# Insurance for tour guides, city guides and tour leaders in Germany

> Many English speaking tour guides, city guides and tour leaders in Germany work freelance, for tourist offices, cruise lines or travel companies. Most tours go smoothly. When a guest falls on cobblestones or a booking goes wrong, the question is who is liable and who pays. This page explains which insurance makes sense, what it costs and when a tour legally becomes a package holiday.

Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-tour-guide-and-tour-leader.php  
Updated: 2026-10-15

## Do I really need insurance as a freelance city guide?

None is required by law. But tourist offices, tour operators and museums you work for often ask for proof of liability cover. And if a guest falls because you led the group past a building site, you are personally liable. Public liability for guides is inexpensive and also defends you against unjustified claims.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No specific compulsory insurance for guides. If you organise package travel yourself, § 651r of the German Civil Code requires you to protect customer payments against insolvency
- **Exception:** Day trips under 24 hours without an overnight stay and costing no more than €500 are outside package travel law under § 651a(5) of the Civil Code
- **Biggest risk:** A guest falls during a tour and claims the route was unsuitable
- **Basic cover from:** about €90 a year of public liability for a freelance guide, a guide figure from our own quoting work
- **Often forgotten:** Pure financial loss, such as wasted tickets or missed reservations caused by your own planning mistake

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **A guest falls:** On wet cobblestones or a tower staircase an older guest falls. Health insurer and guest both want compensation.
- **Damage in a church or museum:** Someone in your group knocks over an exhibit, and the venue turns to you as group leader.
- **Planning mistakes:** You booked the wrong slot, the tickets are lost and the client wants a refund.
- **Accidentally a tour operator:** Selling a tour together with transport and accommodation at one price can make you a package organiser who needs insolvency protection.
- **Voice and health:** Laryngitis, knee trouble or an accident: without voice and legs there are no tours.
- **Equipment on the road:** Whisper systems, tablet and camera get lost or stolen.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): Covers injury and property damage to guests and third parties during a tour and defends unjustified claims. Many clients require it. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Professional indemnity** (Strongly advised): Professional indemnity for pure financial loss from planning errors, such as lost tickets or missed connections. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-professional-indemnity.php
- **Accident insurance** (Strongly advised): As a freelancer you are not automatically covered by statutory accident insurance. Private accident cover pays for permanent injury. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-accident-insurance.php
- **Occupational disability** (Strongly advised): Income protection if your voice, back or knees no longer allow you to guide. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-occupational-disability.php
- **Electronic equipment** (Depends on the business): For whisper systems with headsets, tablets and microphones. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-electronic-equipment.php
- **Travel insurance** (Depends on the business): For tour leaders abroad: medical cover and repatriation for yourself. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-travel-insurance.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Depends on the business): Legal expenses for fee disputes with clients and criminal proceedings after an accident. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php

## What it costs: example prices

Insurance for guides is inexpensive. It costs more if you organise trips yourself, work abroad or offer cycling and hiking tours.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Freelance city guide, walking tours, €3 million cover | about €90 to €200 a year |
| Business liability | Tour leader with cycling and hiking tours in Germany and abroad | about €200 to €450 a year |
| Professional indemnity | Financial loss up to €100,000 | about €150 to €350 a year |
| Accident insurance | Guide aged 45, disability sum €150,000 | about €150 to €350 a year |

For comparison: Public liability for a city guide costs about as much a year as the fee for two public walking tours.

_Guide figures from our own quoting work, October 2026, excluding German insurance premium tax. The linked sources support the legal statements on this page, not the prices._

- [Gesetze im Internet: § 651a BGB, package travel contract](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/__651a.html)
- [Gesetze im Internet: § 651r BGB, insolvency protection](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/__651r.html)
- [Gesetze im Internet: § 2 SGB VII, insured persons](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_7/__2.html)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Walking tours** (freelance city guides, also part time): Business liability, Accident insurance. Together: about €250 to €550 a year
- **Full time** (guides who live from guiding): Business liability, Professional indemnity, Accident insurance, Occupational disability. Together: about €400 to €900 a year, excluding income protection
- **Tour leader** (tour leaders with groups in Germany and abroad): Business liability, Professional indemnity, Accident insurance, Travel insurance, Electronic equipment. Together: about €700 to €1,400 a year

## The worst day on tour

Six things that really happen to guides, here on a single Saturday. Tap through and see who pays.

- 09:30: The cathedral visit was double booked, 25 treasury tickets are wasted. (€450, Paid by: Professional indemnity)
- 10:45: A guest falls on the tower staircase you chose despite the rain. Broken wrist. (€7,500, Paid by: Business liability)
- 12:20: In the museum a guest leans on a display case and the glass cracks. (€1,800, Paid by: Business liability)
- 14:10: Your whisper system is left on the coach and disappears. (€1,600, Paid by: Electronic equipment)
- 16:00: You twist your ankle on a kerb: torn ligament, three weeks without tours. (€4,500, Paid by: Accident insurance)

**Damage so far:** €15,850

## Practical tips from your broker

- Have cycling, hiking or boat tours named in your liability policy if you offer them.
- Choose a territorial scope that includes every country where you accompany groups.
- Before adding transport or overnight stays to an offer, check whether you are selling package travel.
- Put agreements with clients in writing, especially on cancellations and cancellation fees.
- Take out private accident cover unless you are voluntarily insured with the statutory accident insurer.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We know where the lines are:** Guide, tour leader or package organiser: we look at what you actually sell and match the cover to it.
- **Small premiums, properly compared:** Even cheap policies differ on foreign travel, active tours and financial loss. We put the wordings side by side.
- **Family run since 1989:** Norman Nammert arranges your cover as an insurance broker, in English if you prefer. Our work is free for you; the insurer pays our commission.

## FAQ

### Is liability insurance compulsory for tour guides in Germany?

Not by law. Many clients such as tourist offices and tour operators ask for proof, though.

### When do I become a package organiser?

If you sell, for example, transport, accommodation and a tour together at one price, this can be package travel. Day trips under 24 hours without an overnight stay and up to €500 are exempt under § 651a(5) of the Civil Code.

### What does a package organiser have to protect?

Under § 651r of the Civil Code you must ensure travellers get their money back if you become insolvent. This is done through insolvency protection.

### What does liability cover for a city guide cost?

About €90 to €200 a year for walking tours, about €200 to €450 with cycling and hiking tours abroad, guide figures excluding premium tax.

### Am I covered by accident insurance at work?

As an employee of a tour company, yes, under § 2 of Social Code Book VII. As a freelancer only if you insure yourself voluntarily or privately.

## 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-tour-guide-and-tour-leader.php#anfrage

---

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.