# Insurance for travel agencies and tour operators in Germany

> In a travel agency the expensive mistakes are invisible: wrong advice on a visa, a forgotten connecting flight, a booking in the wrong name. And anyone who puts trips together themselves becomes a tour operator in law and must protect customers' money against their own insolvency. This page shows what is compulsory, what makes sense and what it costs.

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

## Am I already a tour operator if I sell a flight and hotel together?

Very often, yes. Anyone who puts together several travel services for the same trip and sells them at an overall price or in one booking process counts as an organiser under German package travel law. You are then liable for the whole trip, must protect customer payments against insolvency under § 651r BGB and issue a security certificate (Sicherungsschein). Clarify this before you combine components, because without protection you may not accept a deposit.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** Yes for tour operators: insolvency protection for customer payments under § 651r of the German Civil Code (BGB), which governs package travel; from 10 million euros package travel turnover via the German Travel Security Fund (Deutscher Reisesicherungsfonds). Pure agents only have this obligation for linked travel arrangements
- **Biggest risk:** Advice and booking errors that cost customers money, and becoming a tour operator without meaning to
- **Basic cover from:** about 200 euros a year for professional indemnity for a small travel agency
- **Statutory accident insurer:** VBG, the Berufsgenossenschaft responsible for travel agencies and tour operators; compulsory from your first employee
- **Often forgotten:** If you combine a flight and a hotel for a customer and sell them at an overall price, you are legally a tour operator, with all the obligations that brings
- **WZ 2025 / NACE:** 79.11 Reisebüros, 79.12 Reiseveranstalter, 79.90 Erbringung sonstiger Reservierungsdienstleistungen

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Wrong entry advice:** Visa, passport instead of a national ID card, an entry form: if the right advice is missing, the family is stuck at the airport and wants the cost of the trip back.
- **Booking errors:** Wrong date, wrong name on the ticket, a missed connection because the transfer time was too short. Rebooking and a replacement flight quickly cost four figures.
- **Suddenly an organiser:** If you combine components yourself, you are liable for defects in the whole trip, from a dirty hotel to a cancelled transfer.
- **A partner goes bust:** If an airline or tour operator becomes insolvent, customers are left empty handed. That is when it shows who fulfilled their duties to protect and inform.
- **Data and payments:** Travel agencies store passports, dates of birth and credit cards. An attack on the booking system is a data protection breach that must be reported.
- **Closed at the counter:** If the booking system fails or the office burns, you cannot sell trips, while rent and wages keep running.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Professional indemnity** (Essential): Professional indemnity pays when customers lose money through advice or booking errors, for example wrong entry information. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-professional-indemnity.php
- **Business liability** (Strongly advised): Covers injury and property damage in the office and, for tour operators, liability for travel services if included. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Strongly advised): Helps with attacks on your booking system and customer data, paying for forensics, notifying those affected and business interruption. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Strongly advised): Travel law is prone to disputes: price reductions, refund claims, commission disputes with tour operators. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php
- **Business contents** (Depends on the business): Replaces fittings, equipment and brochures in your shop after fire, water or burglary. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Business interruption** (Depends on the business): Pays running costs if the office stays closed after an insured loss. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Electronic equipment** (Depends on the business): For computers, printers and the till system, including power surges and operating errors. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-electronic-equipment.php

## What it costs: example prices

For pure agents, premiums are modest. It gets considerably more expensive if you organise trips yourself: then insolvency protection is added, based on your package travel turnover. With the German Travel Security Fund the fee is now 0.25 per cent of that turnover, plus a security deposit. Smaller tour operators obtain protection through insurers or banks, whose premium is set individually.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Professional indemnity | Small travel agency, about 40,000 euros turnover, 100,000 euros cover | about 200 to 400 euros a year |
| Professional indemnity | Travel agency with up to five employees, 250,000 euros cover | about 450 to 900 euros a year |
| Business liability | Travel agency acting as agent, 3 million euros cover | about 90 to 250 euros a year |
| Business liability | Small tour operator with its own group tours, with organiser's liability | about 600 to 2,000 euros a year |
| Cyber insurance | Travel agency with booking system and card payments | about 300 to 800 euros a year |

For comparison: Professional indemnity and public liability for a small travel agency cost roughly as much per year as the commission on one or two package holidays for a family of four.

