# Insurance for care homes, day care and assisted living in Germany

> A care home looks after people who need help around the clock. A fall out of bed, a scald in the bath, a resident who slips out of the building unnoticed: these are the claims homes actually deal with. Add fire safety, staff shortages and care records that must never go down. This page sets out what has to be insured and what it costs.

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

## Is the home liable every time a resident falls?

No. The home is liable if it breached a duty, for example on fall prevention, walking aids or supervision, and this is proven in the individual case. In practice it is mainly the German health insurers who reclaim treatment costs after a fall. Your public liability insurer examines these claims, pays the justified ones and fights off the rest. Good care records almost always decide the outcome.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No specific statutory insurance duty for the operator; in practice the care contracts with the long-term care funds (Pflegekassen), the home supervisory authority (Heimaufsicht) and landlords all expect adequate public liability cover
- **Biggest risk:** Falls, pressure sores, scalds and care errors for which relatives or health insurers claim compensation
- **Basic cover from:** around 2,000 euros a year for the public liability cover of a home with about 60 places
- **Statutory accident insurer:** BGW (the Berufsgenossenschaft for health and welfare) for private and non-profit operators, the regional accident funds (Unfallkassen) for municipal homes
- **Often forgotten:** Recourse claims by health and care insurers: after a fall they recover the treatment costs from the home
- **WZ 2025 / NACE:** 87.10 Pflegeheime, 87.20 Stationäre Einrichtungen zur psychosozialen Betreuung, Suchtbekämpfung, 87.30 Seniorenwohnheime und Wohnheime für Menschen mit Behinderung, 87.91 Vermittlungstätigkeiten für Heime und stationäre Betreuung, 87.99 Sonstige Heime, ohne Erholungs- und Ferienheime, a. n. g.

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Falls:** Falls from bed, in the bathroom or in the corridor are the most common liability cases in a home. A broken hip means surgery, rehabilitation and often permanent care.
- **Care errors:** Pressure sores, dehydration, wrong medication or an infection that was missed lead to claims from relatives and insurers.
- **Wandering:** Residents with dementia leave the building unnoticed. A road accident can then injure third parties too.
- **Fire:** Residents who smoke, electric blankets and kitchen appliances are typical causes. Evacuation, temporary accommodation and repairs are extremely expensive.
- **Water and legionella:** Large hot water systems, many bathrooms and old pipes mean escape of water claims and strict duties on drinking water hygiene.
- **Staff:** Lifting, shift work and infections take their toll on the team. Every absence makes the staff shortage and the liability risk worse.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): Covers injury to residents, visitors and third parties plus recourse claims from insurers, with care and treatment errors included. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Commercial buildings** (Strongly advised): Insures the building against fire, escape of water, storm and natural hazards if the operator owns it. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-commercial-buildings.php
- **Business contents** (Strongly advised): Replaces care beds, aids, kitchen and furniture, and residents' belongings where agreed. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Business interruption** (Strongly advised): Pays lost care fees, staff costs and temporary accommodation while parts of the home are closed after a fire or water damage. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Strongly advised): Care records and medication run on computers; an outage puts residents at risk and triggers a data breach report. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php
- **D&O insurance** (Depends on the business): For managing directors and boards of an operator who are personally responsible for organisation, finances and dealings with the supervisory authority. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-directors-and-officers.php
- **Fleet insurance** (Depends on the business): For transport services and the vehicles of a day care centre. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-fleet-insurance.php
- **Company health insurance** (Depends on the business): Company health insurance helps you recruit and keep nursing staff. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-company-health-insurance.php

## What it costs: example prices

What counts is the number of places, the type of care, the claims history, the value of the building and fire safety. Homes with ventilated residents or secure units cost more than assisted living.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Care home with about 60 places, 10 million euros cover | around 2,000 to 5,500 euros a year |
| Business liability | Assisted living with 20 flats, no residential nursing care | around 600 to 1,500 euros a year |
| Commercial buildings | Home building with a rebuild value of 6 million euros | around 4,000 to 10,000 euros a year |
| Business contents | Furniture and care aids worth 500,000 euros | around 800 to 2,000 euros a year |
| Cyber insurance | Operator with digital care records, 500,000 euros cover | around 1,500 to 4,000 euros a year |

For comparison: Public liability and contents cover for a home with 60 places cost about as much a year as one resident's own contribution to care fees for one or two months.

