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A German court bars a broker from calling itself an insurer
Anyone using the word insurance in a trading name has to be an authorised insurance undertaking. That is the simplest test a buyer has.
22 January 2026LawNAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH
On 15 January 2026 the Regional Court of Duesseldorf granted an injunction barring a competitor from continuing to trade with the addition "Yachtversicherungen", German for yacht insurance (case 34 O 5/26). The basis is section 6 of the German Insurance Supervision Act: words such as insurance or insurer are reserved for undertakings authorised to carry on insurance business. Intermediaries may use them only with a clarifying addition.
The order is not final. The other side filed an appeal on 22 January 2026 and the proceedings are continuing, so nothing here is settled law.
The rule itself is not a German peculiarity. Across the European Economic Area, carrying on insurance business requires authorisation from a supervisory authority, and the name follows the authorisation. What differs between member states is the wording of the statute, not the principle.
For a buyer that makes one question worth asking before anything else: is the company on the other side of the contract the risk carrier, a broker, or an agent acting under a carrier mandate? The answer has to be in the pre-contract information, together with the name of the supervisor.
We took the case as a reason to audit ourselves rather than to celebrate. We went through the whole of our own presence, website, contract documents, consumer information, footnotes, and removed every remaining use of the German word for boat insurer. We are an underwriting agency: we underwrite and settle in the name of the risk carrier, with wide authority, but we are not the carrier.
Common questions
Does the decision apply outside Germany?
No. It is an injunction from a German court and binds the parties to that case. The underlying distinction between an authorised carrier and an intermediary exists in every EEA state.
How do I find out who carries the risk on my policy?
The schedule and the pre-contract information have to name the insurance undertaking. If a document only names a brand, ask for the carrier in writing before you buy.
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