# Insurance for temporary staffing agencies, recruiters and HR consultants in Germany

> Your people work in other companies, on other people's machines and with other people's keys. When a temp drives a forklift into the high-bay racking at a client's site, or a placed candidate turns out to be the wrong choice, the question quickly lands on your desk. This page explains which insurance absorbs that and what it costs.

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

## Who is liable if my temp damages something at the client's site?

In principle the temp works under the client's supervision, and the agency is only liable for selecting the worker with due care. In practice, though, clients demand that you cover damage and write this into the contract. Public liability cover that explicitly includes temporary agency work then pays justified claims and defends unjustified ones. Read your clients' liability clauses before you sign.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No statutory insurance duty; the licence for temporary agency work under the German Temporary Employment Act (AÜG) does not require proof of insurance. Many clients, however, write public liability cover with a fixed sum into the supply contract
- **Biggest risk:** Damage caused by temporary workers at the client's premises, and disputes over how they were selected
- **Basic cover from:** around 1,500 euros a year for the public liability cover of a small staffing agency
- **Statutory accident insurer:** VBG (the Berufsgenossenschaft for administrative professions and temporary work), compulsory; contributions for temps depend on the work they do at the client
- **Often forgotten:** Loss of the client's keys and damage to borrowed machinery are not included in every public liability policy
- **WZ 2025 / NACE:** 78.10 Vermittlung von Arbeitskräften, 78.20 Überlassung von Arbeitskräften und sonstige Personaldienstleistungen

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Damage at the client's premises:** A warehouse helper drives the forklift into a rack, an electrician damages an installation. Clients claim the repair and the downtime from you.
- **Negligent selection:** A temporary bookkeeper did not have the stated qualification, and accounting errors follow. The client accuses you of failing to check.
- **A bad placement:** In recruitment, a company claims back the fee and follow-up costs when the placed candidate turns out to have falsified details.
- **Accidents at work:** Temps often work in warehouses, production and construction, frequently new to the site. Accidents at work are correspondingly common.
- **Applicant data:** CVs, references, ID documents and salary data of thousands of people sit in your database. A data leak costs notifications, lawyers and reputation.
- **Employment law:** Equal pay, the maximum assignment period and dismissals regularly lead to lawsuits. Back pay itself cannot be insured, but the legal costs can.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): Pays for damage your workers cause at clients' premises if temporary agency work, damage to items worked on and loss of keys are included. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Professional indemnity** (Strongly advised): Professional indemnity covers negligent selection and errors in recruitment and HR consulting. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-professional-indemnity.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Strongly advised): Employment cases are common in the sector; legal expenses cover including employment law pays for lawyers and courts. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Strongly advised): Helps with data leaks and attacks on the applicant database and payroll. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php
- **Group accident insurance** (Depends on the business): Adds benefits beyond the statutory accident insurer, including in free time, and is an argument when recruiting staff. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-group-accident.php
- **Fleet insurance** (Depends on the business): For vehicles that take workers to assignments or that dispatchers use on the road. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-fleet-insurance.php
- **D&O insurance** (Depends on the business): For managing directors who are personally answerable for duties under the Temporary Employment Act and for social security contributions. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-directors-and-officers.php
- **Company pension (bAV)** (Depends on the business): Helps retain core staff and good dispatchers and brings tax advantages. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-company-pension.php

## What it costs: example prices

The premium depends on the number and type of work of the temps, the payroll and the clients' industries. Assignments in production and construction cost more than office staff.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Staffing agency with about 50 industrial workers, 5 million euros cover | around 1,500 to 4,000 euros a year |
| Business liability | Staffing provider with 20 office workers on assignment | around 500 to 1,500 euros a year |
| Professional indemnity | Recruitment agency or headhunter, 250,000 euros cover | around 250 to 700 euros a year |
| Cyber insurance | Applicant database and payroll, 250,000 euros cover | around 600 to 1,500 euros a year |
| Business legal expenses | Employment legal expenses cover for 60 employees | around 800 to 2,000 euros a year |

For comparison: Public liability cover for a small staffing agency costs about as much a year as the gross margin one placed helper brings in over two to four months.

