# Business closure insurance in Germany: when the health office closes your kitchen > Business closure insurance, Betriebsschließungsversicherung in German, pays when an authority closes your business under the Infection Protection Act because of a pathogen, bans staff from working or orders stock destroyed. It is built for restaurants, hotels and food businesses, where a single salmonella finding can stop trading for days or weeks. Covid taught many owners that only the policy wording decides what it pays. Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-closure.php Updated: 2026-11-04 ## When does business closure insurance pay in Germany? When the competent authority acts under the Infektionsschutzgesetz (IfSG) and closes all or part of your business, bans employees from working, orders disinfection or has goods destroyed, because of a pathogen the policy covers. Many policies require an order aimed at your own business. Closures of whole sectors during a pandemic are usually excluded in newer wordings. ## At a glance - **Mandatory?:** No - **Trigger:** an official order under the German Infection Protection Act - **Typical benefits:** closure days, staff work bans, disinfection, destroyed stock - **Who buys it:** restaurants, hotels, bakeries, butchers, food retail - **Pandemics:** usually excluded in wordings since 2021 ## What the policy does when the inspectors arrive A guest reports food poisoning, the Gesundheitsamt finds salmonella or norovirus, and the kitchen stays shut until it has been cleaned and tested again. For each day of the ordered closure the insurer pays an agreed daily amount or the proven loss of income, depending on the wording. The side effects often cost more than the closure itself: disinfecting rooms and equipment, destroying food and stock, and paying staff who are not allowed to work. Some policies cap the work ban benefit, for example at six weeks from the order. ## Covid and the Federal Court of Justice In spring 2020 the German states closed restaurants and hotels by regulation, and many businesses claimed under their closure policies. Most insurers refused. In Bavaria the state government brokered a deal under which insurers paid 10 to 15 percent of the agreed daily amounts voluntarily, in return for the businesses waiving further claims. It was not binding. The Bundesgerichtshof ruled on 26 January 2022 (IV ZR 144/21) that there is no claim if the policy lists the insured diseases exhaustively and Covid is not on the list. On 18 January 2023 (IV ZR 465/21) it found for a hotelier, because his policy referred to the diseases named in sections 6 and 7 IfSG, and claims could exist from 23 May 2020, when COVID-19 was added to the act. Both rulings make the same point: the wording of the individual policy decides. ## What policies look like today The German insurers' association GDV published new model terms as of 1 January 2021 that expressly exclude epidemics and pandemics, as well as closures by regulation under section 15 IfSG. Many insurers followed, and some only pay for an individual order against your own business. The cover is still useful for what it was designed for: a pathogen found on your own premises. If you have an older policy, check whether the insurer has since changed the terms and what the list of insured pathogens contains now. ## What is covered - Loss of income or a daily amount for the duration of an ordered closure - Partial closure, for example only the kitchen, if agreed - Wage costs when individual employees are banned from working - Cost of ordered disinfection of rooms and equipment - Stock and supplies that must be destroyed or are seized - Cost of official investigation measures, if agreed ## What is not covered - Pathogens not on the policy list or outside its reference to the IfSG - General closures during an epidemic or pandemic, where excluded - Closures by regulation when only individual orders are insured - Home quarantine of staff, which many wordings do not treat as a work ban - Voluntary closures without an official order - Damages claimed by sick guests, which belong under business liability insurance ## Who needs it - Restaurants, takeaways, canteens and caterers - Hotels and guesthouses with their own kitchen - Bakeries, patisseries and butchers - Food retailers with a fresh counter - Any business where staff handle unpackaged food ## Who does not need it - Offices and service firms without food or public traffic, where a closure for pathogens is very unlikely ## What it costs The premium depends on the type of business, the number of staff handling food and the agreed benefit. Since 2021 many insurers have moved away from pure daily amounts towards first loss sums. The cover is often available as an add on to a restaurant or contents policy. **What drives the premium:** - Type of business and hygiene risk - Number of employees and size of premises - Daily amount or sum insured - Number of insured closure days - Included benefits such as work bans and destroyed stock - Previous claims and food inspection results _Reliable published premium ranges do not exist. The price is fixed in the quote._ ## The policy levels on the market - **Add on to a restaurant policy:** Flat amounts for closure, disinfection and lost stock within a contents or hospitality policy. Simple and often enough for small businesses. - **Standalone closure policy:** Separate sums for closure days, work bans, disinfection and stock, with a clear pathogen list or a reference to the IfSG. The standard for businesses with staff. - **Extended cover:** Adds partial closures, investigation costs, longer benefit periods and extra costs. For hotels, caterers and larger food businesses. ## How to recognise a good policy | Criterion | Minimum standard | Strong policy | Why it matters | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Insured pathogens | exhaustive list | reference to diseases and pathogens notifiable under sections 6 and 7 IfSG at the time of loss | This question decided the Covid cases at the BGH. | | Type of order | only full closure | also partial closure, work bans and investigation measures | The authority