# Insurance for violin makers, piano makers, organ builders and other instrument makers in Germany

> In the workshop hangs a customer's violin worth more than all the equipment, tonewood has been drying in the store for twenty years, and tomorrow the grand piano must go up to the third floor. Violin makers, piano makers, organ builders and other instrument makers are liable for other people's valuables and work with material that cannot be replaced quickly. This page explains what to cover in Germany and what it costs.

Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-musical-instrument-maker.php  
Updated: 2026-10-15

## Is my customer's violin insured while it is in my workshop?

Not automatically. Many liability policies exclude damage to items you are working on or holding in your care. You need an extension for damage to items in your care and being worked on, and contents insurance that covers third party property at its real value against fire, water and burglary.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No statutory insurance; organ and harmonium builders are listed in Annex A of the German Crafts Code (no. 53) and need a master qualification, while violin, piano, plucked and wind instrument makers do not
- **Biggest risk:** Damage to valuable customer instruments during repair, storage and transport
- **Basic cover from:** around €200 a year for the general liability of a one person workshop, a guide figure from our quoting
- **Accident insurance:** Employees are insured by law under Social Code Book VII through the responsible Berufsgenossenschaft
- **Often forgotten:** Damage to items being worked on: without this extension, liability does not pay if the instrument is damaged by your work

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Customer instruments:** A crack when removing a top, a slipped tool on piano lacquer: damage to other people's instruments quickly reaches five figures.
- **Burglary and theft:** Old string instruments and bows are small, valuable and easy to sell. Workshops are a known target.
- **Tonewood and materials:** Wood stored for decades, gut and silver strings cannot simply be bought again after a fire.
- **Varnish, glue and solvents:** Spirit varnish, shellac and shavings burn easily; wood dust and extraction are typical sources of fire.
- **Transport and installation:** Grand pianos in stairwells, organ pipes in the gallery: transport and installation at the customer cause damage to property and people.
- **Climate:** A heating failure or water damage in winter makes wood crack and glue joints open.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): With cover for damage to customer instruments in your care and being worked on, and for damage during installation in churches, concert halls and homes. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Business contents** (Essential): Replaces tools, tonewood, your own and customers' instruments after fire, burst pipes, storm and burglary. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Cargo insurance** (Strongly advised): For instruments on the way to customers and exhibitions and in shipping, including breakage. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cargo-insurance.php
- **Occupational disability** (Strongly advised): Your income depends on your hands, eyes and hearing; without them the workshop stays closed. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-occupational-disability.php
- **Business interruption** (Depends on the business): Keeps the workshop alive if it cannot work for months after a fire. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Machinery breakdown** (Depends on the business): For planers, saws and extraction in larger workshops and organ building firms. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-machinery-breakdown.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Depends on the business): For disputes about repair results, expert reports and fees. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php

## What it costs: example prices

Premiums depend mainly on the value of the instruments in your care at the same time, the security and location of the workshop, and installations at customers' premises.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | One person violin workshop with cover for items worked on up to €50,000 | around €200 to €600 a year |
| Business liability | Piano workshop with five staff, transport and tuning service | around €500 to €1,500 a year |
| Business contents | Workshop with tools, wood and customer instruments worth €300,000, including burglary | around €700 to €2,000 a year |
| Cargo insurance | Annual policy for own transport of instruments up to €100,000 per trip | around €300 to €900 a year |

For comparison: Liability and contents cover for a small violin workshop cost roughly as much a year as a thorough overhaul of a student instrument.

_Guide figures from our quoting, as of October 2026, excluding German insurance tax. Very valuable single instruments are often assessed separately. The sources support the legal statements on this page; we obtain the exact quote for you._

- [German Crafts Code, Annex A](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/hwo/anlage_a.html)
- [German Crafts Code, Annex B](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/hwo/anlage_b.html)
- [Social Code Book VII, section 2](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_7/__2.html)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Workshop** (Single violin, guitar or wind instrument maker doing repairs and new builds): Business liability, Business contents, Occupational disability. Together: around €900 to €2,600 a year, without disability cover
- **Master workshop** (Piano or violin making with shop, staff and transport): Business liability, Business contents, Cargo insurance, Business interruption. Together: around €2,000 to €5,500 a year
- **Organ building** (Organ builder with installations in churches and own production): Business liability, Business contents, Cargo insurance, Business interruption, Machinery breakdown, Business legal expenses. Together: individual, usually from around €5,000 a year

## The worst day in an instrument workshop

Six things that really happen to instrument makers, all on one day. Tap through and see who pays.

- 08:20: While opening an old violin, the top cracks further than planned. The customer claims the loss in value. (€18,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 10:45: During transport a grand piano slips in the stairwell, damaging banister and instrument. (€24,000, Paid by: Cargo insurance)
- 13:10: An organ builder drops a tool from the gallery and injures a visitor to the church. (€9,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 15:30: The customer disputes the bill for a full overhaul and an expert is needed. (€3,500, Paid by: Business legal expenses)
- 02:15: Burglars take three customer violins and two bows from the workshop. (€65,000, Paid by: Business contents)
- 04:40: A short circuit in the extraction sets the wood store on fire. Decades old tonewood is lost. (€90,000, Paid by: Business contents)

**Damage so far:** €209,500

## Practical tips from your broker

- Have damage to customer instruments in your care and being worked on expressly included, and set the sum by the most valuable piece you hold.
- Keep an intake book with photos, condition and value of every customer instrument; it settles disputes about prior condition.
- Insure tonewood at replacement value, not at the price you paid twenty years ago.
- Check the security requirements for burglary cover, such as locks and alarm, before anything happens.
- If you ship instruments or take them to fairs, you need transport cover that includes breakage.
- For very valuable instruments, agree in writing with the customer who bears which risk.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We watch other people's valuables:** Damage to items in your care is the gap where instrument makers most often fall short. As an insurance broker, Norman Nammert obtains quotes from several insurers and compares exactly these extensions.
- **Claims handling seen from the inside:** From boat insurance we know claims handling for valuable one off items from our own work. That helps to set values and records when the policy is taken out.
- **Workshop and private cover in one place:** Workshop, your own instruments, vehicle and private cover come together with one contact who can explain German policies in English.
- **The Nammert family has arranged insurance since 1989:** Instrument making is often a family craft, and ours is a family firm too. Our work is free for you; the insurer pays our commission.

## FAQ

### Do I need a master qualification as a violin or piano maker?

No. Violin makers, piano and harpsichord makers, plucked and wind instrument makers are listed in Annex B section 1 of the Crafts Code. Organ and harmonium builders are listed in Annex A and need a master qualification.

### Does liability pay if I damage an instrument during repair?

Only with an extension for items being worked on. Without it, damage to the item you are working on is excluded in many policies.

### Are customer instruments covered in a burglary?

If your contents insurance includes third party property and the sum is high enough. Check the security requirements for the workshop.

### What does insurance cost for a small workshop?

In our quoting, liability and contents usually come to €900 to €2,600 a year, depending on the value of instruments in your care.

### Do I need transport insurance?

If you deliver, ship or take instruments to fairs, yes. Liability usually does not cover your own or customers' instruments in transit.

### Are my employees covered for accidents?

Yes, employees are insured by law under Social Code Book VII through the responsible Berufsgenossenschaft.

## 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-musical-instrument-maker.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.