_Guide prices excluding German insurance premium tax, as of September 2026, from our own quoting experience; published tariff examples for residential care are rare. Claims history and fire safety change the premium considerably, and we obtain the exact quote for you._

- [Finanzchef24: Versicherungen für Heilwesen und Pflege](https://www.finanzchef24.de/versicherung/heilwesen-pflegebranche)
- [Finanzchef24: Versicherung für Pflegedienste](https://www.finanzchef24.de/versicherung/pflegedienst)
- [Finanzchef24: Cyberversicherung](https://www.finanzchef24.de/versicherung/cyber-versicherung)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Assisted living** (Residential complex with services but no nursing care): Business liability, Business contents, Cyber insurance. Together: around 1,500 to 3,500 euros a year
- **Home** (Care home or day care centre in rented premises): Business liability, Business contents, Business interruption, Cyber insurance. Together: around 5,000 to 12,000 euros a year
- **Operator** (Operator with its own building, transport service and management board): Business liability, Commercial buildings, Business contents, Business interruption, Cyber insurance, D&O insurance, Fleet insurance. Together: from around 15,000 euros a year, calculated individually

## The worst day in a care home

Six things that really happen in care homes, all on a single short-staffed Sunday. Tap through the day and see who pays.

- 05:40: A resident gets up alone in the night and falls, breaking her hip. Her health insurer reclaims the treatment costs. (€25,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 09:15: The bath water is too hot and a resident suffers scalds to his legs. (€18,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 11:30: A resident with dementia leaves the building unnoticed and causes an accident with a cyclist on the road. (€30,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 14:00: The care records are encrypted by ransomware and medication plans have to be rebuilt by hand. (€40,000, Paid by: Cyber insurance)
- 17:20: A water pipe bursts in the basement. The laundry and the store room are flooded. (€45,000, Paid by: Commercial buildings)
- 22:10: An electric blanket catches fire in a resident's room. The unit is evacuated and stays closed for six weeks. (€180,000, Paid by: Business interruption)

**Damage so far:** €338,000

## Practical tips from your broker

- Choose at least 10 million euros cover for bodily injury; severe cases with lifelong consequences exceed smaller limits.
- Get written confirmation that care and treatment errors, recourse by social insurance bodies and loss of keys are included.
- Check whether residents' belongings such as hearing aids, glasses and dentures are covered; losing them is the most frequent small claim.
- Insure business interruption with a long enough indemnity period, because repairs and filling the beds again after a fire take months.
- Keep records of fire safety, legionella tests and maintenance; insurers ask for them and set the premium accordingly.
- For day care transport, look at a fleet policy that includes accident cover for passengers.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We negotiate with several insurers:** Only a few insurers write care homes. As a broker we collect quotes and present your fire safety and claims history so that you get fair terms.
- **We know claims handling from the inside:** In boat insurance we settle claims ourselves. We help your head of nursing report falls and recourse claims properly.
- **One contact for the building and the team:** Liability, buildings, transport, company health insurance and staff pensions all sit with us in one place.
- **Family business since 1989:** Free of charge for you, as the insurer pays our commission. You reach people who know your home.

## FAQ

### Is public liability insurance compulsory for care homes in Germany?

No law names it explicitly, but care contracts, the supervisory authority, landlords and banks require it in practice every time. A home cannot operate without it.

### What does liability cover for a care home cost?

For about 60 places usually 2,000 to 5,500 euros a year, depending on the type of care and the claims history. Assisted living is much cheaper.

### Are residents' hearing aids and dentures insured?

Only if this is agreed. Many policies include residents' belongings, often with a limit per claim. It should be written into the contract.

### Who pays if a resident with dementia leaves the home and causes an accident?

If the home breached its duty of supervision, the home's public liability insurer. If it took every reasonable precaution, the claim should be rejected.

### Which statutory accident insurer is responsible?

For private and non-profit operators the BGW, the Berufsgenossenschaft for health and welfare services. For municipal homes it is the accident fund (Unfallkasse) of the federal state.

### Do we need cyber insurance?

Yes, if care records, medication and rotas are digital. An outage endangers care, and health data triggers strict reporting duties.

## 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-care-home.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.