# Insurance for energy consultants and energy efficiency experts in Germany

> As an energy consultant in Germany you calculate, advise and sign. If a subsidy application fails because a deadline was missed or a figure was entered wrongly, your client can lose a five figure grant, and the first question is who pays. This page explains which insurance energy consultants and energy efficiency experts actually need, and what it costs.

Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-energy-consultant.php  
Updated: 2026-10-14

## My client lost a subsidy because of a mistake in the application. Do I have to pay?

If the mistake was yours, the client can claim damages, and this is pure financial loss: nobody is hurt and nothing is broken, but money is missing. A general public liability policy usually does not cover that. You need professional indemnity (Berufshaftpflicht) that expressly includes financial loss, with a sum insured that matches the grants your clients apply for.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No dedicated statutory insurance. Issuing energy performance certificates requires an entitlement under section 88 GModG; entries on the Energieeffizienz-Expertenliste (the federal list of energy efficiency experts) run for three years and are checked by sampling
- **Biggest risk:** Pure financial loss for the client: lost subsidies, wrong calculations, faulty energy certificates
- **Basic cover from:** about €250 to €500 a year for professional indemnity including financial loss, a guide value from our quoting practice
- **Accident insurance:** Self employed consultants can join the statutory accident insurance of their Berufsgenossenschaft voluntarily under section 6 SGB VII
- **Often forgotten:** Site visits: anyone climbing scaffolding or setting up a thermal camera can injure others or damage property

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Lost subsidy:** Application filed too late, confirmation completed wrongly, measure not eligible: the client asks you to pay the missing grant.
- **Faulty energy certificate:** A wrong figure on the certificate leads to a dispute about the building's condition when it is sold or let.
- **Wrongly sized systems:** The recommended heat pump is too small or the insulation was planned wrongly, and the client wants the cost of putting it right.
- **Accident on site:** In a loft, on scaffolding or in a cellar you fall yourself, or a measuring device drops on a tradesperson.
- **Expensive equipment:** Thermal camera, blower door kit and laptop travel a lot, in the car and on building sites.
- **Client data:** Floor plans, consumption data and subsidy documents are stored digitally. A cyber attack or a lost laptop quickly becomes a data protection case.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Professional indemnity** (Essential): Covers financial loss from advice and calculation errors, such as lost subsidies, plus injury and property damage during site visits. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-professional-indemnity.php
- **Electronic equipment** (Strongly advised): Covers thermal camera, blower door kit, laptop and measuring devices against breakage, theft and drops, including on site. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-electronic-equipment.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Strongly advised): Helps with unpaid fees and disputes with clients or funding bodies. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Strongly advised): For data breaches involving client data, hacking and restoring your calculation software. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php
- **Occupational disability** (Strongly advised): Protects your income if health problems stop you from advising and visiting sites. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-occupational-disability.php
- **Accident insurance** (Depends on the business): Pays for permanent injury if you have not joined the Berufsgenossenschaft voluntarily. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-accident-insurance.php
- **Car insurance** (Depends on the business): For the car you use to visit clients and building sites. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-car-insurance.php

## What it costs: example prices

The main item is professional indemnity. Its price depends on turnover, the sum insured for financial loss and whether you only advise or also supervise works and plan systems.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Professional indemnity | Self employed consultant, advice and energy certificates only, €250,000 for financial loss | about €250 to €500 a year |
| Professional indemnity | Energy efficiency expert with site supervision, €500,000 financial loss, €3 million injury and property | about €500 to €1,200 a year |
| Electronic equipment | Thermal camera, blower door kit and laptop worth €15,000 | about €200 to €450 a year |
| Business legal expenses | Sole trader with contract and employment legal cover | about €300 to €600 a year |
| Cyber insurance | Office with two workstations, €100,000 sum insured | about €300 to €700 a year |

For comparison: Professional indemnity for an energy consultant costs about as much a year as one or two energy certificates for a family home.