_Guide prices excluding German insurance premium tax, as of September 2026, from our own quoting experience and published tariff examples for advisory and recruitment professions. We obtain the exact quote for you._

- [Finanzchef24: Vermögensschadenhaftpflicht](https://www.finanzchef24.de/versicherung/vermoegensschadenhaftpflichtversicherung)
- [transparent-beraten.de: Vermögensschadenhaftpflicht Kosten](https://www.transparent-beraten.de/vermoegensschadenhaftpflicht/)
- [Finanzchef24: Cyberversicherung](https://www.finanzchef24.de/versicherung/cyber-versicherung)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Recruitment** (Recruiters and headhunters without temporary agency work): Professional indemnity, Business liability, Cyber insurance. Together: around 700 to 1,800 euros a year
- **Temporary staffing** (Staffing agency with industrial and office assignments): Business liability, Professional indemnity, Business legal expenses, Cyber insurance. Together: around 3,000 to 7,000 euros a year
- **Staffing group** (Several branches, vehicles and a management team): Business liability, Professional indemnity, Business legal expenses, Cyber insurance, Fleet insurance, D&O insurance, Group accident insurance. Together: around 8,000 to 20,000 euros a year

## The worst day in temporary staffing

Six things that really happen to staffing providers, all on a single Monday. Tap through the day and see who pays.

- 06:40: A temporary warehouse helper drives the client's forklift into the high-bay racking. Rack and goods are damaged. (€24,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 09:10: A worker loses the client's master key. The locking system has to be replaced. (€9,500, Paid by: Business liability)
- 11:00: A placed financial controller had invented his qualifications. The client claims back the fee and the cost of refilling the post. (€28,000, Paid by: Professional indemnity)
- 13:30: The applicant database has been breached and 4,000 records are affected. Forensics, lawyers and notifications. (€32,000, Paid by: Cyber insurance)
- 15:45: A former worker sues for equal pay. Lawyer and court fees at two levels. (€7,000, Paid by: Business legal expenses)
- 17:20: On the way to a client the dispatcher runs into the car in front, damaging both vehicles. (€8,500, Paid by: Fleet insurance)

**Damage so far:** €109,000

## Practical tips from your broker

- Have temporary agency work written explicitly into your public liability cover, including damage to the client's property that is being worked on.
- Include loss of keys with an adequate sum; master keys in industry and hospitals quickly cost five figures.
- Check your clients' liability clauses: if you accept more than statutory liability, the insurer must agree.
- Keep separate cover for recruitment, because selection and advice errors are financial losses.
- For legal expenses cover, make sure employment law applies to all employees, not just core staff.
- Report the actual work your temps do at clients correctly to the statutory accident insurer; wrong risk classes lead to back payments.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We read supply contracts with you:** As a broker we compare several insurers and check that your policy fits the liability clauses of your large clients.
- **Claims practice from our own settlement work:** In boat insurance we settle claims ourselves. We know how to record a claim at a client's site so that the insurer decides quickly.
- **One contact for the company and the workforce:** Liability, legal expenses, vehicles, group accident cover and pensions for your team all sit with us in one place.
- **Family business since 1989:** No cost to you, as the insurer pays our commission. You have fixed contacts instead of changing hotlines.

## FAQ

### Does a staffing agency in Germany need compulsory insurance?

No, the Temporary Employment Act does not require any. Public liability cover that includes temporary agency work is still indispensable, and clients almost always demand proof.

### What does public liability cover for temporary staffing cost?

For about 50 industrial workers it is usually between 1,500 and 4,000 euros a year. Office staff are much cheaper to insure.

### Are my temps covered by the statutory accident insurer?

Yes, through the VBG as your Berufsgenossenschaft. The client shares responsibility for health and safety on assignment.

### Does the insurance cover equal pay back payments?

No, back pay and social security contributions are never insured. Legal expenses cover does, however, pay for lawyers and courts in a dispute about them.

### Do I need professional indemnity as a headhunter?

It is strongly recommended. Bad placements caused by poor reference checks are pure financial losses that public liability cover does not pay.

### What about damage my workers cause to the client's machines?

That is damage to property being worked on, which many standard policies exclude. Look for explicit inclusion and an adequate sum.

## 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-recruitment-agency.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.