# Insurance for small manufacturers, craftspeople and instrument makers in Germany

> Violin, ring, wooden toy or knife: in a small workshop the value lies in a few pieces and in your own hands. Customers' pieces are often in the workshop too, for repair or rework. This page shows what to insure in Germany in case a fire, a burglary or a faulty product hits your business.

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

## Is my customer's violin covered if my workshop is burgled?

Only if third party property is included in your contents insurance, and then usually only up to a limit. For valuable instruments, jewellery or watches the standard sum is rarely enough. Keep a list of customers' pieces with their values and have the sum set to match. Many customers also have their own instrument or jewellery insurance.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No statutory insurance; toys are subject to strict safety rules with CE marking, and under the German Product Liability Act you are liable without fault
- **Biggest risk:** Burglary and fire in the workshop, affecting your own pieces and customers' property
- **Basic cover from:** around €100 a year for the general liability of a one person workshop
- **Berufsgenossenschaft:** Depending on the material, BG Holz und Metall, BG ETEM or VBG is your statutory accident insurer; the Berufsgenossenschaft decides the classification
- **Often forgotten:** Customers' pieces in for repair, and goods at fairs and markets
- **WZ 2025 / NACE:** 18.20 Vervielfältigung von bespielten Ton-, Bild- und Datenträgern, 32.20 Herstellung von Musikinstrumenten, 32.30 Herstellung von Sportgeräten, 32.40 Herstellung von Spielwaren, 32.91 Herstellung von Besen und Bürsten, 32.99 Herstellung von sonstigen Erzeugnissen a. n. g.

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Burglary at the workshop:** Precious metals, gemstones, old instruments and finished pieces are small and valuable. Burglars know that.
- **A customer's piece is damaged:** A stone cracks while soldering, an old top splits during varnishing, an heirloom bends while polishing. Such damage is often irreplaceable.
- **Toys and children:** Small parts, flaking paint, sharp edges: with products for children a fault quickly leads to injuries and recalls.
- **Fire at the bench and kiln:** Soldering torches, kilns, varnishes and wood dust are typical causes of fire in small workshops.
- **On the road at markets and fairs:** Goods in the car, on the stand and in the hotel are not automatically insured. Theft from a stand happens fast.
- **Your own hands:** Cuts, burns and strain on hands and back can bring a one person workshop to a sudden halt.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): Covers harm to customers and buyers, product liability for your pieces and damage to customers' property while you work on it, if included. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Business contents** (Essential): Replaces tools, material, finished pieces and third party property after burglary, fire and burst pipes. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Cargo insurance** (Strongly advised): Insures goods on the way to markets, fairs and galleries, in the car, on the stand and in the post. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cargo-insurance.php
- **Occupational disability** (Strongly advised): If your hands, eyes or back give out, a small workshop loses its income immediately. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-occupational-disability.php
- **Business interruption** (Depends on the business): Pays running costs and lost profit if the workshop is out of action for months after a fire. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Depends on the business): For your online shop and customer data if you sell a lot directly over the internet. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Depends on the business): For disputes over commissions, copyright in your designs or with the workshop landlord. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php

## What it costs: example prices

Small workshops are among the cheaper businesses to insure, as long as values and customers' property are not too high. Jewellery, watches and old instruments raise the security requirements and with them the premium.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | One person workshop, selling direct and online | around €100 to €300 a year |
| Business liability | Workshop with five staff and retail stockists | around €300 to €900 a year |
| Business contents | Tools, material and goods worth €60,000 | around €150 to €450 a year |
| Business contents | Goldsmith with precious metal and customers' jewellery, safe | around €500 to €2,000 a year |
| Cargo insurance | Goods worth €20,000 at markets and fairs | around €150 to €500 a year |

For comparison: Liability and contents insurance for a small workshop cost roughly as much a year as one handmade Damascus steel kitchen knife.

_Guide figures excluding German insurance tax, as of September 2026, from published tariff examples for small businesses and our own quoting. For jewellery and precious metal, insurers require a safe and an intruder alarm, which strongly affects the premium. We obtain the exact quote._

- [Finanzchef24: Versicherungen für Handwerker](https://www.finanzchef24.de/versicherung/handwerk)
- [transparent-beraten.de: Betriebshaftpflicht für Handwerker](https://www.transparent-beraten.de/betriebshaftpflichtversicherung/arten/handwerker/)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Workbench** (One person workshops and side businesses): Business liability, Business contents. Together: around €250 to €700 a year
- **Workshop** (Workshop with staff, commissions and markets): Business liability, Business contents, Cargo insurance, Business interruption. Together: around €700 to €2,000 a year
- **Studio and shop** (Workshop with online shop, fairs and valuable stock): Business liability, Business contents, Cargo insurance, Business interruption, Cyber insurance, Occupational disability. Together: around €2,000 to €5,000 a year, income protection extra depending on age

## The worst day in the workshop

Six things that really happen in workshops and small manufactories, all on one Saturday with a craft market. Tap through.

- 07:00: Burglary overnight: gold, stones and three customers' rings in for repair are gone. (€24,000, Paid by: Business contents)
- 10:15: While restringing, the top of a customer's old violin cracks. Restoration by a specialist. (€6,500, Paid by: Business liability)
- 12:30: At the market stall someone reaches into the display and disappears with two silver bracelets. (€1,400, Paid by: Cargo insurance)
- 14:00: A child swallows a broken piece of a wooden toy and has to go to hospital. (€5,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 16:45: The online shop is hacked and customer data has leaked. Lawyer, report to the authority and notifications. (€4,200, Paid by: Cyber insurance)
- 22:10: The kiln sets the workbench on fire. Workshop, material and orders are covered in soot. (€38,000, Paid by: Business contents)

**Damage so far:** €79,100

## Practical tips from your broker

- Have damage to customers' pieces while you work on them included in your general liability, with a sum that matches the pieces you accept.
- Insure customers' property in your contents insurance and keep an intake list with value and photo.
- For jewellery and precious metal, ask in advance which safe class and alarm system the insurer requires, otherwise the sum insured is worthless.
- Include goods at markets, fairs and in the car expressly, also overnight in a locked vehicle.
- If you make toys, document the tests and CE marking and choose a higher product liability sum.
- Protect your ability to work with income protection insurance that describes your craft precisely.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We ask about the customer's piece:** The biggest gap in workshops is other people's property. We clarify it in advance and compare quotes from several insurers.
- **We know claims from the inside:** As an underwriting agency for boats we settle claims ourselves, including on valuable one off items. We know how to prove value and damage.
- **Workshop and private life together:** In small workshops business and private life overlap. We look after both with one contact, and can do so in English.
- **A family business since 1989:** Craft values continuity, and so do we. Our work costs you nothing; the insurer pays our commission.

## FAQ

### Does a craftsperson need business liability insurance?

Yes, as soon as you sell. Personal liability insurance does not cover business activities, and you are liable for your products even without fault.

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

Liability and contents start at around €250 a year. With markets, staff and business interruption, workshops usually pay between €700 and €2,000.

### Are goods on a market stall covered?

Not under the workshop's contents insurance. For that there is exhibition or goods in transit insurance.

### Do toys need special insurance?

Product liability is part of it. More important is that you meet the safety requirements and can prove the CE marking properly.

### Does insurance pay if I damage a customer's piece?

Only if damage during work is included. Many basic policies exclude exactly that.

### Which Berufsgenossenschaft is responsible?

It depends on the material: wood and metal usually BGHM, print and paper BG ETEM, other crafts sometimes VBG. The statutory accident insurer assigns you when you register.

## 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-crafts.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.