# Insurance for electronics shops, phone shops and repair counters in Germany

> An electronics shop sells small things of great value: a tray of smartphones is worth as much as a small car and fits into a rucksack. Add customers' devices waiting for repair and lithium batteries that can catch fire. This page explains how to protect all of that and what it costs.

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

## Who pays if a customer's phone dies while we are replacing the screen?

Insurers call this damage to third party property you are working on, and many public liability policies exclude exactly that. If you do repairs, you need to have damage to items in your care and items being worked on written into the policy. For a customer's lost data you are usually only liable if you acted negligently, so get written confirmation before every repair that a backup has been made.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No statutory insurance requirement; mobile network operators and landlords often ask for proof of liability cover
- **Biggest risk:** Break ins, with valuable stock packed into a small space, and fires caused by lithium batteries
- **Basic cover from:** around 80 euros a year for the public liability of a small shop
- **Berufsgenossenschaft:** BGHW, the statutory accident insurer for retail and logistics, compulsory for every shop with employees
- **Often forgotten:** Customers' devices in for repair: damage to them is often excluded from a basic public liability policy
- **WZ 2025 / NACE:** 47.40 Einzelhandel mit Geräten der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnik, 47.54 Einzelhandel mit elektrischen Haushaltsgeräten, 95.10 Reparatur und Instandhaltung von Datenverarbeitungs- und Telekommunikationsgeräten, 95.21 Reparatur und Instandhaltung von Geräten der Unterhaltungselektronik, 95.22 Reparatur und Instandhaltung von elektrischen Haushaltsgeräten und Gartengeräten

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Burglary and smash and grab:** New smartphones, tablets and headphones are easy to carry and quick to sell on. Thieves are often through the shop window and gone in under two minutes.
- **A battery catches fire:** Swollen batteries from customers' devices, power banks in the stockroom, e-scooters on charge: lithium fires burn hot, are hard to put out and leave toxic smoke behind.
- **Devices in your care:** If a phone dies for good on the repair bench or is stolen from the workshop, you have to replace it.
- **Customer data:** Transferring data or unlocking a phone puts photos, chats and passwords in front of you. A data leak or a nosy member of staff can prove expensive.
- **Accessories imported from Asia:** Unbranded charging cables and power adapters you import yourself: if one overheats at a customer's home, you are liable as the importer.
- **Fraud at the till:** Fake payment slips, phone contracts signed with someone else's ID and rigged returns cost you stock and commission.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): Pays for harm to customers and other people and, once damage to items being worked on is included, for customers' devices broken during repair. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Business contents** (Strongly advised): Replaces stock, shop fittings and customers' devices after burglary, robbery, fire and water, with a theft limit high enough for what you actually hold. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Business interruption** (Strongly advised): Keeps paying rent and wages while the shop stays shut after a fire or break in. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Strongly advised): Helps after a leak of customer data or an attack on your till system and web shop, including the reporting duties under the GDPR. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php
- **Electronic equipment** (Depends on the business): Covers your own workshop kit, such as soldering stations, microscopes and screen presses, against operating errors and power surges. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-electronic-equipment.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Depends on the business): Legal expenses cover for disputes with suppliers, with network operators over commission, or with your landlord. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php

## What it costs: example prices

Liability cover is cheap, while burglary cover costs more than for other shops because theft is so tempting. What matters is the value of your stock, your security, the location and whether you repair devices.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Phone shop without repairs, 3 million euros cover | around 80 to 250 euros a year |
| Business liability | Shop with repair workshop, damage to items being worked on included | around 200 to 600 euros a year |
| Business contents | Stock and fittings worth 150,000 euros, burglary included, good security | around 700 to 1,800 euros a year |
| Cyber insurance | Small shop with till system, customer database and web shop | around 400 to 900 euros a year |
| Electronic equipment | Workshop equipment worth 15,000 euros | around 150 to 400 euros a year |

For comparison: For a small phone shop, liability and burglary cover together cost roughly as much a year as one new top of the range smartphone.

