# Insurance for management consultants, interim managers and coaches in Germany

> You sell advice, and advice can be wrong. If a consultant recommends an unsuitable stock management system or a business plan works with outdated figures, the client wants the loss back. There is no legal duty to insure, but many clients demand proof of cover in the framework agreement. This page explains what you need and what it costs.

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

## How high should my sum insured be?

Base it on the largest loss a mistake could cause for your most important client, and on what framework agreements require. For solo consultants working with small and medium firms, 250,000 to 500,000 euros is usual; for projects in large corporations, IT rollouts or financing, more like 1 million euros. Going from 300,000 to 1 million euros often costs only around 300 euros a year.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No statutory insurance duty. Large corporations and public sector clients, however, often require professional indemnity with a fixed minimum sum in the contract
- **Biggest risk:** Advice errors that cost the client revenue, subsidies or investments
- **Basic cover from:** around 160 euros a year for professional indemnity with 100,000 euros cover
- **Statutory accident insurer:** VBG (the Berufsgenossenschaft for administrative professions), compulsory with employees; voluntary for solo consultants
- **Often forgotten:** Contractual penalties and indemnity clauses demanded by clients are generally not insured
- **WZ 2025 / NACE:** 70.10 Verwaltung und Führung von Unternehmen und Betrieben, 70.20 Unternehmensberatung, 72.20 Forschung und Entwicklung im Bereich Rechts-, Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften sowie im Bereich Sprach-, Kultur- und Kunstwissenschaften

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **The wrong recommendation:** You recommend a software, a location or a partner, and it does not fit. The client's lost revenue quickly reaches six figures.
- **Outdated figures:** A market analysis or business plan relies on old data, and the bank lends too little or nothing at all. The client claims the loss from the failed investment.
- **Missed subsidy deadline:** If you handle grant applications, you are liable when a deadline or a document is missed. The lost grant is a classic financial loss.
- **Confidentiality:** Strategy papers, salary lists and customer data go to the wrong mailing list or end up on a lost laptop.
- **Working at the client's site:** At a workshop in the client's office the projector falls over or a participant trips over a cable: that is injury and property damage, not a financial loss.
- **Being out of action yourself:** As a solo consultant you are the product. A long illness ends current projects and your income at once.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Professional indemnity** (Essential): Professional indemnity pays when your advice costs the client money and defends you against unjustified claims. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-professional-indemnity.php
- **Business liability** (Strongly advised): Covers injury and property damage at workshops and in the client's office; many tariffs combine it cheaply with professional indemnity. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Strongly advised): Helps with data loss, hacked accounts and reporting duties if you store your clients' confidential documents. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php
- **Occupational disability** (Strongly advised): Protects your income if illness stops you from consulting; the self-employed have hardly any statutory protection otherwise. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-occupational-disability.php
- **D&O insurance** (Depends on the business): For interim managers appointed as officers and managing directors of a consulting GmbH, who are personally liable. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-directors-and-officers.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Depends on the business): For fee disputes and disagreements over contract clauses; liability cover only defends claims made against you. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php
- **Electronic equipment** (Depends on the business): Replaces laptop, tablet and presentation equipment against theft and breakage, also on the road. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-electronic-equipment.php

## What it costs: example prices

The premium depends on annual turnover, your field of consulting and the sum insured. IT and financial consulting cost more than coaching or personnel development.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Professional indemnity | Solo consultant, turnover 60,000 euros, 300,000 euros cover | around 180 to 350 euros a year |
| Professional indemnity | Solo consultant, turnover 60,000 euros, 1 million euros cover | around 520 to 900 euros a year |
| Professional indemnity | Consultancy with five consultants, turnover 800,000 euros, 1 million euros | around 1,500 to 4,000 euros a year |
| Business liability | Office liability, 3 million euros, as an add-on to professional indemnity | around 80 to 200 euros a year extra |
| Cyber insurance | Small consultancy up to 100,000 euros turnover, 100,000 euros cover | around 300 to 500 euros a year |

For comparison: Professional indemnity with 500,000 euros cover costs about as much a year as two hours of consulting.

