# Farm insurance in Germany: what the farm package covers and where it stops > If you buy, lease or inherit a farm in Germany, you take on a home, a workshop, a warehouse, livestock housing and a business in one place. German insurers cover this with a farm package, often called a Hof-Police: farm liability, buildings, contents including animals and stored produce, and loss of income after property damage. Crops in the field and outbreaks of animal disease are outside the package and need their own policies. Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-farm-insurance.php Updated: 2026-11-11 ## What does a German farm package include, and what is left out? It has four modules: farm liability including liability for your animals, the buildings, the contents (machinery, stored feed and harvest, livestock) against fire, storm and other named perils, and loss of income after such damage. Left out are hail, frost and drought on standing crops (crop insurance), animal disease and the death of individual animals from illness (livestock insurance) and machinery breakdown. Registered tractors need their own motor liability policy. ## At a glance - **Compulsory?:** No. Only registered vehicles need motor liability insurance - **Modules:** farm liability, buildings, contents with livestock and stores, loss of income - **Typical liability limit:** EUR 5 to 10 million combined for bodily injury and property damage - **Indemnity period:** usually 12 months for loss of income, sometimes extendable to 18 or 24 - **Separate policies for:** standing crops, animal disease and mortality, machinery breakdown ## One contract, four modules Most German insurers sell farm cover as a package with modules you choose. Liability pays for damage the farm causes to others. Buildings cover protects barns, livestock housing, machinery sheds and usually the farmhouse. Contents cover takes in everything movable: machinery and equipment, feed and harvested produce in store, and the animals, as long as they are lost to fire, lightning, storm or another insured peril. The fourth module is the one most often skipped. After a barn fire the property cover pays for rebuilding, but not for the milk that cannot be delivered for months or for renting replacement housing. That is what loss of income cover (Ertragsausfall) is for, and it pays only for the agreed indemnity period. Livestock housing is rarely rebuilt and restocked in under a year. ## Liability: animals, spraying and side businesses Under section 833 of the German Civil Code (BGB) the keeper of an animal is liable for the damage it causes. For animals kept to earn a living the law grants relief: the keeper is not liable if he can show that the animals were supervised with proper care. The burden of proof is his, and in practice it comes down to things like the condition of the fence. When cattle get onto a main road, serious injuries are likely, which is why limits of EUR 5 to 10 million are appropriate. The second question is whether the policy describes the farm as it operates today. A farm shop, holiday flats, livery horses, contract work for neighbours, winter road clearing for the municipality, solar panels and biogas plants are included, capped or excluded depending on the insurer. The same goes for spray drift onto a neighbour's crop and for water pollution from slurry, diesel or silage effluent. Sort these out before signing, because the insurer will look at them first after a claim. ## Buildings and contents: reinstatement value, animals and wiring Farm buildings are large, often old and expensive to replace. What matters is whether the policy pays reinstatement value (Neuwert) and whether the insurer waives the underinsurance rule. Without that waiver, every claim is reduced in proportion if the sum insured was set too low. For old barns, debris removal and the extra cost of meeting current building rules matter as well. Electricity is the most common identified cause of farm fires: in a 2012 analysis by the German Institute for Loss Prevention (IFS) it accounted for 23 percent of the farm fires investigated. Many policies therefore require regular inspection of the electrical installation, and missing an inspection can reduce the payout. For animals, check the detail: fire and lightning are standard, while death from ventilation failure in closed housing is usually a separate extension. ## Where crop and livestock insurance begin The farm package covers the harvest only once it is brought in and stored. While grain, maize or fruit is still in the field, only crop insurance responds, meaning hail cover or multi-peril cover for hail, storm, heavy rain, frost and drought. It is similar with animals. The package replaces animals killed by fire, lightning or storm. If the veterinary authority orders a cull after a disease outbreak, the public animal disease fund (Tierseuchenkasse) pays the value of the animals up to statutory maximums. The income lost afterwards is covered only by a separate disease business interruption policy, and the death of a valuable individual animal by livestock mortality insurance. ## What is covered - Bodily injury and property damage to third parties arising from the farm - Keeper's liability for farm animals, including escaped grazing stock - Personal liability of the farming family, included in many packages - Farm buildings and usually