# Insurance for vehicle transfer services and delivery drivers in Germany

> Vehicle transfer drivers sit in a different car every day, and none of them is theirs: a new car to a customer, a returning lease car to a dealer, a van to a workshop. A scraped alloy or a deer on the motorway quickly becomes your problem. This page explains what is compulsory in Germany, where the gaps are and what cover costs.

Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-vehicle-transfer-service.php  
Updated: 2026-10-14

## Who pays if I damage a car I am delivering?

Damage to third parties is paid by the motor liability of the vehicle or the red plates. Damage to the delivered car itself is not. That needs the owner's comprehensive cover, extended to outside drivers, or your own transfer comprehensive policy. Agree this in writing before each job, or you may be left with the excess or the whole repair bill.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** Motor liability must exist for every journey; unregistered vehicles may only be driven with red trade plates or short term plates plus liability insurance (sections 41 and 42 FZV, the vehicle registration ordinance)
- **Red trade plates:** are issued under section 41 FZV to reliable manufacturers, workshops and motor dealers; transfer services therefore often drive on their client's plates and insurance
- **Biggest risk:** Damage to the transferred vehicle itself, which motor liability does not pay
- **On a truck:** Commercial road haulage requires goods in transit liability of at least €600,000 per event (section 7a GüKG, the road haulage act)
- **Often forgotten:** The log book and records required for red plates; gaps cause disputes after a loss

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Damage to the customer's car:** A kerb, a tight car park, a stone chip: the dealer or lessor wants you to pay for the repair of the new car.
- **Accident with third parties:** A rear end collision on the motorway. Liability pays, but your client's no claims record suffers.
- **Theft on the way:** The car spends the night at a service area or outside a hotel and is gone or broken into by morning.
- **Wrong plates, wrong papers:** Missing log book entries or an expired short term plate lead to fines and disputes about cover.
- **Loading the transporter:** A car slides off the ramp while being loaded onto a car transporter. Carriage law applies, with its own liability rules.
- **The trip home:** Drivers return by train or bus, often late at night with plates in their luggage. Accidents happen there too.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Car insurance** (Essential): Motor liability is compulsory, for the vehicle itself or through the red plates. Transfer comprehensive protects the vehicle you are driving. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-car-insurance.php
- **Cargo insurance** (Strongly advised): If you carry vehicles on your own transporter or trailer, the load needs cover; in commercial road haulage goods in transit liability is compulsory. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cargo-insurance.php
- **Business liability** (Strongly advised): For damage away from driving, for example manoeuvring in a dealer's yard. Damage to transferred vehicles is usually excluded here. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Accident insurance** (Strongly advised): Around the clock cover for you as owner and for freelance drivers who are not covered by a Berufsgenossenschaft (statutory accident insurer). https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-accident-insurance.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Strongly advised): For fine proceedings, disputes about fault and unpaid invoices from dealers and leasing companies. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php
- **Fleet insurance** (Depends on the business): For your own shuttle vehicles that take drivers to pick up points. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-fleet-insurance.php

## What it costs: example prices

Transfer cover is usually priced by number of journeys, mileage or vehicle values. Premium vehicles, trips abroad and young drivers push the price up.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Car insurance | Transfer comprehensive for customers' cars worth up to €60,000, €500 excess, around 300 journeys a year | about €1,500 to €3,500 a year |
| Car insurance | Motor liability for a dealer's red plates used for transfers | about €600 to €1,500 a year |
| Cargo insurance | Goods in transit liability for a car transporter, €600,000 per event | about €800 to €2,000 a year |
| Business liability | Transfer service with five drivers, €3 million limit | about €250 to €600 a year |
| Accident insurance | Owner driver, €100,000 disability sum | about €150 to €350 a year |

For comparison: One front end repair on a premium car often costs as much as a whole year of transfer comprehensive.

_All premiums are guide figures from our quoting work, excluding German insurance premium tax, October 2026. Legal details come from the FZV, the road haulage act and the German Commercial Code._

- [FZV section 41: test drives and transfers with red plates](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/fzv_2023/__41.html)
- [FZV section 42: short term plates](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/fzv_2023/__42.html)
- [GüKG section 7a: liability insurance](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/g_kg_1998/__7a.html)
- [HGB section 431: carrier's liability limit](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/hgb/__431.html)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Solo driver** (self employed transfer drivers using the client's plates): Car insurance, Business liability, Accident insurance. Together: about €1,900 to €4,400 a year
- **Transfer service** (five to twenty drivers working for dealers and lessors): Car insurance, Business liability, Accident insurance, Business legal expenses, Fleet insurance. Together: about €5,000 to €14,000 a year
- **With car transporter** (businesses that drive and also carry vehicles by truck or trailer): Car insurance, Cargo insurance, Business liability, Business legal expenses. Together: individual, usually from about €8,000 a year

## The worst day on a transfer run

Six things that really happen to transfer drivers, all on one run from Hamburg to Munich. Tap through and see who pays.

- 06:40: Leaving the dealer's tight underground car park, the new car's alloy scrapes the kerb. (€1,200, Paid by: Car insurance)
- 09:15: Rear end collision in a jam near Hanover; the driver in front is injured. (€14,000, Paid by: Car insurance)
- 09:16: The front of the delivered car is badly damaged. (€9,500, Paid by: Car insurance)
- 13:30: Manoeuvring in the lessor's yard, you damage a roller door. (€3,200, Paid by: Business liability)
- 17:00: The other side disputes how the accident happened, and you need a lawyer. (€2,100, Paid by: Business legal expenses)
- 22:50: On the way home the driver falls on the station stairs and breaks an arm. (€4,000, Paid by: Accident insurance)

**Damage so far:** €34,000

## Practical tips from your broker

- Agree in writing before each job whose comprehensive cover applies and who pays the excess.
- Photograph the car all round at pick up and delivery, with date and mileage.
- With red plates keep the log book and the required records complete.
- Before trips abroad check that plates and insurance are valid there.
- Park overnight only in secure places; many policies require it.
- If you carry vehicles by truck, plan for carriage law and goods in transit cover from day one.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We know the gap in someone else's car:** Most losses hit the transferred vehicle itself. We look for insurers offering transfer comprehensive and compare excess and value limits.
- **Explained in English:** German policy wording can be hard going. We explain the clauses that matter in plain English.
- **Family run since 1989:** Our work is free for you; the insurer pays our commission.

## FAQ

### What insurance is compulsory for vehicle transfers in Germany?

Motor liability for every vehicle driven. Unregistered vehicles may only be driven with red plates or short term plates and valid liability insurance.

### Can a transfer service get red plates?

The FZV names reliable manufacturers, parts makers, workshops and motor dealers. Pure transfer services therefore often drive on their client's plates or on short term plates.

### Who pays for damage to the transferred car?

Not motor liability. Either the owner's comprehensive cover includes outside drivers, or you need your own transfer comprehensive policy.

### What applies if I carry cars on a truck?

Then you are a carrier. The German Commercial Code limits liability to 8.33 units of account per kilogram, and commercial road haulage requires goods in transit liability of at least €600,000 per event.

### What does transfer comprehensive cost?

In our quoting work about €1,500 to €3,500 a year for around 300 journeys with cars worth up to €60,000.

## 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-vehicle-transfer-service.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.