen. Regulated professions have mature tariffs with fixed bands, while consultancy and IT policies vary widely between insurers.
What drives the premium
- Profession and main area of work
- Annual fee income and number of professionals
- Limit per claim and annual aggregate
- Deductible
- Legal form of the practice
- Clients or projects in the US and Canada
- Claims history
Without profession and fee income any figure would be guesswork, so we do not publish sample premiums. Your premium is fixed only in the quote.
The policy levels on the market
02
Increased cover
A multiple of the minimum, higher aggregate, retroactive cover and run-off. The usual choice for established practices and freelancers with larger clients.
03
Excess layer
Additional limit above the primary policy, for the whole firm or a single large project.
How to recognise a good policy
| Criterion | Minimum standard | Strong policy | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limit per claim | statutory minimum | based on your largest realistic engagement | The legal minimum is designed for an average case. |
| Annual aggregate | four times the minimum | well above four times or unlimited | Systematic errors can produce several claims in one year. |
| Serial loss clause | broad aggregation of similar errors | narrow clause, only genuinely identical errors | A broad clause turns ten claims into one limit. |
| Retroactive cover | none | unlimited for unknown past errors | Essential when moving from a foreign or claims-made policy. |
| Run-off cover | five years | ten years or more, also on retirement or death | Claims from advice can surface many years later. |
| Covered activities | core profession | side activities such as board seats, lecturing, expert opinions | Gaps appear where work goes beyond the job title. |
| Jurisdiction | German courts | worldwide except US and Canada, or including them by agreement | International clients may sue where they are based. |
Insurers on the German market
German professional indemnity is written by a few long-established specialists and the large commercial insurers, with further schemes for consultants and IT offered through underwriting agencies. The list shows the German market and says nothing about who we work with.
| Insurer | Background |
|---|---|
| HDI | part of the Talanx group, long-standing focus on the professions |
| Allianz | PI for regulated professions and consultants |
| AXA | cover for medical professions, consultants and designers |
| R+V | insurer of the German cooperative banks |
| Markel | specialty insurer in Munich, consultancy and IT, broker only |
| VHV | focus on architects and engineers |
| Zurich | German entity of the Zurich group |
| Great Lakes | Munich Re subsidiary, often the risk carrier behind underwriting agencies |
From the BaFin register
129
129 insurers supervised by BaFin, the German regulator, are licensed for this class of insurance. (Allgemeine Haftpflicht, Finanzielle Verluste, Berufsrisiken)
Show all 129 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
- ARAG SE
- 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
- Deutsche Assistance Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- DEVK Allgemeine Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- DEVK Deutsche Eisenbahn Versicherung Sach- und HUK-Versicherungsverein a.G. Betriebliche Sozialeinrichtung der Deutschen Bahn
- 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, retrieved 18 September 2026. Insurers from other EU countries selling through a branch or without a German office are not included.
Legal basis and sources
Products and add-ons
PI for regulated professions
Built to meet the Federal Lawyers' Act, Tax Advisers Act or Auditors' Act, with a certificate for the chamber.
Architects' and engineers' liability
Covers bodily injury, property damage and financial loss, as an annual policy or for one project.
Medical malpractice cover
For practices, hospital work and on-call duty, with the limits required for doctors in the statutory system.
IT and consultancy PI
For freelancers and agencies, often combined with business liability and cover for data protection and IP claims.
Myth or truth
True or false?
Five things people say about this insurance. Guess first, then see the answer.
German courts award the huge damages you hear about in US malpractice cases.
This is false.
False, German law compensates proven loss and has no punitive damages. Claims are still expensive when a client's business or a large transaction is affected.
Admitting your mistake to the client voids your German PI cover.
This is false.
False, under the Insurance Contract Act an admission does not cost you the cover. The insurer only pays what you actually owed, so talk to them before you promise money.
Several errors with the same cause can count as one single claim.
This is true.
True, the serial loss clause bundles them. The limit is then available only once, however many clients are affected.
A client in Germany usually has three years from the end of the year they learn of the damage to sue.
This is true.
True, that is the standard limitation period under the Civil Code. Long stop periods can reach ten years or more, so cover after you stop working matters.
Gross negligence is excluded from German professional indemnity.
This is false.
False, only knowing breaches of duty are excluded. A serious oversight under time pressure is exactly what the policy is for.
Common mistakes
- Relying on a home-country policy that excludes claims in German courts
- Switching from claims made to act committed without retroactive cover
- Staying at the statutory minimum as mandates grow
- Changing the firm's legal form before the insurance is adjusted
- Reporting a potential claim late
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
What is the difference between Berufshaftpflicht and Betriebshaftpflicht?
Berufshaftpflicht, or Vermögensschadenhaftpflicht, covers pure financial loss from advice or design. Betriebshaftpflicht covers bodily injury and property damage. A freelance developer usually needs the first, a café the second, and an engineering firm that also supervises construction often both.
I am a freelance IT contractor. Is PI mandatory?
No, but it is usually required by clients and contracting agencies. A software error that stops a client's production causes financial loss that only professional indemnity covers.
Will the German chamber accept my UK or US policy?
Rarely. The chamber checks minimum limits, aggregates, exclusions and whether the insurer is authorised in Germany. In practice most professionals take out a German policy on admission.
How much cover does a German lawyer need?
At least EUR 250,000 per claim with an annual aggregate of at least EUR 1 million (§ 51 BRAO). Law firms with limited liability need EUR 2.5 million per claim, or EUR 1 million with up to ten lawyers.
Am I covered after I leave Germany?
Under an act-committed policy, mistakes made during the policy period remain covered unless the policy limits this. Under claims made, only the extended reporting period protects you. Check before you cancel.
Does PI cover GDPR fines?
No, regulatory fines are not insurable in Germany. Compensation claims by data subjects can be included. Costs of a cyber attack on your own systems need a cyber policy.
What does professional indemnity cost in Germany?
It depends on profession, fee income and limit. A newly admitted tax adviser at the minimum pays far less than a firm with increased limits and complex mandates. We quote on the basis of your figures.
Why use a broker for professional indemnity?
Because the statutory minimum is only the floor, and the serial loss clause, retroactive cover and side activities decide real claims. We explain the German wording in English and send the chamber the certificate it needs.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Professional indemnity
We obtain quotes and come back with a comparison. Free of charge and without obligation: the insurer pays our commission. You can write in English.
Thank you, we have your request.
We will be in touch within one working day. If it is urgent: +49 3375 29 12 77.
Often goes with it
Is business liability insurance compulsory in Germany?
Do I need cyber insurance for my company in Germany?
Can I be personally liable as managing director of a German GmbH?
What does business legal expenses insurance cover in Germany?
Ten life situations, sorted honestly
Find your case, see which policy pays
What we would talk you out of
Boat or yacht? Here we are not the broker but the underwriting agency, with our own policies and our own claims handling.
Boat insuranceNAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act, broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37. For boat and yacht insurance we act as underwriting agency, not as broker. Statutory disclosure (German) · Updated