# Insurance for diving schools and dive centres in Germany

> On the same day at a German diving school, someone goes underwater for the very first time while someone else sits their instructor exam. PADI, CMAS or VDST courses run in the pool and in open water, the dive boat carries the group out to a wreck or reef, and the compressor fills tank after tank. The boat and the equipment belong in their own contracts, and the training and hire business on land needs its own liability cover.

Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-diving-school.php  
Updated: 2026-09-19

## Are our dive boat and compressor covered under an ordinary policy?

No. A private boat policy excludes commercial diving trips with paying guests, and private contents cover does not extend to a compressor used commercially. The dive boat needs a rate that names training runs, guided dives and changing divers on board, one contract per boat. We underwrite this cover ourselves as risk carrier and settle claims in house. The compressor and hire equipment belong in the business contents policy.

## At a glance

- **Requirement:** No statutory insurance duty for the school itself; dive bases, harbour operators and bodies such as PADI regularly ask for proof of business liability cover
- **Biggest risk:** Diving accidents during training and open water practice: decompression sickness, injuries from a poor briefing, incidents on ascent or descent
- **Basic cover from:** Dive boats are quoted per boat in our own commercial rate; business liability for the dive, the pool and equipment hire adds roughly 200 to 450 euros a year
- **Accident insurer:** Employed instructors are usually covered through the German trade association VBG; course participants are not covered by statutory accident insurance during training or a trial dive
- **Often forgotten:** The compressor for the fill station is its own asset risk, and losing it in high season stops the whole diving operation

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Decompression sickness:** An ascent that is too fast or a miscalculated dive time can trigger decompression sickness. If the school is blamed for a gap in the briefing, treatment costs and a long legal dispute can follow quickly.
- **Incidents in open water:** Current, poor visibility or panic underwater: beginners on an open water course run into trouble faster than in a controlled pool, and the instructor is responsible for the whole group.
- **Students without accident cover:** Course participants are not covered by statutory accident insurance during a trial dive or training. After a serious diving accident, what matters is what the school has arranged voluntarily.
- **Compressor failure:** Without a working fill station the business stops dead, often right in the middle of the season. Repair or replacement usually takes longer than bookings can wait.
- **Dive boat on site:** Anchoring over sensitive ground, touching bottom while tying up to a mooring buoy, collisions with other boats at the dive site: the boat is out daily with changing guests on board.
- **Equipment on hire:** Regulators, buoyancy vests, suits and tanks pass through many hands every day. Theft from the base container or damage from careless returns adds up over a season.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): Covers training, open water practice, pool sessions and equipment hire on land, including claims of a poor briefing. Liability from operating the dive boat itself sits in its own boat policy. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Group accident insurance** (Strongly advised): Gives course participants and trial divers accident cover they do not otherwise have, a strong point when someone signs up for a course. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-group-accident.php
- **Business contents** (Strongly advised): Covers the compressor, tanks, hire equipment, base building and till against fire, water, burglary and theft. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Business interruption** (Strongly advised): Replaces lost course and hire income when the base or compressor is out of action after a property claim. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Occupational disability** (Strongly advised): Protects the owner's income if an ear, lung or joint problem rules out diving and teaching. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-occupational-disability.php
- **Car insurance** (Depends on the business): For the tow vehicle used to move tanks, the compressor and the boat between dive sites and the yard. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-car-insurance.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Depends on the business): For online booking of courses and dives, and for participant data including health declarations that could leak in an attack. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php

## What it costs: example prices

The largest item is the dive boat itself. We quote it as risk carrier in our own commercial rate per boat, based on value, boat type and waters. The examples below cover the training and hire business quoted alongside it.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Diving school with pool and open water training, up to five instructors | roughly 200 to 450 euros a year |
| Group accident insurance | Course participants and trial divers, around 300 people a year | roughly 200 to 450 euros a year |
| Business contents | Compressor, tanks and hire equipment worth 40,000 euros | roughly 250 to 550 euros a year |
| Business interruption | Loss of profits cover for up to six months, taken alongside contents cover | roughly 150 to 400 euros a year extra |
| Occupational disability | Instructor, age 35, monthly benefit of 1,500 euros | roughly 1,200 to 2,400 euros a year |

For comparison: Liability and accident cover for participants together cost about as much per year as one full open water course including equipment hire.

