# Restaurant insurance in Germany: liability, contents and income in one policy > A restaurant, bar or hotel combines open flames, hot fat, glass, refrigeration and a room full of guests every night. In Germany these risks are usually insured in a hospitality package: business liability, contents, business interruption and add-ons such as glass and refrigerated stock. Whether it pays depends on the limits, the extensions for your type of venue and the duties written into the wording. Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-restaurant-insurance.php Updated: 2026-11-13 ## Is insurance compulsory for a restaurant in Germany? No German law requires a restaurant or bar to carry insurance. In practice landlords, breweries that supply or finance the venue and banks almost always ask for proof of liability and contents cover before signing a lease or loan. If you let rooms, you are also liable for guests' belongings under § 701 of the German Civil Code (BGB) even when you are not at fault. ## At a glance - **Compulsory?:** No, but landlords, breweries and banks usually require it - **Core covers:** business liability, contents, business interruption - **Common add-ons:** glass, refrigerated stock, electronics, closure by health authority - **Innkeeper's liability:** § 701 BGB, usually EUR 600 to 3,500 per guest, cash and valuables EUR 800 - **Pandemics:** excluded in most current wordings ## Why a hospitality business needs its own wording Few trades pack so many hazards into so little space: deep fryers and extraction hoods, pressurised beer lines, cold rooms full of perishable food and dozens of strangers on the premises every evening. A standard shop policy does not reflect that, which is why German insurers sell dedicated packages for restaurants and hotels with special conditions for the trade. The parts depend on each other. After a kitchen fire, contents insurance pays for the combi oven, the furniture and the stock, while business interruption pays the lost gross profit and the costs that keep running, such as rent, wages and loan repayments. Leave one part out and the business reopens without reserves, if it reopens at all. ## Guests, their belongings and the innkeeper's rule Business liability pays justified claims and defends unjustified ones, from a guest slipping on a wet floor to food poisoning after a wedding dinner. For hospitality the extensions matter: damage to rented premises, coats handed in at the cloakroom, lost keys and catering away from the venue are limited or missing in basic policies. Hotels and guesthouses face a stricter rule. Under §§ 701 and 702 BGB the innkeeper is liable for guests' belongings without fault, up to one hundred times the nightly room rate, at least EUR 600 and at most EUR 3,500, for cash and valuables EUR 800. The cap falls away if staff caused the loss or the guest handed the item over for safekeeping. A sign saying no liability is accepted does not change this. ## Closure cover after Covid: where things stand Many German restaurant owners found in 2020 that their business closure policy did not pay. On 26 January 2022 the Federal Court of Justice (IV ZR 144/21) held that a policy's list of diseases and pathogens can be exhaustive; Covid 19 was not on it, so there was no claim. Every case turned on the exact wording. Current wordings generally exclude pandemics and closure orders for whole sectors. Closure cover still has a purpose for the case that does hit individual venues: the health authority closes your premises after a salmonella finding, bans staff from working or orders stock to be destroyed. ## What is covered - Bodily injury and property damage to guests, suppliers and passers by - Food poisoning caused by spoiled food or drink - Hotel guests' belongings under § 701 BGB, depending on the policy - Damage to rented premises, including fire and escape of water - Fittings, kitchen, stock and supplies against fire, burglary, escape of water, storm and hail - Lost gross profit and running costs after an insured property loss - Glass breakage of shop windows, display cases, mirrors and ceramic hobs - Spoiled chilled and frozen food after a refrigeration failure ## What is not covered - Deliberately caused damage - Sector wide closures in a pandemic, excluded in almost all current wordings - Losses after a breach of agreed safety duties, such as an extraction hood that was never cleaned - Cash above the agreed limits or outside the safe - Normal wear and tear of kitchen equipment - Flood and heavy rain if natural hazards are not included - Fines after a food hygiene inspection ## Who needs it - Restaurants, pubs and country inns - Cafés, bistros, bakery cafés and takeaways - Bars, clubs and nightclubs - Hotels, guesthouses and inns with rooms - Caterers and businesses with delivery or a food truck ## Who does not need it - Single drinks stands at a festival where the organiser shows liability cover for all stands ## What it costs The premium depends on the type of venue, the value of the contents and the package you choose. A breakfast café and a bar with dancing of the same size are rated very differently. A reliable figure needs turnover, seating and sums insured. **What drives the premium:** - Type of venue: restaurant, café, bar, nightclub or hotel - Sum insured for fittings, kitchen and stock - Annual turnover, the basis for liability and business interruption - Add-ons such as glass, refrigerated stock, electronics and closure cover - Location, construction and security of the building, including flood exposure - Deductible and claims history _We do not publish sample premiums, because published figures cover single types of venue and depend heavily on the value of the contents. Your premium is fixed only in the quote we obtain for you._ ## The policy levels on the market - **Basic package:** Business liability and contents against fire, burglary, escape of water and storm. Business interruption short or missing, no glass or refrigerated stock. Enough for a small takeaway. - **Hospitality package:** Dedicated conditions for restaurants with damage to rented premises, cloakroom, food poisoning, twelve months of business interruption, glass and refrigerated stock. The right fit for most restaurants, cafés and bars. - **Premium all risks:** Contents on an all risks basis with natural hazards, electronics, kitchen machinery breakdown, closure cover and a waiver of underinsurance. For hotels and venues with expensive kitchen equipment. ## How to recognise a good policy | Criterion | Minimum standard | Strong policy | Why it matters | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Liability limit | EUR 3 million combined | EUR 5 to 10 million combined | Food poisoning