# Insurance for funeral directors and funeral homes in Germany

> In a funeral home mistakes must not happen, and when they do, they weigh twice as heavily. A mourner falls on the wet steps to the chapel, the cold room fails over the weekend, the private ambulance has an accident. This page shows which insurance you need for that, what it costs and what is often missing.

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

## Which insurance do I really need as a funeral director?

Public liability and motor insurance for your vehicles are essential. Liability pays if relatives or mourners are harmed, or if you damage something in a chapel, at the cemetery or when collecting the deceased from a home. After that come contents, equipment and business interruption, because without premises and cooling you cannot accept a funeral.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** Motor third party liability for hearses and transfer vehicles. There is no compulsory insurance for the business itself
- **Biggest risk:** Accidents at funerals and during transfers, and cold room failure with consequences for the family
- **Basic cover from:** about 100 euros a year for public liability for a small funeral home
- **Statutory accident insurer:** BG Verkehr, the Berufsgenossenschaft for transport, for funeral directors who carry out transfers; those who only arrange funerals belong to the VBG
- **Often forgotten:** Cold room and equipment: a fault in the cooling unit is a machinery breakdown, which contents insurance does not pay for
- **WZ 2025 / NACE:** 96.30 Bestattungswesen

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **A fall at the funeral:** Wet steps outside the chapel, an uneven cemetery path, a trailing cable from the sound system. Mourners are often elderly, and falls have serious consequences.
- **Collections in other people's homes:** Carrying through a narrow stairwell damages banisters, door frames or furniture. It happens more often than you might think.
- **The cooling fails:** A fault at the weekend, and a viewing is no longer possible. For the family it is a second catastrophe, for you a liability case.
- **An accident with the hearse:** Transfers often run on country roads and motorways, at night too. Accidents hit the vehicle, the coffin and everyone involved.
- **Mistakes in the process:** The wrong urn sent, the crematorium appointment missed, a death notice with the wrong date. This can trigger costs and claims for compensation.
- **Lifting and infection:** Carrying in narrow stairwells, heavy coffins, contact with infectious diseases: the work takes a toll on backs and health.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): Covers harm to mourners and relatives, damage to cemetery grounds and to other people's premises during collection and viewing. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Car insurance** (Essential): Motor third party liability is required by law for hearses and transfer vehicles; comprehensive cover protects the expensive special vehicle. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-car-insurance.php
- **Business contents** (Strongly advised): Replaces display coffins, urns, decorations and office equipment after fire, water or burglary. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Electronic equipment** (Strongly advised): Protects the cold room, cooling tables, sound and streaming equipment against breakdowns, power surges and operating errors. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-electronic-equipment.php
- **Business interruption** (Strongly advised): Pays running costs and lost profit if you cannot take on funerals after a fire. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Commercial buildings** (Depends on the business): If you own the funeral chapel or business premises, you need buildings insurance for fire, storm and burst pipes. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-commercial-buildings.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Depends on the business): For client data, pre paid funeral plans and online memorial pages, which can leak or be deleted in an attack. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Depends on the business): For disputes over unpaid invoices with groups of heirs and over conditions imposed by cemetery authorities. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php

## What it costs: example prices

Public liability is comparatively cheap for funeral directors. Vehicles and equipment cost more. What matters is turnover, staff and whether you run your own chapel of rest and cooling.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Small funeral home, 3 million euros cover, with an excess | about 100 to 250 euros a year |
| Business liability | Funeral home with five employees, its own chapel and transfers | about 300 to 800 euros a year |
| Car insurance | Hearse with third party liability and comprehensive cover | about 700 to 1,800 euros a year |
| Business contents | Display, fittings and office worth 50,000 euros | about 150 to 400 euros a year |
| Electronic equipment | Cold room and equipment worth 30,000 euros | about 200 to 500 euros a year |

For comparison: Public liability and contents cover for a small funeral home cost roughly as much per year as a simple wooden coffin.

