# Crop insurance in Germany: protecting the harvest against hail, frost and drought > If you farm in Germany, a single hailstorm in June or one night of frost during blossom can wipe out a year of income while rent, seed and machinery costs keep running. Classic hail insurance covers hail and little else. Multi-peril policies can add storm, heavy rain, frost and drought, and several German federal states now pay up to half of the premium for them. Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-crop-insurance.php Updated: 2026-11-04 ## Is hail cover on its own still enough? For many farms it is not. Hail remains the most common insured peril, but late frost in fruit and wine growing and drought in arable farming now cause losses a hail policy never touches. Whether the upgrade pays depends on your crops, location and reserves. Since several federal states started subsidising multi-peril cover, the extra cost has come down considerably for eligible farms. ## At a glance - **Compulsory?:** No, it is voluntary - **Subsidy:** up to 50 percent of the premium in several federal states - **Subsidy conditions:** typically a deductible of at least 20 points and indemnity capped at 80 percent - **Insurance tax:** 0.3 per mille of the sum insured per year (section 6 VersStG) - **Sum insured:** area times expected yield times price, per crop ## Hail cover versus multi-peril cover Hail insurance is the oldest form of crop insurance and is widespread among German farms. It pays for loss of quantity, and often quality, caused by hail on standing crops. Many policies offer storm, heavy rain and severe frost as add-ons. Multi-peril insurance goes further and bundles several weather perils in one contract: late frost for orchards and vineyards, and increasingly drought for arable land. Because these events hit whole regions at once, the policies use larger deductibles, indemnity caps and sometimes weather indices instead of a loss assessment on each field. ## Subsidies are a matter for the federal states There is no nationwide subsidy in Germany. Each federal state decides for itself, and Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia and Lower Saxony together with Hamburg and Bremen, among others, now pay up to 50 percent of eligible multi-peril premiums. Baden-Württemberg extended its scheme to hail and hops from the 2026 application year. A federal scheme from 2027 is being discussed, but had not been adopted at the time of writing. Not every policy qualifies. Bavaria, Thuringia and Lower Saxony, for example, require a deductible of at least 20 percentage points of the loss ratio and an indemnity of no more than 80 percent of the sum insured. Bavaria also caps the eligible value per hectare, at 5,000 euros for cereals and 30,000 euros for fruit and wine. Farms apply to the state authorities themselves, within fixed deadlines; in Rhineland-Palatinate the 2026 deadline was 30 September. ## Getting the sum insured right The sum insured is built from area, expected yield and price for each crop. Set it too low to save premium and every claim is cut accordingly. Set it too high and you pay for a harvest the field will never produce. For wine, fruit and hops it is worth reviewing the values every season. German insurance tax works differently for crops: instead of 19 percent of the premium, it is 0.3 per mille of the sum insured per year for hail, storm, severe frost, heavy rain, flooding and, since 2020, drought. ## What is covered - Hail damage to standing crops, quantity and depending on the policy quality - Storm, heavy rain and flooding as add-ons - Late frost and winter kill, especially for orchards and vineyards - Drought, as yield cover or index cover - Extra cost of resowing after early damage, depending on the policy - Arable crops, grassland, vegetables, fruit, wine and hops under separate terms ## What is not covered - Losses below the agreed deductible - Falling market prices after a normal harvest - Plant disease and pests unless expressly included - Poor husbandry or neglected crop care - Crops harvested before the loss adjuster has inspected them - Buildings, machinery and stored produce, which need their own cover ## Who needs it - Arable farms with a high share of rented land or borrowed capital - Fruit growers and winemakers for whom one frost night can cost the year - Vegetable and specialty crop growers with high values per hectare - Farms in regions with frequent early summer drought - Young farmers and farms with limited reserves after investing ## Who does not need it - Farms spread widely across crops and sites with substantial reserves - Pure grassland farms with their own fodder reserve that do not want drought cover ## What it costs Premiums are charged as a rate on the sum insured for each crop and vary widely with location, crop and perils chosen. Hail rates differ a lot by region, and frost and drought cost considerably more. There are no independently published per hectare prices to compare, so we do not quote example figures. Where a state subsidises, the net premium falls by up to half. **What drives the premium:** - Crop and value per hectare - Location and loss history of the area - Perils insured: hail only or multi-peril with frost and drought - Deductible and indemnity cap - Your own claims in recent years - Eligibility for your state's subsidy _The premium is only fixed once the cropping plan, areas and sites are known. The farm applies for the subsidy itself._ ## The policy levels on the market - **Hail insurance:** Hail on all declared crops, often with storm and heavy rain as extras. Low premium and a proven field assessment. - **Multi-peril insurance:** Hail, storm, heavy rain and frost in one policy, eligible for subsidy in many states if deductible and cap meet the rules. - **Multi-peril with drought or index:** Adds drought as yield cover or via a weather index tied to a defined station. Higher premium, but protection against the costliest area-wide risk. ## How to recognise a good policy | Criterion | Minimum standard | Strong policy | Why it matters | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Perils insured | hail only | hail, storm, heavy rain, frost and optional drought | Many of the costliest recent losses were not caused by hail. | | Quality loss | quantity only | quantity and quality | For