# Insurance for bus and coach operators, tours and scheduled services in Germany

> Fifty people sit in a coach, and the operator is liable for every one of them. Add a vehicle worth as much as a family home, trips abroad and customers who pay in advance. This page shows what German law requires, what else makes sense and what it costs.

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

## What limit does a coach need?

By law at least €7.5 million for injury, plus €50,000 per seat from the 10th to the 80th seat. For a 50 seat coach that makes €9.55 million. In a serious crash with many badly injured people that is not enough; a combined €100 million is usual and advisable, and it usually costs only a little more.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** Motor liability with raised minimums: on top of €7.5 million for injury, €50,000 is added per seat from the 10th seat; if you sell package holidays, customers' money must be protected against your insolvency
- **Biggest risk:** Accidents with many injured people, and a coach written off as a total loss
- **Basic cover from:** about €1,500 a year of motor insurance for a minibus; coaches usually cost considerably more
- **Statutory accident insurer:** the BG Verkehr is the Berufsgenossenschaft (statutory accident insurer) for private bus companies; municipal transport operators often belong to the VBG
- **Often forgotten:** Insolvency protection for package tours, and accident cover for passengers beyond statutory liability
- **WZ 2025 / NACE:** 49.11 Personenbeförderung im Eisenbahnverkehr, 49.12 Sonstige Personenbeförderung im Schienenverkehr, 49.31 Personenbeförderung im Linienverkehr auf der Straße, 49.34 Personenbeförderung mit Seilbahnen und Skiliften, 49.39 Sonstige Personenbeförderung im Landverkehr a. n. g.

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Accidents with many injured:** A single crash can affect dozens of passengers. Compensation for pain, treatment and lost earnings adds up to millions.
- **Falls inside the bus:** An emergency stop on a scheduled route and a standing pensioner falls. Such cases are common and expensive.
- **Damage to the coach:** A coach costs €300,000 to €500,000. An engine fire, a crash or hail hits a large asset.
- **Breakdown abroad:** Towing, a replacement coach, a hotel for the group: a breakdown on the way back from Italy quickly runs to five figures.
- **Package tours and insolvency:** If you sell trips with accommodation, you count as a tour operator under German law and must protect deposits against your own insolvency.
- **Drivers and driving hours:** Driver shortages, checks on driving hours, fines and employment questions keep bus operators busy all the time.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Fleet insurance** (Essential): Motor liability with the raised minimums per seat is compulsory; comprehensive cover protects the expensive vehicle, with all vehicles under one fleet policy. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-fleet-insurance.php
- **Business liability** (Strongly advised): Covers damage away from driving, for example on excursions, at bus stops, in the depot or at events. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Group accident insurance** (Strongly advised): Passenger accident insurance pays passengers and drivers even when nobody is liable, for example after a fall that was nobody's fault. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-group-accident.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Strongly advised): With motoring legal expenses for the aftermath of accidents, fine proceedings over driving hours and disputes with school transport clients. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php
- **Commercial buildings** (Depends on the business): For a depot, workshop and wash bay that you own. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-commercial-buildings.php
- **Business interruption** (Depends on the business): Keeps the business going if the depot or workshop cannot be used after a fire. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Depends on the business): Covers booking systems and travellers' personal data. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php
- **Company pension (bAV)** (Depends on the business): Drivers are scarce; a company pension scheme helps you keep them. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-company-pension.php

## What it costs: example prices

Motor insurance makes up almost the whole premium. What matters is the number of seats, the coach's value when new, the type of service (scheduled, school, touring), trips abroad and the company's claims history.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fleet insurance | Nine seat minibus used for a transport service, liability and comprehensive | about €1,500 to €3,500 a year |
| Fleet insurance | 50 seat coach, liability with €100 million combined limit | about €3,000 to €7,000 a year |
| Fleet insurance | Coach worth €400,000, comprehensive on top | about €3,000 to €8,000 a year |
| Group accident insurance | Passenger accident cover for 50 seats, flat rate system | about €200 to €600 a year per coach |
| Business liability | Bus company with ten vehicles and its own depot | about €500 to €1,500 a year |

For comparison: Liability and comprehensive cover for a coach cost about as much a year as five to eight booked day trips with coach and driver.

