# Insurance for tailors, alteration shops and sewing studios in Germany

> A tailor's shop usually holds more of other people's clothes than its own. A wedding dress, a made to measure suit, a customer's leather jacket: if it is cut too short, scorched by the iron or stolen overnight, you are liable. Whether you run a bespoke tailoring business, an alteration shop or a small sewing studio in Germany, this page explains which insurance makes sense, what it costs and where the usual gaps are.

Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-tailor-and-alterations.php  
Updated: 2026-10-15

## Will my business liability pay if I ruin a customer's dress while altering it?

Only if damage to items being worked on is explicitly included. Many liability policies exclude damage to things you are currently working on, or pay only a small sum. For a tailor this is the most important part of the policy, so check the limit and the excess per claim.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No statutory insurance duty. Bespoke tailoring is a craft that needs no master craftsman qualification in Germany (Crafts Code, Annex B section 1 no. 19)
- **Biggest risk:** Damage to customers' garments: items cut wrongly, scorched or discoloured, often with high sentimental value
- **Basic cover from:** about €80 a year for the business liability of a small alteration shop, a guide figure from our quoting work
- **Accident cover:** Employees are covered by statutory accident insurance (section 2 Social Code VII); as the owner you need to arrange your own cover
- **Often forgotten:** Damage to items being worked on and customers' clothes in the shop: many basic policies exclude them or cap them at small sums

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Cut too short or scorched:** Trousers end up too short, the iron is too hot, silk changes colour under steam. The customer wants the price of a new garment.
- **A wedding dress days before the wedding:** Damage to an item with a fixed date costs more than the fabric: replacements have to be found under time pressure.
- **Burglary and fire:** Dozens of customers' garments hang on the rails. Without suitable contents cover you pay for other people's clothes yourself.
- **Machine breakdown:** The industrial sewing machine or overlocker fails in the busy season and orders pile up.
- **Customers in the shop:** A customer trips over a cable in the fitting room or is hurt by a pin.
- **Your own hands:** If you live from your eyes, back and fine motor skills, a long illness means no income.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): Pays for injuries and property damage to customers. For tailors, the key element is damage to customers' garments while you work on them, with an adequate limit. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Business contents** (Strongly advised): Covers machines, fabrics, accessories and customers' clothes in the shop against fire, burglary and water damage. Third party property must be included. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Occupational disability** (Strongly advised): Protects your income if your hands, eyes or back permanently stop you working. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-occupational-disability.php
- **Business interruption** (Depends on the business): Pays rent and running costs if the shop has to close for weeks after a fire or flood. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Machinery breakdown** (Depends on the business): For expensive industrial, embroidery or cutting machines, including operating errors and short circuits. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-machinery-breakdown.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Depends on the business): For disputes with customers over defects and prices, with your landlord and with staff. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php

## What it costs: example prices

Premiums depend on turnover, number of staff and above all on the limit for damage to items being worked on and the value of customers' garments in the shop.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Alteration shop, one owner, €3 million cover, damage to worked items up to €10,000 | about €80 to €200 a year |
| Business liability | Bespoke tailor with three staff, damage to worked items up to €25,000 | about €180 to €450 a year |
| Business contents | Shop with equipment and customers' garments worth €40,000 in total | about €150 to €400 a year |
| Machinery breakdown | Embroidery and industrial sewing machines worth €25,000 | about €150 to €350 a year |
| Business interruption | Small shop, 12 months indemnity period, €60,000 gross profit | about €120 to €300 a year |

For comparison: Liability cover for a small alteration shop costs about as much a year as taking up ten pairs of trousers.

