# Insurance for florists, flower shops and garden retailers in Germany

> Flowers have a sell by date: if the cold room fails just before Mother's Day, the takings of your best week wilt with them. Plants, pots and decorations stand outside the shop, and wedding flowers are set up on the customer's premises. This page explains how to protect all of that and what it costs.

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

## Are the plants outside my shop insured?

Usually not automatically. Contents insurance applies to stock inside closed premises. Plants, pots and decorations on the pavement or an open sales area have to be included explicitly, and cover for theft outdoors is rarely available. Some insurers will add storm and hail damage to outdoor stock up to a limited amount.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No statutory insurance for the business itself; motor third party liability (Kfz-Haftpflicht) is compulsory for the delivery van
- **Biggest risk:** Stock spoiling after a refrigeration failure, and storm or hail damage to goods displayed outside
- **Basic cover from:** around 80 euros a year for the public liability of a small flower shop
- **Berufsgenossenschaft:** BGHW, the statutory accident insurer for retail and logistics, covers flower shops and is compulsory once you employ staff
- **Often forgotten:** Stock and decorations on the pavement or at a customer's venue: contents insurance often stops at the shop door

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **The cold room fails:** Roses, tulips and foliage worth thousands of euros droop within a single weekend if the cooling unit gives up.
- **Storm and hail:** Outdoor plant displays, glass canopies and the greenhouses of garden retailers take the weather head on.
- **Wet floors:** Buckets of water, plant cuttings and damp tiles: customers and staff slipping over is the typical liability claim.
- **Decorating at the venue:** While wedding flowers are being set up, a candle tips into the arrangement, or a fixing damages a church pew.
- **Deliveries:** Bouquets and funeral wreaths have to arrive on time, often in a hurry and through city traffic.
- **Closed in peak season:** Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, the Sunday of remembrance in November: if the shop is shut that week, a large part of the year's profit is gone.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): Pays for falls in the shop and for damage caused while decorating churches, function rooms and private homes. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Business contents** (Strongly advised): Replaces fittings, the cold room, stock and decorations after fire, water, storm and burglary, and with cold storage cover also wilted stock after a breakdown. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Business interruption** (Strongly advised): Carries rent, wages and lost profit if the shop has to close in a peak season after a loss. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Fleet insurance** (Strongly advised): For the delivery van: motor liability is compulsory, and comprehensive cover pays off when you drive a lot in town. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-fleet-insurance.php
- **Machinery breakdown** (Depends on the business): Covers the cold room and chilled display against short circuits and breakdowns, which fire insurance does not pay for. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-machinery-breakdown.php
- **Commercial buildings** (Depends on the business): For garden retailers with their own greenhouse or sales hall, including the glass roof and storm damage. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-commercial-buildings.php
- **Occupational disability** (Depends on the business): Protects florists whose work depends on their hands, their back and long hours on their feet. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-occupational-disability.php

## What it costs: example prices

Flower shops are among the cheaper businesses to insure for liability. Cold storage, outdoor stock and loss of income cost more, because takings are concentrated in a few weeks of the year.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Flower shop with one to three employees, 3 million euros cover | around 80 to 250 euros a year |
| Business contents | Fittings, cold room and stock worth 50,000 euros | around 150 to 400 euros a year |
| Business contents | Add on for cold storage and outdoor stock | around 60 to 200 euros a year extra |
| Business interruption | Loss of income for up to twelve months, combined with contents insurance | around 80 to 250 euros a year |
| Fleet insurance | One delivery van with third party liability and partial comprehensive cover | around 500 to 1,200 euros a year |

For comparison: For a small flower shop, liability and contents insurance together cost roughly as much a year as five bridal bouquets.

