# Insurance for household helpers and companion carers in Germany

> You work in other people's homes, often alone, often with your clients' keys and sometimes with people who are unsteady on their feet. Most claims are small but frequent: a broken heirloom, a scratched hob, a lost front door key. Rare but serious: an elderly client falling while out for a walk with you. This page shows how to protect yourself.

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

## Is my personal liability insurance enough if I clean for clients?

No. Personal liability only covers your private life, not paid work for others. As soon as you look after households as a self employed person or with your own service, you need public liability cover, ideally including loss of keys and damage to things you are cleaning or using. Household helpers employed directly by a private household, on the other hand, are covered through their employer and the public accident insurance fund (Unfallkasse).

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No insurance is required by law. If you want to bill via the relief allowance (Entlastungsbetrag) paid by the long term care insurance fund (Pflegekasse), you need recognition under the law of your federal state, and many states require public liability cover for that
- **Biggest risk:** Damage to furnishings and keys in clients' homes, and falls by the people you look after
- **Basic cover from:** about 80 euros a year for public liability for a self employed household helper
- **Statutory accident insurer:** BGW, the Berufsgenossenschaft for health and care, for care and companion services; for pure household services another Berufsgenossenschaft may be responsible
- **Often forgotten:** Personal liability insurance does not pay for work: if you help people for money, you need your own public liability policy
- **WZ 2025 / NACE:** 96.40 Vermittlungstätigkeiten für überwiegend persönliche Dienstleistungen, 96.91 Erbringung von haushaltsbezogenen Dienstleistungen, 97.00 Private Haushalte mit Hauspersonal, 98.10 Herstellung von Waren durch private Haushalte für den Eigenbedarf ohne ausgeprägten Schwerpunkt, 98.20 Erbringungen von Dienstleistungen durch private Haushalte für den Eigenbedarf ohne ausgeprägten Schwerpunkt

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Small damage, often:** A porcelain figure falls while you dust, a scourer scratches the ceramic hob, the parquet swells after mopping. Little on its own, a lot added together.
- **The client's key:** If you look after several households, you carry many keys. A lost bunch means new locks, and in a block of flats a whole locking system.
- **A fall in your company:** On the way to the doctor or on a walk, an elderly person falls. If the carer failed in her duty of supervision, liability comes to you.
- **Accused of theft:** Jewellery or cash goes missing and suspicion falls on the helper. Even an unfounded accusation costs nerves, time and sometimes a lawyer.
- **Driving clients:** Shopping trips and doctor's appointments in your own car. If there is an accident, it must be clear that the journey is insured.
- **Backs and knees:** Cleaning, carrying, supporting: the work is physical. Being off sick means less income straight away.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): Covers damage in clients' homes, falls by people in your care that you are to blame for and, if included, lost keys. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Accident insurance** (Strongly advised): Self employed people are not always insured with a Berufsgenossenschaft. Private accident cover pays after a fall from a stepladder even then. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-accident-insurance.php
- **Car insurance** (Strongly advised): If you drive clients in your own car, declare the business use to your motor insurer. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-car-insurance.php
- **Occupational disability** (Strongly advised): Protects your income if your back or joints no longer allow you to do the work. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-occupational-disability.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Depends on the business): Helps with unfounded accusations of theft, unpaid invoices and disputes with the care fund over billing. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php
- **Group accident insurance** (Depends on the business): For services with employees, a plus when recruiting reliable staff. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-group-accident.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Depends on the business): For services that plan visits in an app and store clients' health data. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php

## What it costs: example prices

Premiums are low because the typical claims are small. They rise if you care for people in need of care, employ staff or want a high limit for loss of keys.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Self employed household helper, 3 million euros cover, with loss of keys | about 80 to 200 euros a year |
| Business liability | Companion care for people in need of care, recognised under state law | about 120 to 300 euros a year |
| Business liability | Service with ten employees, household help and care | about 500 to 1,300 euros a year |
| Accident insurance | Owner, 100,000 euros base sum with progression | about 100 to 250 euros a year |
| Business legal expenses | Self employed, no staff, contract and criminal legal cover | about 200 to 400 euros a year |

For comparison: Public liability for a self employed household helper costs roughly as much per year as four to six hours of work for one client.