_All figures are guide values from our quoting work, excluding German insurance premium tax, as of October 2026. We found no published tariffs specifically for tailors; the sources document the legal position. We obtain the exact quote for you._

- [Gesetze im Internet: German Crafts Code, Annex B](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/hwo/anlage_b.html)
- [Gesetze im Internet: section 2 Social Code VII, compulsory accident insurance](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_7/__2.html)
- [Gesetze im Internet: section 6 Social Code VII, voluntary insurance](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_7/__6.html)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Studio** (alteration shops and sewing studios without employees): Business liability, Business contents. Together: about €250 to €600 a year
- **Shop** (bespoke tailor with a shop and employees): Business liability, Business contents, Business interruption, Machinery breakdown. Together: about €600 to €1,500 a year
- **All round** (owners who also want to protect their own income): Business liability, Business contents, Business interruption, Occupational disability, Business legal expenses. Together: about €900 to €2,000 a year excluding income protection

## The worst day in the tailor's shop

Six things that really happen to tailors, all on one Saturday in May. Tap through and see who pays.

- 08:40: While shortening a wedding dress, the lace is cut too short. A replacement and a rush job are needed. (€2,400, Paid by: Business liability)
- 10:15: The steam iron leaves a shiny mark on a made to measure suit. (€1,200, Paid by: Business liability)
- 11:30: A customer trips over a loose carpet edge in the fitting room and breaks his wrist. (€6,500, Paid by: Business liability)
- 14:00: The embroidery machine stops with a motor failure. (€3,800, Paid by: Machinery breakdown)
- 17:45: A customer refuses to pay for the alteration and threatens to call a lawyer. (€900, Paid by: Business legal expenses)
- 02:20: Burglary through the back door: customers' leather jackets and coats are gone. (€7,500, Paid by: Business contents)

**Damage so far:** €22,300

## Practical tips from your broker

- Have damage to customers' garments while you work on them written into your liability policy, with a limit that also covers a wedding dress or a fur coat.
- Include customers' clothes in your contents insurance; many policies otherwise cover only your own property.
- Note the condition and value of expensive items on the order slip when you take them in.
- Check the excess: with many small claims a low excess pays off, with rare large ones a higher excess saves premium.
- Keep the contents sum up to date, especially before the wedding and ball season.
- If you work alone, look at income protection early; it gets more expensive every year.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **Focus on damage to customers' items:** As an insurance broker we compare several insurers and check the element that matters most for tailors: damage to the garment you are working on.
- **Shop and workroom together:** Liability, equipment, customers' garments and machines are reviewed together so no gap opens between policies.
- **Business and private in one place:** Norman Nammert, your insurance broker, looks after your business and your personal cover together, with one named contact.
- **Family business, placing cover since 1989:** Our work is free for you; the insurer pays our commission. We advise in English or German.

## FAQ

### Is insurance compulsory for tailors in Germany?

No, there is no statutory insurance duty. Business liability including damage to items being worked on is still the most important cover, because you handle other people's property every day.

### What does damage to items being worked on mean?

Damage to something you are currently working on, such as a garment that is cut wrongly or scorched. Many liability policies exclude it, so it must be included explicitly.

### Are customers' clothes covered after a burglary?

Only if your contents insurance includes third party property and the sum insured covers the value of customers' garments in the shop.

### What does insurance for an alteration shop cost?

Liability starts at about €80 a year. With contents insurance small shops usually pay €250 to €600 a year. These are guide values from our quoting work.

### Do I need a master craftsman qualification to open a tailor's shop?

No. Bespoke tailoring is listed in Annex B of the German Crafts Code, so no master qualification is required to open the business.

### Am I covered by statutory accident insurance as the owner?

Employees are covered by law. For yourself you can take out private accident insurance or voluntary cover with the responsible employers' liability insurance association.

## Request quotes

We obtain quotes and come back with a comparison, free of charge. You can write in English. https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-tailor-and-alterations.php#anfrage

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Your broker: Norman Nammert, trading as NAMMERT. Insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act. Broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37. NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH is a separate company. It does not arrange your contract.

NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, Karl-Marx-Straße 4, 15711 Königs Wusterhausen, +49 3375 29 12 77, info@nammert.com. Wikidata: Q141141479.