fruit, wine and vegetables quality drives the price. | | Deductible | high and fixed | selectable and compatible with subsidy rules | The wrong deductible rules out the state subsidy. | | Value per hectare | flat rate | set per crop and adjustable each year | A low value cuts every claim. | | Resowing | not covered | extra costs of resowing included | Early damage can often be rescued by resowing. | | Drought cover | none | yield or index cover with a transparent weather station | With index cover the station location decides whether you are paid. | ## Insurers on the German market Crop insurance in Germany is a specialist market with few carriers. Vereinigte Hagel is the largest specialist, and a number of property and regional insurers also write hail and multi-peril cover. Listed are insurers under German federal supervision registered for this class. This is a market overview, not a statement about who we work with. - **Vereinigte Hagel**: crop specialist based in Giessen, hail, multi-peril and drought index - **R+V**: co-insurer in Vereinigte Hagel's crop business since 2015 - **Allianz**: hail and multi-peril cover, successor to the former Münchener und Magdeburger Agrar - **Versicherungskammer Bayern**: Bavarian public insurer offering hail and multi-peril cover - **Mecklenburgische**: mutual insurer based in Hanover with hail and multi-peril cover - **VGH**: public insurer in Lower Saxony, multi-peril cover under the state scheme 155 insurers supervised by BaFin, the German regulator, are licensed for this class of insurance. (Hagel-, Frost- und sonstige Sachschäden). Source: BaFin company database, 2026-09-18; EU insurers without a German office excluded. ## Typical claims and who pays - **Hailstorm just before harvest** (much of the field's annual revenue): The classic case. A loss adjuster assesses the field and you are paid on the value per hectare less the deductible. - **Late frost during blossom** (up to the whole crop): Hail cover pays nothing. Only policies with frost cover respond, and they must be in place before the frost period. - **Drought summer on arable land** (a third of the harvest or more): Drought is only insured with explicit drought cover, either as yield cover or through a weather index. - **Heavy rain washes out the seed** (resowing and lost yield): Many hail policies only include heavy rain as an add-on. Strong policies also pay the extra cost of resowing. - **Loss just under the deductible** (a few percent of the yield): Anything below the deductible stays with the farm, even under the best policy. - **Full harvest, falling prices** (the lost revenue): Crop insurance covers weather damage to the yield, not market risk. ## Myth or truth - „In a drought the government will step in anyway." ✘ There is no entitlement. Emergency aid is decided only in exceptional years, paid late and usually covers part of the loss. German states now deliberately back subsidised insurance instead. - „Several German states pay part of the premium." ✔ True. Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia and Lower Saxony, among others, pay up to 50 percent of eligible multi-peril premiums. - „Hail insurance also covers frost." ✘ No. Frost is a separate peril, covered only by multi-peril policies or an explicit add-on. - „Crop insurance carries very little insurance tax in Germany." ✔ Correct. Instead of 19 percent of the premium, the tax is 0.3 per mille of the sum insured per year, for hail, storm, severe frost, heavy rain, flooding and, since 2020, drought. - „Any multi-peril policy qualifies for a subsidy." ✘ No. States usually require a deductible of at least 20 percentage points and indemnity of at most 80 percent. A policy without these features gets no subsidy. ## Common mistakes - Leaving values per hectare unchanged for years - Missing the state subsidy deadline - Choosing a deductible that rules out the subsidy - Harvesting or ploughing in before the loss adjuster has visited - Not checking which weather station an index policy uses - Not reporting new fields or changed cropping ## FAQ ### Is crop insurance compulsory in Germany? No, it is voluntary. Banks and landlords do increasingly ask how a farm manages weather risk when larger investments are involved. ### Which German states subsidise multi-peril insurance? Among others Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia and Lower Saxony jointly with Hamburg and Bremen, each paying up to 50 percent of the eligible premium. Each state sets its own rules on crops, perils and deadlines. ### Is there a federal subsidy? Not so far. The German Farmers' Association is calling for a nationwide scheme from 2027 under the joint federal and state agricultural structure programme. It had not been adopted at the time of writing. ### What does a deductible of 20 percentage points mean? Twenty points are deducted from the assessed loss ratio. With a 50 percent yield loss you receive 30 percent of the sum insured. Many state schemes require at least this deductible. ### How much insurance tax is payable? For hail, storm, severe frost, drought, heavy rain and flooding on crops it is 0.3 per mille of the sum insured per year, far below the standard 19 percent of the premium that applies to most other insurance in Germany. ### How does a drought index work? It pays when a defined weather value, such as rainfall at a named station over a set period, falls below a threshold. There is no assessment on your field. The downside: if it rains at the station but not on your land, nothing is paid. ### When do I need to take out cover? It depends on insurer and crop. Frost cover for orchards and vineyards must be in place before the frost period, hail cover can often still be arranged in spring. Subsidy applications have their own state deadlines. ### Can I get the paperwork in English? Policy terms and subsidy forms are issued in German. We explain the terms in English and help you fill in what is needed. ### Why use a broker? Because perils, deductibles, values per hectare and index rules vary widely, and subsidy eligibility depends on exactly those details. We obtain quotes, check them against your state's rules and support you with claims. We are paid by the insurer. ## 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-crop-insurance.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.