# Insurance for advertising and marketing agencies in Germany

> Agencies rarely break things, but they often get things wrong: an image used without a licence, an advertising claim that draws a legal warning, a campaign with the wrong price in it. Those are pure financial losses, and ordinary public liability insurance does not pay for them. This page shows which cover fits and what it costs.

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

## Will insurance pay if we receive a cease and desist letter over an image?

Yes, provided your professional indemnity expressly includes copyright, trade mark and personality rights. The insurer then checks whether the claim is justified, pushes back on inflated amounts and pays damages that are genuinely owed. A plain public liability policy pays nothing here, because nobody was injured and nothing was damaged. Deliberate infringements, such as knowingly using unlicensed images, are never covered.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No insurance is required by law, but large clients often write professional indemnity for financial loss into the framework contract
- **Biggest risk:** Financial loss suffered by clients through rights infringements, campaign errors and missed deadlines
- **Basic cover from:** about €220 a year for a sole trader's professional indemnity
- **Statutory accident insurer:** usually the VBG, the Berufsgenossenschaft (statutory accident insurer) that covers offices; membership is compulsory once you employ staff
- **Often forgotten:** Cyber cover: hijacked client accounts on ad networks and social media quickly cost five figures
- **WZ 2025 / NACE:** 73.11 Tätigkeiten von Werbeagenturen, 73.12 Vermarktung und Vermittlung von Werbezeiten und Werbeflächen, 73.20 Markt- und Meinungsforschung, 73.30 Public-Relations-Beratung

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Image and trade mark rights:** A stock photo whose licence has expired, a typeface without a web font licence, a slogan that sails too close to someone's trade mark: in Germany the formal warning letter (Abmahnung) often arrives months after launch.
- **Mistakes in the campaign:** A wrong price in the brochure, a mixed up discount code, a date that is off. The client has to reprint or sell at a loss and sends you the bill.
- **Unfair competition law:** Misleading claims, influencer partnerships without an ad label or promotions that break the rules lead to injunctions and demands to cover the other side's legal costs.
- **Hijacked logins:** Agencies run ad accounts and social media profiles for their clients. If one is taken over, ads run on someone else's card and data leaks out.
- **Missed deadlines:** An ad booking deadline slips past, a trade fair opens without the materials: the client loses sales and holds you responsible.
- **Kit and office:** Computers, screens and cameras are the main physical assets. A power surge, spilt coffee or a break in can halt production for days.

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

## The insurance you need

- **Professional indemnity** (Essential): Covers your clients' financial losses caused by errors, missed deadlines and rights infringements in your work, the core of any agency's protection. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-professional-indemnity.php
- **Business liability** (Strongly advised): Covers injury and property damage, for example at a shoot, while building a trade fair stand or when a visitor falls in your office; often in the same policy as the financial loss cover. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Strongly advised): Pays for forensics, data recovery and third party claims when your systems or the client accounts you manage are attacked. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php
- **Electronic equipment** (Strongly advised): Replaces computers, graphics tablets and cameras even after operating errors and power surges, where contents cover does not pay. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-electronic-equipment.php
- **Business contents** (Depends on the business): Covers furniture, fittings and equipment against fire, escape of water and burglary if the agency has its own premises. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Depends on the business): Legal expenses for employment disputes, rows with the landlord and, for an extra premium, clients who will not pay their invoices. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php
- **Business interruption** (Depends on the business): Keeps the agency solvent if the office and equipment are out of action for weeks after a fire. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Company pension (bAV)** (Depends on the business): Good creatives are hard to find; a company pension scheme is something even small agencies can offer. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-company-pension.php

## What it costs: example prices

The premium depends mainly on turnover, the limit for financial loss and whether you offer riskier work such as prize promotions or influencer campaigns.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Professional indemnity | Sole trader, financial loss only, €100,000 limit, €500 excess | about €220 to €400 a year |
| Professional indemnity | Sole trader with €70,000 turnover, financial loss plus injury and property damage up to €2 million | about €350 to €700 a year |
| Professional indemnity | Agency with eight staff, €800,000 turnover, €500,000 financial loss limit | about €1,000 to €2,500 a year |
| Electronic equipment | Computers, screens and camera kit worth €30,000 | about €200 to €450 a year |
| Cyber insurance | Small agency with access to client accounts, €250,000 limit | about €400 to €1,000 a year |

For comparison: A sole trader's professional indemnity costs about as much a year as three hours of agency time at €100 an hour.