_Guide figures excluding insurance tax, as of September 2026. Liability figures follow publicly quoted examples for retail; property and cold storage are guide figures from our own quoting practice. The motor premium depends heavily on the vehicle and your no claims record._

- [Finanzchef24: Versicherungen für den Einzelhandel](https://www.finanzchef24.de/versicherung/einzelhandel)
- [betriebshaftpflicht24.de: Betriebshaftpflicht Handel](https://www.betriebshaftpflicht24.de/betriebshaftpflicht-handel-gewerbe-vergleich.html)
- [Versicherungsengel: Kosten der Inhaltsversicherung](https://www.versicherungsengel.de/versicherungen/inhaltsversicherung/kosten)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Start** (small flower shop or florist's workshop without a delivery van): Business liability, Business contents. Together: around 250 to 650 euros a year
- **Shop** (flower shop with cold room, outdoor sales area and delivery service): Business liability, Business contents, Business interruption, Fleet insurance. Together: around 900 to 2,100 euros a year
- **Garden** (garden retailer with its own greenhouse, cold store and several employees): Business liability, Business contents, Business interruption, Fleet insurance, Machinery breakdown, Commercial buildings. Together: around 2,500 to 5,500 euros a year

## The worst day in the flower shop

Six losses that florists really experience, all on the Saturday before Mother's Day. Tap through and see who pays.

- 06:30: The cold room is at 20 degrees because the unit failed overnight. The Mother's Day roses are hanging their heads. (€4,500, Paid by: Business contents)
- 06:45: The refrigeration engineer replaces the compressor in the cold room. (€3,800, Paid by: Machinery breakdown)
- 09:10: A customer slips on wet leaves at the entrance and breaks her arm. (€8,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 11:30: Delivering a wreath down a narrow street, the van scrapes two parked cars. (€4,200, Paid by: Fleet insurance)
- 14:20: At a wedding, a candle falls into the arrangement on the altar and sets an altar cloth and a carpet alight. (€7,500, Paid by: Business liability)
- 17:50: A gust of wind rips off the canopy and hurls potted plants through the shop window. (€9,000, Paid by: Business contents)

**Damage so far:** €37,000

## Practical tips from your broker

- Include cold storage cover, and insure the extra stock you carry before the big holidays.
- Have outdoor stock and decorations on the pavement named in the policy, even if only with a small limit for storm damage.
- Check that damage caused while decorating other people's premises, such as churches and function rooms, is included in your liability cover.
- Vases, stands and arches you lend to customers should be listed in your contents insurance as stock away from the premises.
- With a greenhouse or glass canopy you need glass insurance or a matching extension to your buildings cover.
- Loss of income cover is particularly worthwhile if a large share of your takings falls in just a few weeks of the year.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We understand seasonal businesses:** With boats everything revolves around the season, and with flowers it does too. As a broker we compare how several insurers deal with peak stock levels and cold storage.
- **We settle claims ourselves:** In boat insurance we handle claims in house, and we know that after a storm it is photos, weather data and stock lists that count. We pass that experience on to you.
- **Shop, van and family together:** Your business, vehicle and personal cover are looked after in one place, on +49 3375 29 12 77.
- **A family business since 1989:** We know how much handwork goes into a small business. Our advice costs you nothing.

## FAQ

### What insurance does a flower shop need?

Public liability and contents insurance with cold storage cover. With a delivery van you add motor insurance, and if your trade is strongly seasonal, loss of income cover.

### What does insurance for a flower shop cost?

Public liability starts at around 80 euros a year. Together with contents cover, small shops usually pay between 250 and 650 euros.

### Is wilted stock covered after the cooling fails?

Only with a cold storage or spoilage add on. Without it, contents insurance only pays if fire or lightning caused the breakdown.

### Am I covered while decorating a wedding?

Yes, through public liability, if work at customers' premises is included. Pay attention to damage to rented or borrowed rooms.

### Will insurance pay for storm damage to my outdoor plants?

Only if outdoor stock is included. Many insurers cap the amount or require the stock to be brought inside at night.

### Who pays if someone cuts themselves with a florist's knife at work?

For employees, the Berufsgenossenschaft, the statutory accident insurer. Owners should take out the voluntary cover it offers business owners or a private accident policy.

## 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-florist.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.