_Guide values from our quoting practice, excluding insurance tax, as of October 2026. Your premium depends on turnover, scope of work, sum insured and claims history._

- [Gesetze im Internet: section 88 GModG, who may issue energy certificates](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/geg/__88.html)
- [Energieeffizienz-Expertenliste: quality assurance](https://www.energie-effizienz-experten.de/die-expertenliste/qualitaetssicherung)
- [Gesetze im Internet: section 6 SGB VII, voluntary accident insurance](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_7/__6.html)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Starter** (Consultant working alone, advice and energy certificates): Professional indemnity, Electronic equipment. Together: about €450 to €950 a year
- **Expert** (Energy efficiency expert handling subsidy applications and site supervision): Professional indemnity, Electronic equipment, Business legal expenses, Cyber insurance. Together: about €1,300 to €3,000 a year
- **Practice** (Consultancy with employees and a company car): Professional indemnity, Electronic equipment, Business legal expenses, Cyber insurance, Car insurance. Together: individual, usually from about €3,000 a year

## The worst day as an energy consultant

Six things that really happen in energy consulting, here all on one Tuesday. Tap through and see who pays.

- 08:10: A client calls: his subsidy was refused because work started before the application. He says you never warned him. (€18,000, Paid by: Professional indemnity)
- 10:30: During a site visit the thermal camera slips from your hand onto the cellar floor. (€6,500, Paid by: Electronic equipment)
- 12:15: Your equipment case falls off a ladder onto a tradesperson's foot. He is off work for two weeks. (€4,500, Paid by: Professional indemnity)
- 14:40: Ransomware locks your office computer with all projects and client data. (€9,000, Paid by: Cyber insurance)
- 16:20: A homeowner refuses to pay and denies having ordered the site supervision. (€2,500, Paid by: Business legal expenses)
- 18:00: The blower door kit is stolen from your car outside the site. (€5,000, Paid by: Electronic equipment)

**Damage so far:** €45,500

## Practical tips from your broker

- Make sure your professional indemnity expressly includes financial loss; plain public liability rarely covers calculation errors or lost subsidies.
- Describe every activity to the insurer: advice, certificates, subsidy applications, site supervision and system planning. Activities not declared are often not covered.
- Choose the sum insured according to your clients' grants. For blocks of flats, subsidies quickly reach six figures.
- Put deadlines and warnings in writing, for example that no contract may be signed before the application. It helps in a dispute.
- Insure measuring devices under an electronics policy with cover away from the office, so damage on site and theft from the car are included.
- Check run off cover if you retire. Mistakes often surface years later.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We read the activity wording:** Whether site supervision or system planning is covered sits in the small print. As a broker we put the differences side by side.
- **We understand financial loss claims:** In boat insurance we handle claims ourselves. We know which documents an insurer wants to see in a dispute about money.
- **Business and private in one place:** Professional indemnity, equipment, car and your own provision are handled together. One call is enough, in English if you prefer.
- **Family business since 1989:** Norman Nammert acts as an insurance broker (Versicherungsmakler). Our service is free for you; the insurer pays our commission.

## FAQ

### Is professional indemnity compulsory for energy consultants in Germany?

There is no dedicated statutory requirement. But anyone handling subsidy applications and energy certificates carries a high risk of financial loss claims, and many clients ask for proof of cover.

### Who may issue energy performance certificates?

Section 88 GModG sets this out: among others, people entitled to submit building plans, graduates of certain technical degrees, master craftspeople from construction and building services, and state certified technicians, each with additional qualifications, plus holders of the energy consulting qualification exam.

### What does professional indemnity cost?

For advice and certificates about €250 to €500 a year, with site supervision and higher sums about €500 to €1,200. These are guide values from our quoting practice.

### How long does a listing as energy efficiency expert last?

Three years. Renewal requires proof of training and practice, and experts are checked when there is cause or by random sampling.

### Am I covered by statutory accident insurance as a self employed consultant?

Only if you join your Berufsgenossenschaft voluntarily under section 6 SGB VII. Otherwise private accident insurance protects you.

### Is my equipment covered by liability insurance?

No. Liability insurance pays for damage you cause to others. For your own devices you need electronics insurance.

## Request quotes

We obtain quotes and come back with a comparison, free of charge. You can write in English. https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-energy-consultant.php#anfrage

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Your broker: Norman Nammert, trading as NAMMERT. Insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act. Broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37. NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH is a separate company. It does not arrange your contract.

NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, Karl-Marx-Straße 4, 15711 Königs Wusterhausen, +49 3375 29 12 77, info@nammert.com. Wikidata: Q141141479.