# Insurance for dental laboratories, dental technicians and medical technology firms in Germany

> A dental laboratory manufactures medical devices: every crown and every bridge is custom made, and you answer for it. Add milling and printing centres worth several hundred thousand euros, precious metal in the safe and ceramic furnaces that reach over 900 degrees every day. This page shows which claims really get expensive and what protection costs.

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

## Who pays if a crown breaks and the patient is hurt?

Remaking the crown is a warranty matter and stays with you; no liability policy pays for it. But if the patient suffers consequential harm, such as a broken tooth, inflammation or an allergic reaction to the material, and your work caused it, product liability pays. The dentist's costs for removing and refitting can also be insured, but only with an extended product liability module.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No classic compulsory insurance, but the EU Medical Device Regulation requires manufacturers to have sufficient financial coverage for their product liability, in practice through business and product liability insurance
- **Biggest risk:** A serial defect in material or production that affects many pieces of work
- **Basic cover from:** about €250 a year for the public liability policy of a small laboratory
- **Statutory accident insurer:** BG ETEM, the Berufsgenossenschaft responsible for dental technology; mandatory for every business with staff
- **Often forgotten:** Precious metal and alloys need their own, sufficiently high limit in the policy
- **WZ 2025 / NACE:** 32.50 Herstellung von medizinischen und zahnmedizinischen Apparaten und Materialien

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Serial defects:** A faulty batch of zirconia or a wrongly calibrated sintering furnace affects not one piece of work but the whole week's output.
- **Milling unit and printer:** CAD/CAM milling units, 3D printers and scanners are expensive and delicate. A spindle crash halts production.
- **Precious metal on site:** Gold alloys, precious metal scrap and electroplating baths attract burglars and are covered only to a limited extent in many policies.
- **Heat and chemicals:** Furnaces, casting machines, acids and resin monomers: fires and chemical burns can happen in the lab.
- **Deliveries and deadlines:** If the lab is out of action, dental practices are left waiting for fixed fitting appointments, and customers move elsewhere.
- **Dust and allergies:** Grinding dust, resins and metals strain lungs and skin. Dental technicians are among the professions with typical occupational diseases.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): With product liability included, it pays for consequential harm to patients and meets the financial coverage duty for manufacturers of custom made devices. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Business contents** (Essential): Replaces furnishings, furnaces, materials and precious metal after fire, burst pipes, storm and burglary. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Electronic equipment** (Strongly advised): Covers milling unit, 3D printer, scanner and IT against operating errors, short circuits and power surges. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-electronic-equipment.php
- **Business interruption** (Strongly advised): Pays wages, rent and lost profit until the lab can deliver again after damage. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Strongly advised): Helps when CAD data, orders and customer data are encrypted or stolen. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php
- **Fleet insurance** (Depends on the business): For the courier vehicles that take your work to the practices. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-fleet-insurance.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Depends on the business): For disputes with dental practices over complaints and unpaid invoices. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php

## What it costs: example prices

Hardly any tariff examples are published for dental laboratories; premiums are usually calculated individually by turnover, staff and equipment. The figures below are therefore derived from comparable craft businesses and our own quoting practice.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Lab with up to five staff, product liability included | about €250 to €700 a year |
| Business liability | Lab with 10 to 20 staff and extended product liability including removal and refitting costs | about €800 to €2,000 a year |
| Business contents | Furnishings, furnaces, materials and precious metal worth €200,000 | about €500 to €1,200 a year |
| Electronic equipment | Milling centre, printers and scanners worth €150,000 | about €800 to €2,000 a year |
| Business interruption | Loss of income for up to twelve months, added to the contents policy | about €250 to €700 a year on top |

For comparison: Basic cover of public liability and contents insurance costs about as much a year as five or six zirconia crowns from your own lab.

