# Insurance for car detailing businesses in Germany

> Car detailing businesses work on other people's property every day, often on cars worth more than the whole workshop. A few seconds too long with the polisher on an edge, the wrong product on leather, a knock while moving a car: these are exactly the losses many standard policies in Germany leave out. Here is what to look for and what the cover costs.

Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-car-detailing.php  
Updated: 2026-10-14

## Does my public liability pay if I damage a client's paint while polishing?

Only if damage to items you work on is included. Damage to the very thing you are working on is excluded in many basic policies, and in detailing it is the most common loss. The same goes for cars parked overnight in your unit: if there is a break in or a fire, you need a goods in care extension. Get both confirmed in writing.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No compulsory insurance for the business itself; motor liability is required for your own vehicles, at least €7.5 million for injury and €1.3 million for property damage
- **Biggest risk:** Damage to the client's car from the work itself, such as paint polished through, blotchy ceramic coating or damaged trim
- **Client cars:** Cars in your care, in the unit, the yard or on a short drive, need a specific extension to your public liability policy
- **Basic cover from:** about €250 a year for public liability for a small business, nearer €400 with damage to worked on items, a guide value from our quoting work
- **Often forgotten:** Theft and fire involving client cars in your unit are not covered without the goods in care extension

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Paint polished through:** On edges and creases the clear coat is thin. A few seconds too long with the machine, and the panel needs a respray.
- **Wrong product:** Acidic wheel cleaner on anodised parts, solvent on leather or Alcantara: the damage often shows only once the client is home.
- **Client cars in your unit:** Break in, fire or a collapsing shelf: your clients' cars spend the night with you and are often worth more than your equipment.
- **Moving cars:** A post at the wash bay entrance, a touch with the next car: manoeuvring damage to client cars is expensive.
- **Mobile work:** Water and chemicals on paving, a scratched garage door, a cable across the path: with mobile detailing the damage happens on someone else's property.
- **Disputes over the result:** The client sees holograms in the paint and refuses to pay, or says a scratch is new. Without photos it gets difficult.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): Not compulsory, but essential. What matters is damage to worked on items and to cars in your care; without these the most common losses are not covered. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Business contents** (Strongly advised): Contents cover for polishers, steam cleaners, ozone generators and products against fire, burglary and water damage. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Car insurance** (Strongly advised): Motor liability is compulsory for your own service vehicles. For mobile detailing the insurer must know about business use and the van's fit out. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-car-insurance.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Strongly advised): Legal expenses cover for disputes with clients over results and invoices, with landlords and with staff. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php
- **Business interruption** (Depends on the business): Business interruption cover pays running costs and lost profit if your unit is out of action for weeks after a fire or flood. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Accident insurance** (Depends on the business): For you as owner, if you are not voluntarily insured with the Berufsgenossenschaft (statutory accident insurer): chemicals, wet floors and lifts carry real risks. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-accident-insurance.php
- **Occupational disability** (Depends on the business): Income protection: kneeling, bending and machine vibration take their toll on back, knees and hands. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-occupational-disability.php

## What it costs: example prices

Few insurers publish tariffs for car detailing. The premium depends mainly on how many client cars are in your care at once, what they are worth and whether damage to worked on items is included.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Sole trader, €3 million limit, without goods in care or worked on items | about €250 to €450 a year |
| Business liability | Unit with two employees, including worked on items and goods in care up to €100,000 per car | about €600 to €1,400 a year |
| Business contents | Machines, equipment and products worth €40,000 | about €200 to €450 a year |
| Car insurance | Panel van for mobile detailing with water tank, business use, third party and partial cover | about €700 to €1,400 a year |
| Business legal expenses | Small business with contract, employment and tenancy legal cover | about €350 to €800 a year |

For comparison: Public liability with goods in care cover costs about as much per year as one ceramic coating on a luxury saloon.

_All premiums are guide values from our quoting work, excluding German insurance premium tax, as of October 2026. The minimum motor liability limits are set in the Compulsory Insurance Act (Pflichtversicherungsgesetz). We obtain your quote from several insurers._

- [Pflichtversicherungsgesetz, Annex: minimum sums insured](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/pflvg/anlage.html)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Mobile** (One person business working at clients' homes with a van and water tank): Business liability, Car insurance, Business contents. Together: about €1,200 to €2,400 a year
- **Unit** (Detailing unit with two to five staff and client cars overnight): Business liability, Business contents, Business legal expenses, Business interruption. Together: about €1,600 to €3,500 a year
- **Prestige and sports cars** (Detailing of high value cars with wraps, ceramic coatings and collection service): Business liability, Business contents, Car insurance, Business legal expenses, Business interruption, Accident insurance. Together: individual, usually from about €3,500 a year

## The worst day in the detailing unit

Six things detailers really go through, all on one Friday before the weekend. Tap through and see who pays.

- 08:15: Driving a client's SUV into the wash bay, an employee scrapes the door post. (€2,900, Paid by: Business liability)
- 10:40: The clear coat on the bonnet edge is polished through; the bonnet needs a respray. (€1,400, Paid by: Business liability)
- 13:20: A solvent leaves stains on the leather bench of a classic car. (€3,800, Paid by: Business liability)
- 15:30: On a mobile job the neighbour trips over the polisher's cable and breaks her wrist. (€7,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 17:50: A client refuses to pay for a paint correction and threatens to sue. (€1,900, Paid by: Business legal expenses)
- 02:30: A short circuit in a dryer starts a fire; machines and stock are destroyed. (€18,000, Paid by: Business contents)

**Damage so far:** €35,000

## Practical tips from your broker

- Have damage to worked on items and goods in care written into your public liability policy, with a limit per car that matches the most valuable car you take in.
- Photograph every car all round on arrival and have existing damage signed off on the job sheet.
- Measure paint thickness before polishing and record the reading.
- Check whether drives in client cars, for example to the petrol station or for collection, are covered.
- Store chemicals separately and safely; good fire protection also lowers your contents premium.
- Keep client keys overnight in a locked key safe.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We know the gap with client cars:** Worked on items and goods in care are excluded in many policies. As an insurance broker, Norman Nammert compares the wording of several insurers and shows you where cover is missing.
- **Unit, van and business:** Liability, contents, service van and your personal cover all run through one contact.
- **We know paint claims:** In boat insurance we handle claims ourselves, including paint and gelcoat. We know which photos and reports an insurer wants to see.
- **Broker since 1989:** A family business, not tied to any insurer. Our service is free for you; the insurer pays our commission. We advise in English.

## FAQ

### Which insurance is compulsory for car detailers in Germany?

None for the business itself. Motor liability is compulsory for your own vehicles. Public liability is not required by law, but without it you pay for every damaged client car yourself.

### What are damage to worked on items and goods in care?

The first is damage to the thing you are working on, such as paint polished through. The second covers cars entrusted to you, for example in a fire or break in at your unit. Many basic policies exclude both.

### What does public liability cost for a car detailer?

Without extensions about €250 to €450 a year; with worked on items and goods in care for a business with its own unit about €600 to €1,400. These are guide values from our quoting work.

### Who pays if a client's car is stolen from my unit?

From your own insurance, only public liability with the goods in care extension. Without it you have to settle the loss with your client yourself.

### Is mobile detailing insured differently?

Your public liability must cover work on other people's property, and the service van must be declared for business use.

### Do I need business interruption cover?

If you have your own unit it is worth it: after a fire, rent, wages and leasing keep running even when no car can be worked on.

## 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-car-detailing.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.