_Guide figures from our own quoting experience, excluding German insurance premium tax, as of September 2026, derived from publicly quoted tariffs for cleaning and caretaker services with a similar risk. Comparison sites rarely quote premiums for household helpers themselves; we obtain the exact quote for you._

- [betriebshaftpflicht24.de: Betriebshaftpflicht Gebäudereinigung](https://www.betriebshaftpflicht24.de/betriebshaftpflicht-gebaeudereinigung.html)
- [finanzchecks.de: Betriebshaftpflicht Hausmeisterservice](https://www.finanzchecks.de/betriebshaftpflichtversicherung/hausmeisterservice)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Start** (self employed household helper with a few clients): Business liability, Accident insurance. Together: about 180 to 450 euros a year
- **Companion** (recognised companion care with trips in your own car): Business liability, Accident insurance, Car insurance, Business legal expenses. Together: about 900 to 1,900 euros a year
- **Service** (household and care service with employees and app based scheduling): Business liability, Business legal expenses, Group accident insurance, Car insurance, Cyber insurance. Together: about 2,500 to 5,500 euros a year

## The worst day as a household helper

Six things that really happen to household helpers and companion carers, all on one single day. Tap through and see who pays.

- 08:30: While dusting, a Meissen porcelain figure falls off the shelf. (€900, Paid by: Business liability)
- 10:15: The wrong cleaner leaves permanent marks on a natural stone worktop. (€2,600, Paid by: Business liability)
- 11:50: On the way to the pharmacy, a client you are guiding by the arm trips on a kerb. Broken wrist. (€7,500, Paid by: Business liability)
- 13:40: The bunch with five clients' keys is gone. In one block of flats the locking system has to be replaced. (€4,800, Paid by: Business liability)
- 15:20: Cleaning windows, you slip off the step and break your ankle. Six weeks without work. (€8,000, Paid by: Accident insurance)
- 18:00: A family claims jewellery went missing after your visit and withholds your pay. Lawyer and a claim for payment. (€2,200, Paid by: Business legal expenses)

**Damage so far:** €26,000

## Practical tips from your broker

- Include loss of third party keys with at least 30,000 euros, more for blocks of flats.
- Make sure damage to things you are cleaning or using is covered. Exactly these are excluded in some tariffs.
- Name care and companion services expressly in the policy if you do more than clean.
- Keep a key log with the client's signature on handover and return.
- Check with the Berufsgenossenschaft whether you are insured as a self employed person or should take out voluntary cover.
- Before driving clients, check that your motor insurer knows about the business use.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We know the small gaps:** Keys, items you work on, accompanying clients outside the home: this is exactly where tariffs differ. As a broker we compare several insurers for you.
- **We know how claims are settled:** In boat insurance we settle claims ourselves. We help you report even a small claim so that it is paid quickly.
- **Work and private life together:** Public liability, car, accident cover and your private protection all come together with us, with one number for everything.
- **A family business since 1989:** Our advice costs you nothing; the insurer pays our commission. You talk to people who take their time.

## FAQ

### Does a household helper need public liability insurance?

Not by law. If you work self employed you should still have it, because personal liability insurance does not pay for paid work.

### What does insurance for a household helper cost?

Public liability starts at about 80 euros a year. With companion care and a high limit for keys you are usually at 120 to 300 euros.

### Do I need insurance to bill the long term care fund?

To be recognised as a provider of everyday support services, many federal states require proof of liability insurance. The rules differ from state to state, so ask the recognition office.

### Am I insured as a mini jobber in a private household?

Yes, through the accident insurance that the household registers for you with the Minijob-Zentrale, the central office for marginal employment. Damage you cause is then usually carried by your employer or their personal liability policy.

### Who pays if a person in my care falls?

Your public liability policy, if you failed in your duty of supervision. If the fall could not be foreseen, you are not liable and the insurer defends you against the claim.

### Is theft by me or my staff insured?

No, deliberate acts are never insured. Legal expenses cover helps against unfounded accusations, and fidelity insurance against real dishonesty by staff.

## 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-household-help.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.