# Insurance for farmers and arable holdings in Germany

> One hailstorm in June can smash a whole year's harvest, and one spark in the combine can take the field and the machine with it. Add tractors on country roads, barns full of straw and crop spraying next to the neighbour's garden. This page shows what an arable farm in Germany should insure, what it costs per hectare and where the state helps pay.

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

## Is hail or multi peril crop insurance worth it for my farm?

Hail insurance on its own costs around €15 to €25 per hectare a year for cereals and is part of the basic cover for many farms. Multi peril insurance covering heavy rain, storm, frost and drought costs more, but several German federal states subsidise it, Bavaria with up to 50 percent of the premium. Whether it pays depends on the crop, the location and your cash reserves. We work it out with you for your fields.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** Motor liability for tractors and self propelled machines faster than 6 km/h on public roads; crop and hail insurance are voluntary
- **Biggest risk:** Crop loss from hail, heavy rain, frost and drought
- **Basic cover from:** around €120 a year for the farm liability of a small arable holding without livestock
- **Berufsgenossenschaft:** SVLFG, the social insurance for agriculture, forestry and horticulture; compulsory for the farmer, family members working on the farm and employees
- **Often forgotten:** Harvested crops in the barn and store, and field fires caused by machinery
- **WZ 2025 / NACE:** 01.11 Anbau von anderem Getreide als Reis sowie von Hülsenfrüchten und Ölsaaten, 01.12 Anbau von Reis, 01.14 Anbau von Zuckerrohr, 01.15 Anbau von Tabak, 01.16 Anbau von Faserpflanzen, 01.50 Gemischte Landwirtschaft, 01.61 Erbringung von landwirtschaftlichen Dienstleistungen für den Pflanzenbau, 01.63 Nach der Ernte anfallende Tätigkeiten in der pflanzlichen Erzeugung und Saatgutaufbereitung, 01.70 Jagd, Fallenstellerei und damit verbundene Tätigkeiten

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Hail and storms:** A single hailstorm smashes cereals, rapeseed or maize across entire fields. Heavy rain washes away seed and soil.
- **Drought and frost:** Drought summers and late frosts are becoming more frequent. Yield losses of 30 percent or more are no longer unusual.
- **Fire at harvest:** Hot bearings on the combine, dust and dry straw: a field fire catches the machine, the field and sometimes neighbouring land.
- **Tractor on the road:** Wide implements, muddy roads and slow speeds lead to accidents with cars and cyclists.
- **Spraying and drift:** Wind carries spray onto neighbouring crops, organic fields or gardens. The neighbour claims damages for the harvest.
- **Accidents at work:** Farming has many serious and fatal accidents: rollovers, power take off shafts, falls from roofs or hay lofts.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): Farm liability covers damage from crop spraying, dirt on roads, field fires spreading to neighbours and pollution from diesel and fertiliser. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Car insurance** (Essential): Required by law for tractors and self propelled machines on public roads, even at slow speeds above 6 km/h. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-car-insurance.php
- **Natural hazard cover** (Strongly advised): For your fields this role is taken by hail or multi peril crop insurance, which pays for crop losses from hail, heavy rain, storm, frost and drought. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-natural-hazards.php
- **Commercial buildings** (Strongly advised): Barns, sheds and the farmhouse against fire, lightning, storm and hail, at index linked new value. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-commercial-buildings.php
- **Business contents** (Strongly advised): Insures harvested crops, seed, fertiliser, tools and machines inside the buildings against fire, storm and burglary. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Machinery breakdown** (Strongly advised): For combines, tractors and implements against breakdown, fire and accident in the field, where motor own damage cover often does not apply. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-machinery-breakdown.php
- **Solar panel insurance** (Depends on the business): Many farms have large solar installations on their roofs; storm, hail and lost feed in income need their own cover. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-solar-panel-insurance.php
- **Accident insurance** (Depends on the business): The SVLFG covers accidents at work, but with limited benefits. Private accident insurance closes the gap, off duty too. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-accident-insurance.php

## What it costs: example prices

In farming, many policies are priced by hectare, crop and location. Hail insurance also depends on the sum insured per hectare, which you set every year.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Arable farm without livestock, €30,000 turnover, €5 million cover | around €120 to €300 a year |
| Business liability | Arable farm with 200 hectares, contract work for neighbours | around €400 to €1,200 a year |
| Natural hazard cover | Hail insurance for cereals, per hectare | around €15 to €25 a year |
| Commercial buildings | Farm buildings and sheds with a new value of €1 million | around €1,500 to €4,000 a year |
| Machinery breakdown | Combine harvester with a new value of €400,000, breakdown, fire and accident | around €2,000 to €5,000 a year |
| Car insurance | Liability for one tractor | around €80 to €300 a year |

For comparison: Hail insurance for 100 hectares of wheat costs about as much a year as 8 to 12 tonnes of wheat at the current farm gate price.