at a large event affects many guests at once. | | Damage to rented premises | fire and escape of water up to EUR 500,000 | up to the full limit | Most operators lease their premises, and a kitchen fire damages the landlord's building. | | Waiver of underinsurance | not agreed | agreed, for example by floor area | Without it, kitchen equipment bought later and not declared leads to a proportional cut. | | Indemnity period | 12 months | 18 to 24 months with additional costs | After a major fire, surveys, permits and refitting often take more than a year. | | Refrigerated stock | failure of your own equipment | also power cuts in the public grid | A neighbourhood power cut is more common than a broken compressor. | | Gross negligence | reduction according to fault | waiver up to the sum insured | A fryer left on overnight is quickly treated as grossly negligent. | ## Insurers on the German market Most large German property insurers write hospitality business, many through dedicated packages for restaurants and hotels. They differ in which venues they like to take; nightclubs are not welcome everywhere. The list describes the German market and says nothing about which insurers we work with. - **Allianz**: trade packages for many sectors, sold through agents and brokers - **AXA**: commercial lines through agents and brokers - **HDI**: part of the Talanx group, focus on small business - **R+V**: insurer of the German cooperative banks - **Zurich**: German entity of the Zurich group, based in Frankfurt - **Helvetia**: German branch of the Swiss Helvetia group, commercial lines through brokers - **Gothaer**: commercial lines through agents and brokers - **Mannheimer**: property insurer from Mannheim with specialist schemes, sold through brokers 163 insurers supervised by BaFin, the German regulator, are licensed for this class of insurance. (Allgemeine Haftpflicht, Feuer, Hagel-, Frost- und sonstige Sachschäden). Source: BaFin company database, 2026-09-18; EU insurers without a German office excluded. ## Typical claims and who pays - **Fat fire in the extraction hood** (EUR 20,000 to well over 100,000): Contents cover pays for kitchen and fittings, only business interruption pays for lost income. Without proof of cleaning, a reduction is possible unless waived. - **Cold room fails on a Sunday** (around EUR 2,000 to 10,000 of stock): Spoiled stock is paid only by the refrigerated stock add-on. Strong policies also pay after a power cut in the public grid. - **Guest falls on the cellar stairs** (a few thousand euros, six figures with lasting harm): The core case for business liability, as far as the venue is responsible. - **Hotel guest's laptop goes missing** (up to EUR 3,500 under § 702 BGB): The hotel is liable without fault up to the legal cap. Basic policies include innkeeper's liability only with a small limit. - **Health authority closes the kitchen** (days to weeks of turnover): Only closure cover pays, and only if the pathogen is covered. The daily benefit is usually limited to a set number of days. - **Lockdown for the whole sector** (months of turnover): Sector wide closures in a pandemic are excluded in current wordings. No policy on the market reliably covers this. ## Myth or truth - „German law requires every restaurant to have liability insurance." ✘ False, there is no general duty for restaurants. In practice landlords, breweries and banks nearly always ask for proof. - „A sign saying the cloakroom is unattended protects a hotel." ✘ False, innkeeper's liability under § 701 BGB can only be waived in advance above the statutory caps. - „A hotel is liable for guests' belongings even when it is not at fault." ✔ True, that is innkeeper's liability under § 701 BGB. It is capped, usually at EUR 600 to 3,500, and at EUR 800 for cash and valuables. - „Closure cover paid out for every Covid lockdown." ✘ False, the Federal Court of Justice upheld exhaustive pathogen lists in 2022, and many owners received nothing. - „A tenant needs separate cover for the fittings." ✔ True, the landlord's buildings insurance covers the building only, not your fittings, stock or improvements. ## Common mistakes - Not updating the contents sum after buying new kitchen equipment - Insuring a pub as a restaurant and then running DJ nights - Having no record that the extraction hood was cleaned - Leaving the day's takings in the till overnight instead of the safe - Assuming closure cover pays for any order by the authorities ## FAQ ### What cover does a restaurant need at the very least? Business liability and contents cover for fittings, kitchen and stock. We also recommend business interruption, because after a fire rent, wages and loans keep running while no money comes in. ### Is a restaurant liable for a coat stolen from the cloakroom? Without accommodation, only if it took the coat into its care, for example against a ticket, or was at fault. Hotels are subject to the stricter innkeeper's liability under § 701 BGB. Good hospitality packages cover both. ### Does the insurance pay if a guest gets food poisoning? Business liability pays medical costs, loss of earnings and damages for pain and suffering if the venue is responsible, and defends unjustified claims. If the health authority then closes the premises, only closure cover pays for that. ### Would closure cover pay in a new pandemic? As a rule, no. Current wordings exclude pandemics and sector wide closures, and in 2022 the Federal Court of Justice accepted exhaustive lists of pathogens. What remains insured is the closure of your own venue because of a listed pathogen. ### Is outdoor seating covered? Often only partly. Furniture, parasols and heaters outside are frequently insured against a few perils with a separate limit, and simple theft may be excluded. If you have a large terrace, agree it explicitly. ### Do I need my own contents cover if I lease the premises? Yes. The landlord's buildings insurance pays for the building only. Your fittings, stock and the improvements you paid for yourself are protected only by your own policy. ### Can I take out German restaurant insurance with limited German? Yes. The policy and its conditions are in German and German law applies, but we explain the wording and handle claims with the insurer. What matters is that the proposal describes your business accurately. ### Why use a broker for restaurant insurance? Because the differences lie in extensions, duties and limits, not in the insurer's name. We describe your business as it really runs, with terrace, events and delivery, compare the wordings and stand by you when a claim comes. ## 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-restaurant-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.