_Guide figures excluding insurance tax, as of September 2026. Liability and cyber are based on publicly quoted price examples. Burglary cover for electronics shops is a guide figure from our own quoting practice, because insurers price it case by case given the theft risk._

- [betriebshaftpflicht24.de: Betriebshaftpflicht Elektrogerätehandel](https://www.betriebshaftpflicht24.de/betriebshaftpflicht-elektrogeraetehandel.html)
- [Versicherungsengel: Kosten der Inhaltsversicherung](https://www.versicherungsengel.de/versicherungen/inhaltsversicherung/kosten)
- [Insurancy: Kosten der Cyber-Versicherung](https://www.insurancy.de/cyber-versicherung/kosten/)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Start** (small phone shop or accessories store without a workshop): Business liability, Business contents. Together: around 800 to 1,600 euros a year
- **Repair** (shop with a repair workshop and customers' devices in its care): Business liability, Business contents, Electronic equipment, Business interruption. Together: around 1,200 to 2,600 euros a year
- **All round** (specialist electronics retailer with a web shop and several employees): Business liability, Business contents, Electronic equipment, Business interruption, Cyber insurance, Business legal expenses. Together: around 2,200 to 4,500 euros a year

## The worst day in the phone shop

Six losses of the kind electronics and phone shops really face, all on a single Friday. Tap through and see who pays.

- 03:40: Smash and grab: a drain cover goes through the window and two display cases of new smartphones are emptied. (€42,000, Paid by: Business contents)
- 11:10: Opening a tablet, a technician tears a ribbon cable and the mainboard is finished. The customer wants a new device. (€900, Paid by: Business liability)
- 12:30: An employee has copied customers' photos onto a private USB stick. Lawyer, report to the data protection authority, letters to everyone affected. (€7,500, Paid by: Cyber insurance)
- 15:05: The soldering station falls off the bench and cracks the repair microscope. (€2,800, Paid by: Electronic equipment)
- 17:45: A swollen battery at the drop off counter ignites. Fire in the workshop, soot all through the shop. (€36,000, Paid by: Business contents)
- 18:00: After the fire the shop stays closed for three weeks while rent and wages keep running. (€11,000, Paid by: Business interruption)

**Damage so far:** €100,200

## Practical tips from your broker

- Have damage to customers' devices in your care and on your bench written explicitly into your liability policy, with a limit that suits the repairs you do.
- Agree with the insurer which stock has to go into the safe overnight and up to what value the display cases are covered.
- Keep faulty and swollen batteries in a fireproof container; many insurers ask about this.
- Check your products liability for accessories you import yourself, even if they are only charging cables.
- Choose a cyber policy with round the clock assistance, because an attack on the till on a Saturday cannot wait until Monday.
- Keep a repair log with serial numbers and the condition of each device on arrival; it cuts short any argument about earlier damage.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We find insurers willing to cover electronics:** Not every insurer is keen on phone shops. As a broker we approach several and compare their security requirements and theft limits.
- **We know how the other side works:** Because we settle boat claims ourselves, we know how an insurer examines a burglary. We help you submit stock lists and police reports so that nothing has to be requested twice.
- **Shop, web shop and private cover together:** Your business, cyber cover, car and personal protection all sit with one contact, reachable on +49 3375 29 12 77.
- **A family business since 1989:** For decades we have looked after businesses where a small team gets a lot done. Our work costs you nothing.

## FAQ

### What insurance does a phone shop need?

Public liability, including damage to items being worked on if you do repairs, and contents insurance with a high burglary limit. Cyber cover is worth having as soon as you store customer data.

### What does insurance for an electronics shop cost?

Liability cover starts at around 80 euros a year. With burglary cover for the stock, small shops usually budget 800 to 1,600 euros a year.

### Are customers' devices covered in a break in?

Only if third party property is included in your contents insurance. Ask for the exact limit that applies to customers' devices.

### Am I liable for a customer's lost data?

Yes, if you acted negligently. Point out the need for a backup before every repair and have the customer sign to say so.

### Will insurance pay for a fire started by a customer's battery?

Contents insurance pays for fire damage to your shop. Make sure you meet any conditions on how batteries are stored, or the insurer may reduce the payout.

### Do I need electronic equipment insurance for my workshop?

It makes sense if you use expensive kit such as microscopes or testing and programming devices. Unlike contents insurance, it also pays for operating errors and drops.

## 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-electronics-shop.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.