_Guide figures excluding German insurance tax, as of September 2026. Farm liability and hail are based on published examples; buildings, machinery and tractor are guide figures from our own quoting. Subsidy schemes in the federal states can cut the premium for multi peril insurance by up to half. We obtain the exact quote._

- [transparent-beraten.de: Betriebshaftpflicht in der Landwirtschaft](https://www.transparent-beraten.de/betriebshaftpflichtversicherung/arten/landwirtschaft/)
- [hagelversicherung.online: Hagelversicherung für die Landwirtschaft](https://hagelversicherung.online/)
- [Vereinigte Hagel: Förderung Mehrgefahrenversicherung Bayern](https://vereinigte-hagel.net/de/versicherungen/foerderprogramme-landwirtschaft/foerderung-bayern/)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Part time** (Small arable holdings with a few machines and their own tractor): Business liability, Car insurance, Commercial buildings. Together: around €600 to €1,800 a year
- **Full time** (Arable farms with 100 to 300 hectares and their own machinery): Business liability, Car insurance, Commercial buildings, Business contents, Natural hazard cover, Machinery breakdown. Together: around €5,000 to €15,000 a year, hail depending on area
- **Whole farm** (Large farms with contract work, solar and multi peril crop insurance): Business liability, Car insurance, Commercial buildings, Business contents, Natural hazard cover, Machinery breakdown, Solar panel insurance, Accident insurance. Together: around €12,000 to €35,000 a year, less any subsidy

## The worst day on the farm

Six things that really happen to arable farms, all on one day at the end of July. Tap through and see who pays.

- 06:15: While spraying the rapeseed, a gust carries the product onto the neighbour's vegetable field. The crop can no longer be sold. (€14,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 09:30: On the country road the tractor with its cultivator clips an oncoming van. (€11,000, Paid by: Car insurance)
- 13:40: An overheated bearing on the combine sets the machine and five hectares of wheat alight. (€180,000, Paid by: Machinery breakdown)
- 15:20: A hailstorm smashes 60 hectares of maize and the yield drops by half. (€48,000, Paid by: Natural hazard cover)
- 17:00: The storm behind the hail strips the roof off the machinery shed. (€35,000, Paid by: Commercial buildings)
- 23:30: Burglars take GPS receivers and terminals from three tractors in the shed. (€22,000, Paid by: Business contents)

**Damage so far:** €310,000

## Practical tips from your broker

- Reset the per hectare values in your hail insurance every year; after price jumps for cereals or rapeseed you are otherwise underinsured.
- Check the subsidy for multi peril insurance in your federal state and apply before the deadline.
- Have contract work for neighbours, spraying on other people's land and winter road clearing expressly included in your farm liability.
- Insure GPS equipment and terminals against theft; today they are often worth more than a small tractor.
- In buildings insurance, look for index linked new value and declare new sheds and solar installations straight away.
- Check what the SVLFG pays for you and your family; the pension after a serious accident is rarely enough to keep the farm going.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We calculate per hectare with you:** Hail, multi peril cover and subsidies pay off differently depending on the crop. As a broker we obtain quotes from several insurers and work them out for your fields.
- **We know claims settlement in practice:** In boat insurance we settle claims ourselves, including storm damage. We know how much quick reporting, photos and loss adjusters matter after natural hazards.
- **Farm and family together:** On a farm, the business, the farmhouse, the vehicles and your pension belong together. We look after all of it with one contact, in English if you prefer.
- **A family business since 1989:** Like many farms we are a family business. Our work is free for you; the insurer pays our commission.

## FAQ

### Is farm liability insurance compulsory?

Not by law, but indispensable. An accident caused by an escaped animal or spray drift onto a neighbour's crop can run to five figures. For tractors on public roads, motor liability is compulsory.

### What does hail insurance cost?

Around €15 to €25 per hectare a year for cereals, much more for specialist crops. What counts is location, crop and the sum insured per hectare.

### What is multi peril crop insurance?

Besides hail, it covers heavy rain, storm, frost and sometimes drought. Several federal states subsidise it, Bavaria for example with up to 50 percent of the premium.

### Is the harvest in the barn covered?

Not by hail insurance, which ends at harvest. Grain and straw in store belong in the farm's contents or buildings insurance.

### Who pays if I am injured at work?

The SVLFG, the statutory accident insurer for agriculture. It is compulsory for farmers, family members and employees, but it only pays part of your income.

### Does every tractor need insurance?

Yes, if it is driven on public roads and is faster than 6 km/h. This also applies to slow self propelled machines without registration.

## 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-farming.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.