often closes only the kitchen or excludes individual staff. | | Work bans | not covered | wage costs for several weeks | If your only chef is banned, the doors are open but nothing gets cooked. | | Destroyed stock | small flat amount | own sum matching your stock | For butchers and caterers the destroyed stock is often the biggest item. | | Benefit period | a few weeks | as long as a closure realistically lasts, plus restart | Guests do not come back the day you reopen. | | Pandemics and regulations | excluded | clear wording on what applies | Clear wording avoids disputes even where pandemics are excluded. | ## Insurers on the German market Business closure cover in Germany is written mainly by property insurers with commercial and hospitality products, standalone or as an add on. This list is a market overview. - **Allianz**: closure cover for hospitality and food businesses - **ERGO**: flat rate closure policy for commercial clients - **Barmenia**: own closure wording - **ARAG**: closure cover within its commercial range - **Die Haftpflichtkasse**: mutual insurer with its own closure terms - **Alte Leipziger**: standalone closure wording, sold through brokers 95 insurers supervised by BaFin, the German regulator, are licensed for this class of insurance. (Finanzielle Verluste, Gewinnausfall). Source: BaFin company database, 2026-09-18; EU insurers without a German office excluded. ## Typical claims and who pays - **Salmonella: kitchen closed by order** (days without revenue, plus cleaning): The textbook claim: pathogen on your premises, closure by official order. This is what the policy is for. - **Chef banned from working** (wages and lost trade for weeks): Basic add ons pay only for closure. Strong policies cover wages under work bans, often for a limited time. - **Fresh counter must be cleared** (several thousand euros of stock): Destroyed stock is usually covered, but add ons often pay only a small flat amount. - **Nationwide lockdown** (weeks or months without revenue): Newer wordings usually exclude pandemics and closures by regulation. The Covid rulings show how little older policies helped here. - **New pathogen not on the list** (closure without payment): With an exhaustive list a new pathogen is not insured. If the policy refers to the IfSG at the time of loss, it may be covered. - **Employee in home quarantine** (loss of one worker): Many wordings do not treat isolation as a work ban. State compensation under section 56 IfSG is the more likely route. ## Myth or truth - „Business closure insurance pays in every pandemic." ✘ False. Since 2021 most German wordings expressly exclude epidemics and pandemics. The core cover is a pathogen found in your own business. - „The BGH rejected every Covid claim against closure insurers." ✘ Not all. In 2022 a restaurant owner lost because of an exhaustive list, in 2023 a hotelier won because his policy referred to the IfSG, which listed COVID-19 from May 2020. - „Business interruption insurance does not pay when the health office closes you for norovirus." ✔ Correct. Business interruption needs physical damage such as fire or water. Closures for pathogens are what closure insurance is for. - „The German state can compensate lost earnings after a work ban." ✔ Yes, under section 56 IfSG, on application within twelve months. Self employed people can also claim continuing business expenses to a reasonable extent. - „The insurer pays if I close voluntarily as a precaution." ✘ No. An official order is required. Without a notice from the authority there is usually no benefit. ## Common mistakes - Assuming business interruption insurance pays when the health office closes the business - Never reading the list of insured pathogens - Not checking what a policy still covers after the insurer changed the terms - Holding far more stock than the sum insured for destroyed goods - Missing the twelve month deadline for state compensation under section 56 IfSG ## FAQ ### Will the policy pay in a new pandemic? In most newer policies, no. The GDV model terms have excluded epidemics and pandemics since 2021 and many insurers adopted this. Whether yours does is in the wording, so read the exclusions and the pathogen list before you sign. ### What is an exhaustive pathogen list? The policy names each insured disease and pathogen, and only those are covered. A new pathogen added to the IfSG later is not automatically included. The BGH held in 2022 that such a list is valid. ### Does it pay if an employee has to quarantine at home? Often not. Some wordings say expressly that home isolation under section 30 IfSG is not an insured work ban. The state may compensate the person's loss of earnings under section 56 IfSG, on application to the competent state authority within twelve months. ### Do I need closure cover if I already have business interruption insurance? Yes, if you handle food. Business interruption needs physical damage. A closure by the health office for pathogens is not physical damage, so it falls through that net. ### Does it pay if a guest sues me? No. Damages to guests who fell ill are a matter for business liability insurance. Closure cover pays your own losses: closure days, wages under work bans, disinfection and stock. ### What should I do after a closure order? Report the order to the insurer at once and send the official notice. Record which goods were destroyed and keep invoices for disinfection and tests. Without a written order there is usually no benefit. ### I am an English speaker. Will the policy be in English? German policies and terms are in German, and the German text is binding. A broker can explain the wording in English, but the contract itself is German. ## Legal basis and sources - [Insurance Contract Act (VVG, German)](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/vvg_2008/) - [BaFin company database (licensed insurers)](https://portal.mvp.bafin.de/database/InstInfo/) ## Request quotes We obtain quotes and come back with a comparison, free of charge. You can write in English. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-closure.php#anfrage --- 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.