_Guide prices excluding German insurance premium tax, as of September 2026, from published tariff examples; the example for the five-person consultancy is a guide value from our own quoting experience. We obtain the exact quote for you._

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

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Solo** (Coach, trainer or consultant without employees): Professional indemnity, Business liability. Together: around 250 to 500 euros a year
- **Project** (Consultant with corporate clients, framework agreements and sensitive data): Professional indemnity, Business liability, Cyber insurance, Business legal expenses. Together: around 1,000 to 2,200 euros a year
- **Consultancy** (GmbH with several consultants and a management team): Professional indemnity, Business liability, Cyber insurance, D&O insurance, Business legal expenses, Electronic equipment. Together: around 3,000 to 7,500 euros a year

## The worst day in consulting

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

- 08:30: A retail client calls: the stock management system you recommended keeps crashing, and he claims his lost sales. (€120,000, Paid by: Professional indemnity)
- 10:15: At a workshop on the client's premises a participant trips over your projector cable and breaks his wrist. (€9,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 11:50: The grant application you handled was incomplete. The subsidy for the new warehouse is lost. (€40,000, Paid by: Professional indemnity)
- 14:00: Your email account has been hijacked and invoices with false bank details go out to all clients. Forensics and notification. (€7,500, Paid by: Cyber insurance)
- 16:20: Laptop and tablet are stolen from your car at the station, right in the middle of a proposal. (€3,200, Paid by: Electronic equipment)
- 18:45: A client refuses to pay the final invoice and claims the concept is flawed. You sue for your fee. (€6,000, Paid by: Business legal expenses)

**Damage so far:** €185,700

## Practical tips from your broker

- Read framework agreements before signing: if the client requires a specific sum insured, your policy must explicitly reach it.
- Get confirmation that your actual field is insured, such as IT implementation, grants or HR consulting; general wording is not enough.
- Choose a policy with prior acts cover so that mistakes made before the policy started are not left uncovered.
- Make sure you have worldwide cover if you work for clients abroad; many tariffs exclude the USA and Canada.
- Avoid unlimited liability in contracts and agree a liability cap equal to your sum insured.
- As an interim manager, check whether the company you work for includes you in its D&O policy, or take out your own.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We find the tariff for your field:** As a broker we compare several insurers. We make sure your actual work is written into the policy, not just a general job description.
- **We know the other side of a claim:** In boat insurance we settle claims ourselves. We know which documents an insurer wants to see after an advice error and help you prepare them.
- **Business and private together:** Professional indemnity, income protection, car and pension are managed for you in one place.
- **Family business since 1989:** You pay us nothing, as the insurer covers our commission. And you have fixed contacts instead of a hotline.

## FAQ

### Do I need professional indemnity as a management consultant in Germany?

Not by law, but in practice yes. Advice errors are pure financial losses that ordinary public liability cover does not pay. Many clients also write proof of cover into the contract.

### What does professional indemnity for consultants cost?

With 60,000 euros turnover and 300,000 euros cover from around 180 euros a year, with 1 million euros cover from around 520 euros. Your field and turnover change the premium considerably.

### Do coaches need the same insurance?

Coaches and trainers usually have smaller financial loss risks but more personal contact at seminars. A combination of public liability and modest professional indemnity often fits.

### Does the insurer pay contractual penalties?

Generally not. Contractual penalties, guarantees and promises beyond statutory liability are excluded, so negotiate such clauses before you sign.

### Am I covered by the company as an interim manager?

Only if you count as an insured person under its D&O policy. If you are appointed managing director you are personally liable, so this should be clarified before the project starts.

### Does my insurance cover projects abroad?

That depends on the tariff. Europe is usually included; worldwide cover including the USA and Canada must be agreed explicitly.

## 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-consultant.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.