# Insurance for bakeries and patisseries in Germany

> A bakehouse starts work at three in the morning with ovens running above 250 degrees and closes in the afternoon when the last customer leaves the café table. In between lie the typical losses: the oven that will not fire up, the metal shaving in a bread roll, the fryer fat that catches light. This page sets out what should be insured and what it costs.

Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-bakery.php  
Updated: 2026-09-18

## Will insurance pay if the oven simply breaks down?

Contents insurance will not, because it only covers fire, burst pipes, storm and burglary. If the control unit burns out, a heating element cracks or someone operates the oven wrongly, you need machinery insurance. The takings you lose in the days until the repair are then covered by machinery business interruption, provided you added it to the policy.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No statutory insurance for the business itself; motor third party liability is compulsory for every delivery van
- **Biggest risk:** A fire in the bakehouse, and an oven breakdown that leaves nothing to sell
- **Basic cover from:** around 100 euros a year for the public and products liability of a small bakery
- **Berufsgenossenschaft:** BGN, the statutory accident insurer for food and hospitality, compulsory once you employ staff; you also join the Handwerkskammer (chamber of crafts)
- **Often forgotten:** Machinery insurance: a burnt out oven is not a fire claim, so contents insurance will not pay for it
- **WZ 2025 / NACE:** 10.71 Herstellung von Backwaren, ohne Dauerbackwaren, 10.72 Herstellung von Dauerbackwaren, 10.73 Herstellung von Teigwaren, 47.24 Einzelhandel mit Back- und Süßwaren

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Fire in the bakehouse:** Ovens, deep fryers and flour dust: bakery fires often start at night, when a single baker is working alone.
- **The oven goes down:** No oven, no sales. Repairs and parts for a deck oven quickly run to five figures, and every day without bread costs takings in every shop.
- **Foreign objects in the baking:** A metal shaving from the dough machine, a scrap of film, a small stone in the flour: a customer's broken tooth is a classic liability claim.
- **Allergens:** Nuts in a cake sold as nut free, or missing allergen information at the counter, can trigger a severe allergic reaction.
- **Accidents and baker's asthma:** Burns at the oven, cuts on the bread slicer and respiratory illness from flour dust affect owners and staff alike.
- **Deliveries before dawn:** Branches, hotels and canteens are supplied early, often by drivers who have been awake for hours.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): Pays for broken teeth from foreign objects, allergic reactions and falls in the café, as long as products liability for goods you bake yourself is included. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Business contents** (Strongly advised): Replaces fittings, machines, raw ingredients and stock at new value after fire, burst pipes, storm and burglary. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Machinery breakdown** (Strongly advised): Covers ovens, cold rooms, proofers and dough machines against short circuits, operating errors and material failure. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-machinery-breakdown.php
- **Business interruption** (Strongly advised): Carries wages, rent and lost profit while the bakehouse or a shop is shut after a loss. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Fleet insurance** (Strongly advised): For the delivery vans: motor liability is compulsory, and several vehicles on one policy are often cheaper. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-fleet-insurance.php
- **Occupational disability** (Depends on the business): Protects your income if your back, joints or lungs no longer allow you to work in the bakehouse. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-occupational-disability.php
- **Company pension (bAV)** (Depends on the business): A company pension helps you keep bakers and counter staff when good people are hard to find. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-company-pension.php

## What it costs: example prices

Bakeries pay little for liability cover and considerably more for their machinery and business interruption. What matters is turnover, the number of shops, the value of the ovens and whether there is a café.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Bakery with one shop, turnover up to 100,000 euros | around 100 to 350 euros a year |
| Business liability | Bakery with café or small branches, turnover around 250,000 euros | around 140 to 1,300 euros a year, depending on the insurer |
| Business contents | Bakehouse and shop with fittings and stock worth 150,000 euros | around 400 to 1,000 euros a year |
| Machinery breakdown | Deck oven, refrigeration and dough machines worth 100,000 euros | around 300 to 900 euros a year |
| Business interruption | Loss of income for up to twelve months, combined with contents insurance | around 150 to 450 euros a year |

For comparison: Basic cover of liability and contents insurance costs about as much a year as you take for 1,500 bread rolls.