_Guide figures excluding German insurance premium tax, as of September 2026. Liability comes from publicly quoted tariff examples; vehicle, contents and equipment are guide figures from our own quoting experience. The motor premium depends heavily on your no claims record and the vehicle's value._

- [berufshaftpflichtversicherung-experten.de: Betriebshaftpflicht Bestatter](https://berufshaftpflichtversicherung-experten.de/betriebshaftpflicht-bestatter/)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Start** (small funeral home without its own chapel, one vehicle): Business liability, Car insurance. Together: about 800 to 2,000 euros a year
- **Funeral home** (funeral home with a display room, cooling and staff): Business liability, Car insurance, Business contents, Electronic equipment, Business interruption. Together: about 1,800 to 4,000 euros a year
- **All round** (funeral director with own building, chapel, several vehicles and pre paid funeral plans): Business liability, Car insurance, Business contents, Electronic equipment, Business interruption, Commercial buildings, Cyber insurance. Together: about 4,000 to 8,500 euros a year

## The worst day at the funeral home

Six things that really happen to funeral directors, all on one single Friday. Tap through the day and see who pays.

- 06:15: The cold room failed overnight with a faulty compressor. Emergency engineer, spare part, transfer to someone else's cooling facility. (€6,500, Paid by: Electronic equipment)
- 09:30: During a collection from a third floor flat, the banister of an old building is damaged. (€2,800, Paid by: Business liability)
- 11:00: A mourner falls on the wet steps outside your chapel. Broken upper arm, hospital, compensation. (€14,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 14:45: On the motorway a lorry runs into the back of the hearse. The body is destroyed and the vehicle is off the road for weeks. (€45,000, Paid by: Car insurance)
- 17:20: At a graveside service, a neighbouring grave and its headstone are damaged while the decorations are set up. (€3,500, Paid by: Business liability)
- 23:10: An electrical fire in the display room. Coffins, urns and office are covered in soot and the funeral home stays closed for two weeks. (€58,000, Paid by: Business contents)

**Damage so far:** €129,800

## Practical tips from your broker

- Have work in other people's premises, at cemeteries and in crematoria expressly named in your public liability policy.
- Include the loss of third party keys and access cards, for example for cemeteries, care homes and the homes of the deceased.
- Insure the cold room and cooling equipment with electronic equipment or machinery insurance, not only under contents.
- Choose comprehensive cover for the hearse with new value compensation for the body, and clarify whether a replacement vehicle is paid for.
- If you accept money for pre paid funerals, hold it in trust and keep it strictly separate from business assets.
- Have at least 3 million euros cover for injury and property damage; 5 million often costs only a few euros more.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We see what is missing from the policy:** Cooling, other people's premises, cemeteries, keys: as a broker we get quotes from several insurers and check whether your daily work is really covered.
- **We know claims handling from the inside:** In boat insurance we settle claims ourselves. When a claim has to be resolved quickly and discreetly, we know what the insurer needs.
- **Vehicles and premises from one source:** Public liability, hearse, buildings and your private provision are handled together, with one contact person.
- **A family business since 1989:** Many funeral homes have been family businesses for generations, and so are we. Our advice costs you nothing; the insurer pays our commission.

## FAQ

### Is public liability compulsory for funeral directors in Germany?

Not by law, but cemetery authorities, crematoria and landlords often require it. Motor third party liability for your vehicles is compulsory.

### What does insurance for a funeral home cost?

Public liability starts at about 100 euros a year. With vehicle, contents and cooling equipment, a small funeral home is usually between 1,800 and 4,000 euros.

### Which statutory accident insurer is responsible for funeral directors?

Usually BG Verkehr, because transfers are a core part of the work. Those who only arrange funerals usually belong to the VBG, and joinery businesses with a funeral service to the BGHM, the Berufsgenossenschaft for wood and metal.

### Does insurance pay if the cooling fails?

Electronic equipment or machinery insurance pays for the fault in the unit. The consequences for relatives, such as a viewing that cannot take place, can be a liability claim.

### Are graveside services covered?

Yes, if work outside your own premises is included in the policy. Check this, especially if you set up decorations, equipment or marquees.

### Do I have to insure pre paid funeral plans?

Money for pre paid funerals belongs in a trust account or in the client's own funeral expenses insurance, so that it is protected if the funeral home becomes insolvent. There is no insurance obligation for you.

## 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-funeral-director.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.