the farmhouse against fire, escape of water, storm and hail - Machinery, equipment and fittings as contents - Feed, harvested produce and supplies in store - Livestock lost to fire, lightning and explosion, with storm depending on the policy - Loss of income and extra expenses after insured property damage - Debris removal, demolition and firefighting costs - Environmental liability for slurry, diesel and crop protection products in normal quantities, depending on the policy ## What is not covered - Hail, frost, drought and heavy rain on standing crops (crop insurance) - Animal disease and death of individual animals from illness or accident (livestock insurance) - Machinery breakdown and operator error (machinery insurance) - Registered tractors and trailers on the road (motor liability) - Flood and other natural hazards unless expressly included - Side businesses that are not named in the policy - Damage caused intentionally - Wear and tear and gradual deterioration of buildings ## Who needs it - Full-time arable, grassland and livestock farms - Part-time farmers, whose personal liability policy excludes the farm - Farms with a shop, holiday lets or livery horses - Buyers of a German farm whose bank requires proof of buildings cover - Successors taking over a family farm and its existing policy ## Who does not need it - Owners who have let all their land and keep no animals: homeowner's buildings cover and property owner's liability are usually enough ## What it costs There is no meaningful average premium for a German farm. An arable holding without animals and a dairy unit with new housing are different risks, and insurers price them on area, livestock numbers and building values. No independent price comparison for farms is published, so we do not quote sample figures. **What drives the premium:** - Type of farming: arable, livestock, special crops or mixed - Area farmed and number of animals - Reinstatement value, construction and age of the buildings - Modules and perils chosen, above all natural hazards and loss of income - Side businesses such as a farm shop, holiday lets, contract work or energy production - Excess and claims history _Your premium is known once we have obtained a quote based on your area, livestock and building values._ ## The policy levels on the market - **Liability only:** Farm liability including animals, with buildings and contents left in older separate contracts. Cheap, but gaps between contracts only show up in a claim. - **Package with property modules:** Liability, buildings and contents in one contract against fire, escape of water, storm and hail. The right core for most farms. - **Full package:** Adds loss of income with a sufficient indemnity period, natural hazards, an underinsurance waiver and extensions for side businesses. For livestock farms and high building values. ## How to recognise a good policy | Criterion | Minimum standard | Strong policy | Why it matters | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Liability limit | EUR 5 million combined | EUR 10 million combined or more | A road accident with escaped cattle can leave several people seriously injured. | | Side businesses | contract work and direct sales up to a turnover cap | every activity actually carried out is named in the policy | Only the farm described in the contract is insured. | | Spray drift and environment | environmental liability for normal storage quantities | spray drift and environmental damage cover expressly included | Crop protection and slurry can damage neighbouring crops and watercourses. | | Reinstatement and underinsurance | reinstatement value for buildings in good repair | reinstatement value with underinsurance waiver and rebuilding elsewhere | With too low a sum insured, every claim is cut proportionally. | | Livestock in contents | fire, lightning, explosion | also storm, electrocution and suffocation after ventilation failure | In closed housing animals die quickly once ventilation stops. | | Loss of income | 12 months indemnity period | 18 to 24 months, including replacement housing and bought-in feed | Planning, permits and construction often take more than a year. | | Natural hazards | storm and hail | flood, heavy rain and weight of snow included | Large roofs and sheds are exposed to snow load and cloudbursts. | | Electrical inspection duties | regular inspection by a qualified electrician required | clear intervals, extended after a clean inspection | A missed inspection can cost part of the payout after a fire. | ## Insurers on the German market Farm business in Germany is written mainly by insurers with rural roots: mutuals, public insurers and the cooperative banking group. The list describes the German market and says nothing about which insurers we work with. - **R+V**: insurer of the German cooperative banks, bundles farm risks in its AgrarPolice - **LVM**: mutual from Münster with farming origins, sold through its own agencies - **Allianz**: agricultural business through agents and brokers - **Versicherungskammer Bayern**: public insurer in Bavaria and the Palatinate - **VGH**: public insurer in Lower Saxony - **Provinzial**: public insurer within the savings banks group - **Mecklenburgische**: mutual insurer with its own agricultural line - **Concordia**: mutual insurer based in Hanover 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 - **Short circuit sets the barn on fire** (six to seven figures, depending on the building): Fire is the core of buildings and contents cover. Whether the payout is enough depends on reinstatement value and the underinsurance waiver. - **Ventilation fails, animals suffocate** (the value of the animals affected): Suffocation after ventilation failure is not fire damage. Basic packages leave it open, strong ones include it expressly. - **Cattle escape and cause a road crash** (up to millions where people are injured): Keeper's liability is part of farm liability. The insurer also checks whether you can show proper supervision. - **Hail flattens the wheat in the field** (up to a full year's harvest): No farm package insures standing crops. That is what hail and multi-peril crop insurance are for. - **Spray drifts onto the neighbour's crop** (the yield of the damaged crop): Drift damage is capped or tied to conditions in some packages. It gets expensive when the neighbour farms organically. - **Disease outbreak, farm under restriction** (months without revenue): The animal disease fund pays the value of culled animals up to maximum rates. Lost income from disease is at most a limited extra in the package and belongs in a separate policy. ## Myth or truth - „Farmers in Germany are required by law to hold farm liability insurance." ✘ False. There is no general duty. Only registered vehicles need motor liability cover. Liability itself is unlimited, so going without is not sensible. - „For farm animals the keeper's liability is less strict than for a pet dog." ✔ True. Under section 833 sentence 2 BGB the keeper of an animal kept for his livelihood is not liable if he proves proper supervision. The proof is his to deliver. - „The farm package also pays when hail destroys crops in the field." ✘ False. Stored produce is insured, standing crops are not. The field needs crop insurance. - „Livestock is insured against fire as part of the farm contents." ✔ True. The herd counts as farm contents. The policy pays for insured perils, not for illness or epidemic disease. - „A registered tractor is covered by the farm's liability policy." ✘ False. Registered vehicles need their own motor liability policy. Only working machines exempt from registration can be included in farm liability. ## Common mistakes - Leaving building sums insured unchanged while construction costs rise - Not declaring a new farm shop, holiday flat or livery yard - Assuming the package pays for hail in the field or disease in the herd - Skipping loss of income, or agreeing too short an indemnity period - Missing the electrical inspection the policy requires - Taking over a farm without having the policy transferred and reviewed ## FAQ ### Is farm liability insurance compulsory in Germany? No, there is no statutory duty. Given the liability for animals, machinery and land, no farm should run without it. The only compulsory cover is motor liability for registered vehicles. ### I only farm part-time. Does my personal liability policy cover it? As a rule it does not. German personal liability policies exclude business and farming risks. Even a few hectares or a handful of cattle call for farm liability cover. ### Are my animals insured under the farm package? Yes, as part of the contents against the insured perils, mainly fire and lightning, with storm or suffocation after ventilation failure depending on the policy. Illness, epidemic disease and accidents to individual animals belong to livestock insurance. ### Does the package pay for hail? For buildings and roofs yes, if storm and hail are insured. For crops in the field no, that takes hail or multi-peril crop insurance. ### What is the difference between Ertragsausfall and Ertragsschaden? Ertragsausfall in the farm package follows property damage such as a fire. Ertragsschaden insurance pays when animal disease or official restrictions stop production, even if nothing was destroyed. Livestock farms often need both. ### Is the tractor included? Registered tractors and trailers have their own motor liability policy. As contents, machinery is insured against fire or storm but not against breakdown or operator error. Slow working machines that need no registration can be included in the farm liability. ### What happens if my cattle escape and cause an accident? The liability insurer examines whether you are liable, pays justified claims and defends unjustified ones. For farm animals liability falls away if you can prove proper supervision, so a documented, regularly checked fence is worth a great deal. ### Are holiday lets and a farm shop included automatically? Not automatically. Many packages include them up to a number of beds or a turnover cap, others need an endorsement. Declare any side business before it starts. ### Can I get the policy documents in English? German insurers issue farm policies and wordings in German, and German law applies. We go through the contract with you in English so you know what each module does before you sign. ### Why use a broker for a farm package? We compare the contract with what actually happens on your farm, check the joins with crop, livestock and machinery cover, and stay with you through a claim. Gaps are common after extensions and conversions. ## 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-farm-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.