_Guide figures excluding insurance tax, as of September 2026. The liability figures come from public price comparisons, where the most expensive insurer charges more than five times the cheapest for the same turnover. Machinery and business interruption are guide figures from our own quoting practice._

- [betriebshaftpflicht24.de: Betriebshaftpflicht Bäcker](https://www.betriebshaftpflicht24.de/betriebshaftpflicht-baecker.html)
- [Berufshaftpflichtversicherung Experten: Betriebshaftpflicht Bäckerei](https://berufshaftpflichtversicherung-experten.de/betriebshaftpflicht-baeckerei/)
- [Versicherungsengel: Kosten der Inhaltsversicherung](https://www.versicherungsengel.de/versicherungen/inhaltsversicherung/kosten)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Start** (small bakery or patisserie with one shop and no delivery vehicle): Business liability, Business contents. Together: around 500 to 1,000 euros a year
- **Bakehouse** (craft bakery with its own bakehouse, a café and up to fifteen staff): Business liability, Business contents, Machinery breakdown, Business interruption. Together: around 1,100 to 2,500 euros a year
- **Multi branch** (bakery with several shops and its own delivery vans): Business liability, Business contents, Machinery breakdown, Business interruption, Fleet insurance, Company pension (bAV). Together: around 3,000 to 7,000 euros a year, depending on the number of vehicles

## The worst day in the bakery

Six losses that bakeries really suffer, all packed into one Saturday. Tap through from lighting the oven to closing time and see who pays.

- 03:20: The control unit of the deck oven burns out. The oven stays cold; a replacement board and a weekend call out for the engineer. (€8,500, Paid by: Machinery breakdown)
- 03:30: Because the oven is down, the shops stay half empty until midday. Saturday's takings are gone. (€4,200, Paid by: Business interruption)
- 05:10: Manoeuvring outside a branch, the delivery van slides into a parked car. (€3,800, Paid by: Fleet insurance)
- 09:45: A customer bites on a metal shaving in a multigrain roll and breaks a tooth. Implant and compensation for pain and suffering. (€5,500, Paid by: Business liability)
- 14:15: A customer goes into anaphylactic shock after a slice of cake, although she had asked about nuts. (€12,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 16:50: The fat in the doughnut fryer catches fire. The bakehouse is covered in soot, fittings and ingredients are ruined. (€65,000, Paid by: Business contents)

**Damage so far:** €99,000

## Practical tips from your broker

- Include products liability for goods you bake yourself, and ask about recall costs if you supply retailers or hotels.
- Alongside machinery insurance for the oven, agree loss of income after machinery breakdown, or nobody pays for the days without bread.
- Name every branch and every mobile sales van in the policy, including the stall at the weekly market.
- Insure ingredients and stock with extra headroom for the weeks before Christmas, when stollen and biscuits fill the storeroom.
- Check that fat fires and flour dust explosions are not excluded, and ask which fire safety conditions the insurer sets.
- Have your income protection policy written for your actual job in the bakehouse, not for office work.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We compare the terms, not only the price:** For the same bakery, the most expensive insurer can charge several times what the cheapest does. As a broker we obtain several quotes and tell you where the real difference lies.
- **We know claims handling from the inside:** Because we settle claims ourselves in boat insurance, we know how an insurer examines a machinery claim and prepare your notification accordingly.
- **Bakehouse, vans and family in one place:** Your business, vehicles, staff pensions and personal cover sit with one contact who knows your situation, reachable on +49 3375 29 12 77.
- **A family business ourselves, since 1989:** We know businesses that pass from one generation to the next. Our work costs you nothing; the insurer pays our commission.

## FAQ

### Which insurance does a bakery really need?

Public liability with products liability, contents insurance for fittings and stock and, because ovens are expensive, machinery insurance. With several shops, business interruption and motor insurance for the delivery vans come on top.

### What does liability insurance cost for a bakery?

For a small bakery it starts at around 100 euros a year. At 250,000 euros turnover, quotes in comparisons range from about 140 to over 1,200 euros, so comparing pays off.

### Is a broken tooth from a foreign object covered?

Yes, through the liability policy, provided products liability for goods you make yourself is included. Keep the object and record what happened straight away.

### Will insurance pay if flour dust causes an explosion?

Explosion is usually covered under contents insurance. Even so, ask the insurer to confirm in writing that dust explosions are not excluded.

### Is my stall at the weekly market covered?

Only if it is named in the policy. A stall, trailer and stock away from the premises often need to be added separately.

### Who pays if someone is hurt at work in the bakehouse?

The BGN, the statutory accident insurer for food businesses, covers your employees. As the owner you are not automatically insured there; ask about its voluntary cover for business owners or take out private accident insurance.

## Request quotes

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. https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-bakery.php#anfrage

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NAMMERT 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.

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