_Guide figures excluding German insurance premium tax, as of September 2026. Professional indemnity and liability for agents come from publicly quoted tariff examples; organiser's liability and cyber are guide figures from our own quoting experience. The cost of insolvency protection depends heavily on turnover, deposits and credit rating._

- [IHK Ostbrandenburg: Gesetz zur Reiseinsolvenzsicherung](https://www.ihk.de/ostbrandenburg/zielgruppeneinstieg-gruender/tourismusrecht/gesetz-reiseinsolvenzsicherung-5156510)
- [Wikipedia: Deutscher Reisesicherungsfonds](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutscher_Reisesicherungsfonds)
- [Finanzchef24: Versicherungen für den Tourismus](https://www.finanzchef24.de/versicherung/tourismusbranche)
- [berufshaftpflichtversicherung-experten.de: Betriebshaftpflicht Reisebüro](https://berufshaftpflichtversicherung-experten.de/betriebshaftpflicht-reisebuero/)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Agent** (travel agency that only sells other companies' trips): Professional indemnity, Business liability. Together: about 300 to 650 euros a year
- **Agency** (travel agency with a shop, employees and its own booking system): Professional indemnity, Business liability, Cyber insurance, Business legal expenses, Business contents. Together: about 1,300 to 2,800 euros a year
- **Tour operator** (agency that also organises its own trips, plus insolvency protection): Professional indemnity, Business liability, Cyber insurance, Business legal expenses, Business contents, Business interruption. Together: about 2,500 to 6,000 euros a year

## The worst day at the travel agency

Six things that really happen to travel agencies, all on one single Monday in high season. Tap through the day and see who pays.

- 06:40: A family is turned away at the airport: the destination required a passport, but the agency said an ID card would do. Trip lost, replacement booking. (€5,800, Paid by: Professional indemnity)
- 09:30: A business customer's name is misspelt on the ticket. The airline demands reissue at today's fare. (€1,400, Paid by: Professional indemnity)
- 11:15: A customer trips over a brochure display in the office and breaks a wrist. (€5,500, Paid by: Business liability)
- 13:50: The booking system is encrypted and customer data including passport numbers has been stolen. Forensics, reports to the authorities and customers. (€18,000, Paid by: Cyber insurance)
- 15:30: A tour you put together yourself had a cancelled transfer. The group demands a price reduction and sues. (€6,500, Paid by: Business liability)
- 17:00: A tour operator does not pay out your commission. You sue for the outstanding amount. (€3,000, Paid by: Business legal expenses)

**Damage so far:** €40,200

## Practical tips from your broker

- Check honestly whether you bundle travel services. If so, you need insolvency protection and organiser's liability before you accept the first deposit.
- Choose at least 250,000 euros professional indemnity if you sell group or long haul travel.
- Put entry and visa advice in writing in the booking confirmation. In a dispute it is your best evidence.
- In your cyber policy, check cover for card payment data and for business interruption if the booking system fails.
- Only sell linked travel arrangements with the information form required by law, otherwise you risk being liable like an organiser.
- Ask partner tour operators to show you their security certificate before you pass on customer money.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We know where the organiser line lies:** Whether you are an agent or an organiser decides your obligations. As a broker we clarify this with you and get quotes from several insurers for exactly your role.
- **We understand claims settlement:** In boat insurance we settle claims ourselves. When a customer makes a claim after an advice error, we know how to prepare the case for the insurer.
- **Office, data and private cover together:** Professional indemnity, liability, cyber, shop and your private cover are handled by us from one source.
- **A family business since 1989:** Our advice is free for you; the insurer pays our commission. You have fixed contacts, even in high season.

## FAQ

### Does a travel agency have to protect customer money against insolvency?

Not if you only sell other companies' package holidays; the tour operator does that. If you put trips together yourself or sell linked travel arrangements and take money, you must provide protection under § 651r or § 651w BGB.

### When do I have to join the German Travel Security Fund?

From a package travel turnover of 10 million euros a year, protection via the fund is compulsory. Smaller tour operators can obtain protection through an insurer or a bank.

### What does professional indemnity for a travel agency cost?

For small agencies it starts at about 200 euros a year with 100,000 euros cover. With more staff and higher limits you are usually between 450 and 900 euros.

### Who pays if I give wrong visa advice?

Professional indemnity, because the customer has not suffered injury or property damage but has lost money. Standard public liability does not pay for that.

### Do I need cyber insurance?

If you store passport data and credit cards, you should have it. A data breach triggers reporting duties and costs that a small agency can hardly bear alone.

### Is the travel agency liable for defects at the hotel?

As an agent usually not; the tour operator is liable. As an organiser, yes, and then for the whole trip. That is why the question of your role matters so much.

## 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-travel-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.