# Insurance for auction houses and auctioneers in Germany

> An auction house keeps other people's valuables, describes them in public and sells them on their behalf. Paintings, jewellery, watches and furniture can sit in your store and viewing rooms for weeks. For auctioneers that means two kinds of liability: for the goods in your care and for what your catalogue says. This page explains which insurance fits and what it costs.

Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-auction-house-and-auctioneer.php  
Updated: 2026-10-15

## Who pays if a consigned painting is damaged in our store?

You are liable to the consignor as the party holding the item. For the item itself you need contents insurance that names third party property in your care, at the agreed value. Standard public liability often excludes damage to goods you hold for others. Sort this out before the first consignment arrives.

## At a glance

- **Licence:** Auctioning other people's goods as a business needs a permit under § 34b of the German Trade Regulation Act (GewO); reliability and orderly finances are checked
- **Biggest risk:** Damage to, theft or loss of consigned items that do not belong to you
- **Basic cover from:** about €300 a year of public liability for a small auctioneer, a guide figure from our own quoting work
- **Duties:** The Auction Ordinance (VerstV) covers the auction contract, the list of lots and bookkeeping; § 34b GewO bans auctioneers from bidding themselves
- **Often forgotten:** Financial loss from a wrong attribution or valuation, which property insurance does not pay

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Valuables in store:** Consignments stay with you for weeks. Fire, a burst pipe or burglary hits items you must replace.
- **Theft at viewings:** Many visitors, small items, open cabinets: a ring or a watch vanishes in seconds.
- **Collection and delivery:** Furniture, porcelain and paintings are collected, stored and delivered. Every move risks breakage.
- **Wrong attribution:** A painting sold as the work of a master later turns out to be studio work: buyers want their money back and costs paid.
- **Online bidding:** Live bidding depends on technology. An attack or outage on sale day costs hammer prices.
- **Accidents in the saleroom:** Visitors trip over cables or platforms, or a heavy piece tips over during viewing.

**Risk radar** (Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.): Liability 4, Fire and water 5, Theft 5, Cyber 3, Downtime 3, Health 2

## The insurance you need

- **Business contents** (Essential): Replaces your fittings and consigned third party items after fire, water, storm and burglary, if third party property is included with a value. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Business liability** (Essential): For injury and property damage at viewings, sales and collections, for example if a visitor falls. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Cargo insurance** (Strongly advised): For items in transit from consignor to store and on to the buyer, including fairs and exhibitions. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cargo-insurance.php
- **Professional indemnity** (Strongly advised): Covers financial loss from wrong descriptions, valuations or handling, which public liability does not pay. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-professional-indemnity.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Strongly advised): For attacks on online bidding, customer data and payments. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php
- **Business interruption** (Depends on the business): Pays running costs if a sale has to be cancelled or postponed after damage. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Depends on the business): Legal expenses for disputes with consignors, buyers and landlords. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php

## What it costs: example prices

The premium depends mainly on the value held at any one time, security and storage. Liability is the smaller part.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Auctioneer with own saleroom, four sales a year | about €300 to €800 a year |
| Business contents | Consignments and fittings up to €500,000, alarm and safe | about €1,500 to €4,000 a year |
| Cargo insurance | Collections and deliveries in own vehicle, up to €50,000 per trip | about €400 to €1,200 a year |
| Professional indemnity | Financial loss from descriptions and valuations, €250,000 cover | about €500 to €1,500 a year |
| Cyber insurance | Auction house with online bidding and customer database | about €600 to €1,500 a year |

For comparison: Contents, liability and transit together often cost a small auction house less a year than the commission on one good lot.

_All figures are guide figures from our own quoting work, excluding German insurance premium tax, as of October 2026. For high single values, insurers often set security requirements and ask for a separate valuation._

- [Trade Regulation Act, § 34b: auctioneers](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gewo/__34b.html)
- [Ordinance on commercial auctions (VerstV)](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/verstv_2003/)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Auctioneer** (Auctioneer without own store, sales in rented rooms): Business liability, Professional indemnity, Cargo insurance. Together: about €1,200 to €3,500 a year
- **Auction house** (Own saleroom and store, consignments up to €500,000): Business contents, Business liability, Cargo insurance, Professional indemnity. Together: about €2,700 to €7,500 a year
- **Saleroom and online** (Auction house with live bidding, high single values and exhibitions): Business contents, Business liability, Cargo insurance, Professional indemnity, Cyber insurance, Business interruption, Business legal expenses. Together: priced individually, usually from about €7,500 a year

## The worst day in the auction house

Six things that really happen to auctioneers, all on the day of a big sale here. Tap through and see who pays.

- 07:30: Unloading, a chest of drawers falls off the pallet truck; a leg snaps and the veneer splinters. (€4,500, Paid by: Cargo insurance)
- 10:20: During the viewing a gold ring disappears from a cabinet. (€6,800, Paid by: Business contents)
- 11:45: A visitor trips over a cable by the platform and breaks an arm. (€9,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 14:00: The online bidding platform is attacked and goes down for two hours. (€18,000, Paid by: Cyber insurance)
- 16:30: A buyer proves an attributed painting is not by the named artist and claims costs. (€12,000, Paid by: Professional indemnity)
- 23:10: A pipe bursts above the store and several consigned prints are soaked. (€25,000, Paid by: Business contents)

**Damage so far:** €75,300

## Practical tips from your broker

- Have third party property in your care named in your contents insurance, with a sufficient sum.
- State in the consignment contract who insures items from delivery onwards and at what value.
- Check the limits for jewellery, watches and cash; they are often tight.
- Include financial loss from descriptions and valuations; property insurance does not cover it.
- Insure transit even when you collect items yourself, not just with carriers.
- Protect online bidding with backups and cyber insurance before you go live.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We compare for you:** Norman Nammert works as an independent insurance broker. We approach several insurers and make sure consigned goods are really included.
- **We know valuables in transit:** From our work with high value items we know how much agreed values, transit and storage location matter in a policy.
- **Family run since 1989:** We have arranged insurance since 1989. Our work is free for you; the insurer pays our commission.

## FAQ

### Do I need a licence to run auctions in Germany?

Yes. Anyone auctioning other people's movable goods, land or rights as a business needs a permit from the competent authority under § 34b GewO.

### Are consigned items covered by my insurance?

Only if your contents insurance names third party property in your care. Watch the sum insured and the limits for jewellery and art.

### How much does insurance for an auction house cost?

From our quoting work, a small house with its own store pays about €2,700 to €7,500 a year for contents, liability, transit and financial loss cover.

### Who pays for a wrong attribution?

That is financial loss. Only professional indemnity covers it, not public liability or contents.

### May I bid at my own auction?

No. § 34b GewO bans auctioneers from bidding themselves or through others, and from buying items entrusted to them.

### Do I need cyber insurance for online auctions?

It is not compulsory. If bids and payments run online, it pays costs after attacks and data breaches.

## Request quotes

We obtain quotes and come back with a comparison, free of charge. You can write in English. https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-auction-house-and-auctioneer.php#anfrage

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Your broker: Norman Nammert, trading as NAMMERT. Insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act. Broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37. NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH is a separate company. It does not arrange your contract.

NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, Karl-Marx-Straße 4, 15711 Königs Wusterhausen, +49 3375 29 12 77, info@nammert.com. Wikidata: Q141141479.