_Guide prices excluding German insurance premium tax from our own quoting work, as of September 2026. There are hardly any public tariff examples for buses because insurers price them individually. The minimum limits come from the German Compulsory Insurance Act (Pflichtversicherungsgesetz)._

- [Pflichtversicherungsgesetz, Anlage: Mindestversicherungssummen je Platz](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/pflvg/anlage.html)
- [FSA24: Busversicherung für Reise-, Linien- und Schulverkehr](https://www.fsa24.de/Bus-Versicherung)
- [BG Verkehr: Branche Bus](https://www.bg-verkehr.de/)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Minibus** (Transport services, patient or school runs with minibuses): Fleet insurance, Business liability, Group accident insurance. Together: about €2,000 to €4,500 a year per vehicle
- **Coach** (Bus company with several touring and scheduled service vehicles): Fleet insurance, Business liability, Group accident insurance, Business legal expenses. Together: about €7,000 to €16,000 a year per coach
- **Tour operator** (Coach holidays with hotels, own depot and booking system): Fleet insurance, Business liability, Group accident insurance, Business legal expenses, Commercial buildings, Cyber insurance, Company pension (bAV). Together: priced individually, plus insolvency protection for customers' money

## The worst day on the coach

Six events bus operators know well, all on one summer Saturday. Tap through and see who pays.

- 06:10: Manoeuvring in the depot, the coach scrapes the wash bay; door and mirror are damaged. (€7,400, Paid by: Fleet insurance)
- 09:40: Emergency braking on the Autobahn: two passengers fall in the aisle, and one breaks a hip. (€42,000, Paid by: Fleet insurance)
- 09:41: A third passenger is hurt getting up, through nobody's fault, and receives a payment from the passenger accident policy. (€5,000, Paid by: Group accident insurance)
- 14:30: On an excursion a traveller trips over a suitcase the driver left outside the hotel. (€6,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 18:20: An electrical fire in the engine bay on the way home: the coach is an economic write off. (€280,000, Paid by: Fleet insurance)
- 20:00: The other side disputes how the morning's parking damage happened; a lawyer and an expert report are needed. (€3,200, Paid by: Business legal expenses)

**Damage so far:** €343,600

## Practical tips from your broker

- Agree a combined limit of at least €100 million for motor liability; the legal minimum is soon exhausted in a bus accident.
- If you travel abroad, make sure you have European breakdown cover and repatriation costs for groups.
- Insure new coaches in their first years with new for old or purchase price compensation; otherwise comprehensive cover only pays the current value.
- If you sell trips with overnight stays you are a tour operator: insolvency protection is compulsory and must be in place before the first payment arrives.
- Fire detection and suppression systems in the engine bay not only lower the risk but, with some insurers, the comprehensive premium too.
- For school transport, have your liability towards the client checked; contracts from district councils often require specific limits.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We ask the insurers who cover buses:** Only some insurers write buses and coaches. As a broker we obtain several quotes and compare limits, comprehensive cover and protection abroad.
- **We know large losses:** In boat insurance we handle claims ourselves, including total losses running to six figures. We know how loss adjusters calculate.
- **Business, drivers and family:** We coordinate fleet, depot, driver retention and your personal provision with each other.
- **Family run since 1989:** Like many bus companies, we are a family business. Our work is free for you; the insurer pays our commission.

## FAQ

### How high must motor liability be for a bus?

At least €7.5 million for injury, increased by €50,000 per seat from the 10th to the 80th seat and €25,000 per seat beyond that. A combined €100 million is usual.

### What does insurance for a coach cost?

In our experience, liability and comprehensive cover for a coach usually come to €7,000 to €16,000 a year, depending on value when new, type of service and claims history.

### Are passengers covered by motor liability?

Yes, if the driver or the company is liable. If a passenger falls through nobody's fault, only passenger accident insurance pays.

### Do I need insolvency protection as a bus operator?

If you offer package holidays, meaning travel and accommodation together, yes. Customers' money must be protected against your insolvency before you accept deposits.

### Which Berufsgenossenschaft is responsible?

For private bus companies the BG Verkehr, Germany's statutory accident insurer for transport. Municipal transport operators often belong to the VBG.

### Is a fleet policy worth it for buses?

From three vehicles, usually yes. The premium then follows the claims history of the whole business, and new vehicles are covered immediately.

## 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-coach-operator.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.