_Guide prices excluding insurance tax, as of September 2026, drawn from publicly quoted rates for comparable businesses and our own quoting practice. We calculate the dive boat premium once we have your boat list._

- [transparent-beraten.de: business liability insurance](https://www.transparent-beraten.de/betriebshaftpflichtversicherung/)
- [transparent-beraten.de: business contents insurance](https://www.transparent-beraten.de/geschaeftsinhaltsversicherung/)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Basic** (Dive centre with pool training and equipment hire, on top of the boat's own cover): Business liability, Group accident insurance. Together: roughly 400 to 900 euros a year without the boat
- **School** (Diving school with open water training, its own compressor and a base building): Business liability, Group accident insurance, Business contents, Business interruption. Together: roughly 800 to 1,800 euros a year without the boat
- **Centre** (Diving centre with guided trips, a fill station, online booking and an owner who dives): Business liability, Group accident insurance, Business contents, Business interruption, Car insurance, Cyber insurance, Occupational disability. Together: roughly 2,800 to 5,000 euros a year without the boat

## The worst day at a diving school

Six things that really happen on land during a single dive trip. Damage to the dive boat itself is settled under its own boat policy in house; here is what the training and hire business has to carry alongside it.

- 06:30: The compressor at the fill station breaks down, not a single set can be filled for the early trip. (€8,500, Paid by: Business contents)
- 09:10: A beginner on the open water course ascends too fast and is flown to a decompression chamber with suspected decompression sickness. (€18,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 11:40: A trial diver slips on the wet jetty at the base and breaks their wrist. (€7,000, Paid by: Group accident insurance)
- 13:20: Six buoyancy vests and four regulators are stolen from the equipment container overnight. (€6,200, Paid by: Business contents)
- 16:00: The online booking system holding participants' health questionnaires is hacked and data leaks out. (€7,500, Paid by: Cyber insurance)
- 18:30: Without a working compressor, the course programme stops for a week right in the middle of the season. (€12,000, Paid by: Business interruption)

**Damage so far:** €59,200

## Practical tips from your broker

- Insure the dive boat under a rate that explicitly names training runs, guided trips and changing divers on board, one contract per boat.
- Take out group accident cover for course participants and trial divers: they are not covered by statutory accident insurance.
- Keep a dive log with visibility, health checks and briefings. It helps if a duty of care question comes up later.
- List the compressor as its own item on the contents policy, since losing it hits hardest during high season.
- Record every instructor's certification and have the insurer confirm it, which speeds up claims handling.
- Use our free training pack with forms and calculators for your lessons, even if you are not yet a client of ours.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We underwrite dive boats ourselves:** For boats we act as risk carrier with our own authority and our own rate for training runs, guided trips and changing divers on board. You get cover directly from the party that also decides claims.
- **We settle claims in house:** After a difficult trip you talk to us, not to a distant claims department. We know the yards, the surveyors and the kind of losses that come up in diving operations.
- **We know the training side:** Diving schools and clubs use our free training pack of forms and calculators at no charge. We know what your course and trip schedule actually looks like.
- **A broker for everything on land:** For liability, participant accident cover, the compressor and your own disability cover, we act as broker and obtain quotes from several insurers, matched to the boat policies. A family business since 1989.

## FAQ

### Does a diving school in Germany have to be insured?

There is no statutory requirement. Dive bases, harbour operators and bodies such as PADI almost always ask for proof of liability cover, and without insurance for the dive boat every trip would be a gamble.

### Are course participants covered if a diving accident happens?

Not under statutory accident insurance. If the participant has no personal accident policy, only the school's own group accident cover or a liability claim against the school for a training error can help.

### Who is liable for a case of decompression sickness after a course?

If the school is accused of guiding dive times or ascent rates incorrectly, its business liability policy responds. We work the case through with the insurer as soon as it is reported.

### What happens if the compressor breaks down?

The property damage to the compressor runs through the contents policy, the lost income through business interruption cover. Take both together, especially ahead of the season.

### Can we use a hired boat for dive trips?

Yes, but only if the hired boat's own policy covers commercial diving trips with changing guests. Clarify this before the first trip, or the use is not covered.

### What does insurance for a diving school cost?

Liability and accident cover for participants usually costs around 200 to 450 euros a year. The dive boat is added on top depending on size and engine power, and we calculate that premium from your boat list.

## 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-diving-school.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.