_Guide prices as of September 2026, estimated from our own quoting practice and comparable craft businesses, because insurers publish hardly any examples for dental labs. Your premium depends on turnover, equipment and precious metal; we obtain the exact quote for you._

- [Finanzchef24: Betriebshaftpflichtversicherung (Medianbeiträge nach Branche)](https://www.finanzchef24.de/versicherung/betriebshaftpflichtversicherung)
- [Finanzchef24: Inhaltsversicherung](https://www.finanzchef24.de/versicherung/inhaltsversicherung)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Starter** (sole master technician or small lab without its own milling centre): Business liability, Business contents. Together: about €750 to €1,800 a year
- **Laboratory** (lab with CAD/CAM, ceramics and five to fifteen staff): Business liability, Business contents, Electronic equipment, Business interruption. Together: about €2,000 to €5,000 a year
- **All round** (milling centre or large lab with courier service and data exchange): Business liability, Business contents, Electronic equipment, Business interruption, Cyber insurance, Fleet insurance, Business legal expenses. Together: about €4,500 to €11,000 a year

## The worst day in the dental lab

Six things that really happen in dental laboratories, all on a single Wednesday. Click through the day and see who pays.

- 06:50: Break-in through the skylight: gold alloys and precious metal scrap from the cabinet are gone. (€16,000, Paid by: Business contents)
- 09:30: The milling machine crashes because a blank was clamped wrongly, and the spindle is wrecked. (€14,000, Paid by: Electronic equipment)
- 11:15: A practice reports that a bridge has broken, and the patient's abutment tooth with it. (€4,500, Paid by: Business liability)
- 13:40: Order data and scans are encrypted; nothing can be milled for two days. (€15,000, Paid by: Cyber insurance)
- 15:10: Pulling out of a space, the courier car hits a dentist's car. (€2,800, Paid by: Fleet insurance)
- 22:30: A ceramic furnace overheats and the fire spreads to the equipment room. Three weeks of emergency operation. (€120,000, Paid by: Business contents)

**Damage so far:** €172,300

## Practical tips from your broker

- Have product liability for custom made medical devices included expressly and check the sum against the requirements of the Medical Device Regulation.
- Ask about the extended module for removal and refitting costs, because with dental prostheses practices reclaim exactly these costs.
- Set a separate sum insured for precious metal kept in a safe; the usual limits for valuables are too low.
- Insure milling units and printers with electronics cover that also includes operating and programming errors.
- Keep complete records of batch numbers and material certificates: that limits a serial claim to the pieces really affected.
- Back up scan data and designs daily outside the lab, so work can resume quickly after an attack.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We understand product liability:** As a broker we compare several insurers and check whether removal and refitting costs and serial claims are really covered, because that is what counts with dental prostheses.
- **We know how claims are settled:** In boat insurance we settle claims ourselves. That knowledge helps when machines, materials and downtime are valued after a fire.
- **Lab, vehicles and private cover together:** Liability, equipment, courier cars and your private provision sit with one contact.
- **Family business since 1989:** Advice is free for you, as the insurer pays our commission. You talk to people, not a call centre.

## FAQ

### Does a dental lab in Germany need product liability insurance?

Yes. Dental work is custom made medical devices, and as the manufacturer you are liable for harm. The EU Medical Device Regulation requires sufficient financial coverage of this liability.

### How much does insurance for a dental lab cost?

A small lab usually pays €750 to €1,800 a year for liability and contents. With a milling centre, electronics and loss of income cover, €2,000 to €5,000 is typical.

### Does insurance pay for remaking a faulty crown?

No, putting your own work right is a warranty matter. What is covered is consequential harm to the patient and, with the extended module, the dentist's costs for removal and refitting.

### Is gold in the lab insured against burglary?

Only up to the agreed limit. Many policies strictly limit precious metal and valuables unless kept in a safe. Have a separate sum agreed.

### Which Berufsgenossenschaft covers dental labs?

BG ETEM. Your employees are insured there by law against workplace accidents and occupational diseases; you can insure yourself voluntarily.

### Are courier trips insured?

The vehicle through motor insurance, but the work inside the car is not covered automatically. For high value deliveries, check your contents or transit 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-dental-lab.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.