Who is liable if an autonomous tractor or field robot causes damage?

In short

Who is liable if an autonomous tractor or field robot causes damage? First the farmer as keeper and operator. In Germany, field robots up to 6 km/h need no motor liability cover, so business liability pays for their damage, from about EUR 120 a year. Faster machines on public roads need motor liability. If the machine is defective, the manufacturer is liable to injured people under product liability law.

Request a quote +49 3375 29 12 77

What it costs

For autonomous tractors and field robots, business liability, motor liability and machinery insurance matter.

Example	Typical range
Farm business liability, entry level	from about EUR 120 a year
Farm without livestock, EUR 30,000 turnover, EUR 5 million cover	around EUR 10 a month
Motor liability for a tractor up to 44 kW	about EUR 20 to 170 a year
Motor liability for a tractor above 45 kW	up to about EUR 600 a year
Machinery insurance, sum insured EUR 133,000, for comparison	about EUR 1,424 a year

Guide values, October 2026, from published examples.

Machine value and losses in the worked example are guide values from broker practice.

Worked example

Field robot drives into the neighbour's field

A field robot running at 5 km/h leaves its own field because of a wrongly set geofence and damages vegetables on the neighbour's land. Then it falls into a ditch.

Crop damage at the neighbour's	business liability, if the farm is liable
Motor liability	not responsible, robot slower than 6 km/h
Damage to your own field robot	machinery insurance, if taken out
Manufacturer	only for a device defect, not for a wrong setting

The wrongly set geofence is the farm's mistake. Business liability pays the neighbour, only machinery insurance pays for the robot.

The farmer is liable as operator

An autonomous tractor or field robot is not a legal person. The farmer who uses it is liable for damage it causes on or next to the field. For slow machines this is fault-based liability under section 823 BGB, so the question is whether the farm breached its duty to keep things safe.

For a field robot, that duty means, for example, marking off the working area, putting up warning signs along paths, keeping the software up to date and monitoring the machine. Farm business liability insurance (landwirtschaftliche Betriebshaftpflicht) covers this liability.

From which speed motor liability is compulsory

The Compulsory Insurance Act (Pflichtversicherungsgesetz) only applies to motor vehicles with a design speed above 6 km/h. Many field robots for weeding or sowing are slower and therefore fall outside compulsory motor insurance. Self-propelled working machines up to 20 km/h that need no registration are also exempt.

A faster autonomous tractor that is registered needs motor liability insurance. It may only drive on public roads without a driver if it has an operating permit for the autonomous function and is used in an approved operating area.

Machine	Which liability insurance pays
Field robot up to 6 km/h on your own field	business liability
Self-propelled working machine up to 20 km/h without registration	business liability
Registered tractor while driving, also across the field	motor liability
Tractor working as a machine in the field	motor or business liability depending on the case, align both
Autonomous tractor on a public road	motor liability, only allowed with approval
Damage to your own machine	only machinery or Kasko insurance

Why speed also matters for liability

Under the Road Traffic Act (StVG) the keeper of a motor vehicle is liable even without fault. According to section 8 StVG this strict liability does not apply to vehicles up to 20 km/h, unless a vehicle with an autonomous driving function is in autonomous operation on public roads.

For a slow field robot this means: anyone harmed has to prove the farm was at fault. For an autonomous tractor in approved road operation, the keeper is liable even without fault.

When the defect is in the field robot or its software

If a field robot injures a walker because of a design defect, the manufacturer is liable without fault under the Product Liability Act. The new product liability law, due to take effect on 9 December 2026, expressly covers software too.

The act does not cover damage to the farm itself, such as a destroyed crop or the machine. Purchase contract, statutory warranty and guarantee apply there. From 14 January 2027 the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 also sets new safety requirements for autonomous machines.

Insuring your own field robot

Liability insurance only covers damage to others. For its own autonomous tractor or field robot a farm needs machinery or Kasko insurance. Depending on the terms, it pays for operating errors, accidents, theft from the field or electronic damage.

Tell the insurer expressly that the machine drives autonomously and ask about software errors and cyber attacks. A failure of the remote control is not included in every machinery policy.

When existing business liability is enough

If a farm only uses a small field robot on its own, marked-off land, farm business liability usually suffices. Still report the new machine so the insurer does not treat it as an unreported risk.

Advice for farms with autonomous machines

Norman Nammert works as an insurance broker (Versicherungsmakler) and can check whether your policies for business liability, motor liability and machinery insurance fit together without gaps for an autonomous tractor or field robot. The commission is paid by the insurer, so the advice is free for you.

Step by step

Check the machine's design speed and registration status.
Report new autonomous machines to your business liability insurer.
Adjust motor liability for registered tractors.
Check machinery insurance that includes software and electronic damage.
Mark off working areas, put up warning signs and document updates.

Checklist

Design speed of the field robot known
Business liability insurer knows about the autonomous machine
Motor liability for registered tractors
Machinery insurance including theft from the field
Records of software updates
Geofence and working limits documented

Common mistakes

Believing a slow field robot is automatically covered by motor liability
Sending an autonomous tractor onto the road without approval
Not reporting the new machine to the insurer
Assuming liability cover also replaces your own robot

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Does a field robot need motor liability insurance?

Not if its design speed is at most 6 km/h.

Business liability then pays for damage to others.

May an autonomous tractor drive on the road on its own?

Only with an operating permit for the autonomous driving function and in an operating area

approved by the authorities (section 1e StVG).

Is the manufacturer liable if the software fails?

For injuries and private property under product liability law, yes,

and from 9 December 2026 expressly for software too.

Damage to the farm is governed by the purchase contract.

Who pays if an employee is injured by the field robot?

The agricultural Berufsgenossenschaft, as a work accident.

The farm is then liable to the employee only for intent.

Is the field robot insured against theft?

Only through machinery or Kasko insurance.

Liability insurance only pays for damage to others.

What changes with the Machinery Regulation from 2027?

From 14 January 2027, machines placed on the market, including autonomous ones,

must meet the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230.

Sources

NAMMERT insurance broker

Request a quote

We compare insurers and come back to you, in English.

Free; the insurer pays our fee.

1Who is it for?

Personal My company

2Which insurance?

Choose as many as you like. For each one, the details an insurer needs for a quote appear below.

Personal

Business

Please review all my existing policies

3Details

4Your current policy

Current insurer Policy ends on What matters more to you?

5How can we reach you?

Name * Email * Phone Postcode Town Preferred contact Anything else we should know