_Guide prices excluding German insurance premium tax, as of September 2026. The entry level examples come from publicly quoted tariffs; the figures for larger agencies, electronics and cyber are guide values from our own quoting work. We obtain the exact quote for you._

- [Finanzchef24: Versicherung für Werbeagenturen](https://www.finanzchef24.de/versicherung/werbeagentur)
- [Finanzchef24: IT-Haftpflichtversicherung](https://www.finanzchef24.de/versicherung/it-haftpflicht)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Solo** (Freelancers and founders without their own premises): Professional indemnity, Business liability. Together: about €300 to €700 a year
- **Agency** (Agency with an office and up to ten staff): Professional indemnity, Business liability, Cyber insurance, Electronic equipment, Business contents. Together: about €1,500 to €3,500 a year
- **Complete** (Agency with major brand clients, framework contracts and media budgets): Professional indemnity, Business liability, Cyber insurance, Electronic equipment, Business contents, Business interruption, Business legal expenses. Together: about €3,500 to €8,000 a year

## The worst day at the agency

Six things that really happen at agencies, all squeezed into one Monday. Tap through the day and see who pays.

- 08:45: A warning letter lands in the inbox: a photo on a client's campaign page was not licensed. Back payment of the licence fee plus lawyers' costs. (€4,800, Paid by: Professional indemnity)
- 10:20: A retailer's brochure shows the television at €49 instead of €499. The client has to reprint and wants compensation. (€18,000, Paid by: Professional indemnity)
- 12:00: A client's ad account has been taken over, and overnight someone else's ads ran up several thousand euros. (€9,500, Paid by: Cyber insurance)
- 14:30: During a shoot in the client's shop a lighting stand tips over and smashes a glass display case. (€3,200, Paid by: Business liability)
- 16:10: A thunderstorm causes a power surge: two workstations and a monitor are dead. (€7,400, Paid by: Electronic equipment)
- 18:40: A client refuses to pay the final invoice and claims the campaign was defective. (€6,000, Paid by: Business legal expenses)

**Damage so far:** €48,900

## Practical tips from your broker

- Make sure copyright, trade mark, unfair competition and personality rights infringements are named expressly in your professional indemnity.
- Set the financial loss limit by your largest client: if you run campaigns with six figure media budgets, €100,000 is not enough.
- Check whether your framework contracts ask you to accept more liability than the law requires. Contractual promises are only covered if the insurer agrees to them.
- Have freelancers and subcontractors included in your policy, or ask them to show you their own.
- Ask whether the cyber policy also covers the client social media and ad accounts you manage.
- For influencer campaigns, prize promotions and legal copy, the activity should be described precisely in the policy, otherwise the scope becomes a dispute after a claim.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We read the small print for you:** Whether warning letter costs, client accounts or contractual liability are covered is found in the policy wording, not the price. As a broker we compare both across several insurers.
- **Claims experience first hand:** In boat insurance we handle claims ourselves. We know how an insurer assesses a warning letter and prepare your notification so that it does not sit in a queue.
- **Agency and personal cover in one place:** Financial loss, cyber, company car and your own protection all run through us, instead of three contacts at three insurers.
- **Free for you, family run since 1989:** The insurer pays our commission. You speak to people who know your policy, even when a claim is reported years later.

## FAQ

### Does an agency need public liability or professional indemnity?

Usually both, in a single policy. Typical agency claims are financial losses, which need professional indemnity. Injury and property damage at shoots or events fall under public liability.

### What does insurance for a small agency cost?

A sole trader pays about €220 to €400 a year for professional indemnity. A bundle for an agency with an office and a few staff usually costs €1,500 to €3,500 a year.

### Are warning letters over image rights covered?

Yes, if copyright infringements are included and the breach was not deliberate. The insurer checks the claim and pushes back on excessive amounts.

### Who is liable if a freelancer makes a mistake?

Towards the client it is usually your agency. Whether your policy covers freelancers' errors depends on the wording, so settle that before the first job.

### Does professional indemnity cover claims from social media campaigns?

Yes, if the activity is described in the policy: for example a missing ad label or an unlawful prize draw. Hijacked accounts, on the other hand, belong in cyber insurance.

### Does my agency have to join a Berufsgenossenschaft?

Yes, as soon as you employ staff, usually the VBG. This statutory accident insurer covers accidents at work and on the commute. As the owner you can join voluntarily.

## 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-marketing-agency.php#anfrage

---

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.