# Insuring a home care service or care home in Germany: liability at the bedside and in the client's home > Care work happens on other people's bodies and in other people's homes, often with their keys, money and hearing aids. A fall, a wrongly given tablet or a lost master key quickly leads to claims no provider can pay from its own pocket. In Germany, the answer is a combined business and professional liability policy written for the actual services you offer. Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-care-provider-insurance.php Updated: 2026-11-13 ## Is liability insurance compulsory for care providers in Germany? There is no single federal law that requires every home care service or care home to hold liability insurance. Care home law is made by the sixteen federal states, and supply contracts with the long term care funds are negotiated state by state, so whether proof of cover is demanded depends on your state and contract. Liability itself is unlimited under the German Civil Code, and the provider answers for mistakes made by its staff. Consumer advice centres tell families to ask for confirmation of cover before handing over a key. ## At a glance - **Compulsory?:** no general federal duty, check state law and your contract with the care funds - **Typical limit:** often EUR 3 million combined for bodily injury and property damage - **Key extension:** loss of clients' keys and access cards, at least EUR 50,000 for keys used at work - **Staff injuries:** covered by the statutory accident insurer for care (BGW), with recourse risk for the employer - **Premium basis:** places, clients served, staff numbers or turnover ## Home care and residential care carry different risks A home care service (ambulanter Pflegedienst) works in clients' flats. Its everyday losses are lost door keys, glasses broken during washing and falls during a transfer from bed to wheelchair. Accidents with the service's cars belong to motor insurance, not to this policy. A care home (Pflegeheim) adds a building, a kitchen, visitors and residents who bring their own belongings. Safety on stairs and paths, food hygiene, missing jewellery and the supervision of people with dementia all come into play. A policy that only describes a home care service does not automatically cover a residential home. ## Restraint, bed rails and supervision In Germany, bed rails, belts or locked doors used on a person under legal guardianship need approval from the guardianship court (§ 1831 BGB). Restraint without approval can lead to damages claims and criminal investigations against staff and managers, while too little supervision is blamed when a resident wanders off and is hurt. Liability insurance defends or pays such civil claims as long as there is no intent. It does not pay criminal defence lawyers. That is the job of a separate criminal legal expenses policy (Strafrechtsschutz), which care providers need more often than most businesses. ## Staff, agency workers and volunteers Injuries to your own staff are handled by the statutory accident insurer, not by your liability policy. If management caused the accident by gross negligence, the insurer can reclaim its costs from the employer (§ 110 SGB VII), and good policies include this recourse. Agency nurses, freelancers, trainees and volunteers are not covered by every policy. Make sure they are named as insured persons, including claims between insured persons, especially when staffing shortages mean many shifts are filled externally. ## What is covered - Bodily injury to clients, residents and visitors, for example after a fall or a care error - Damage in clients' homes during care visits - Loss of clients' keys and access cards up to the agreed limit - Damage to glasses, hearing aids, dentures and wheelchairs in your care - Loss of residents' belongings up to the agreed limit - Medical treatment care on a doctor's order, if named in the policy - Personal liability of employees, agency staff and volunteers on duty - Recourse claims by health and care funds and the statutory accident insurer ## What is not covered - Intentional harm and abuse - Medical treatment that only a doctor may carry out - Accidents with service vehicles, which fall under motor liability - Criminal defence costs without separate cover - Theft by your own employees - Fire or water damage to your own building - Fines and penalties ## Who needs it - Home care services offering basic and medical treatment care - Care homes, residential homes and senior residences - Day care, night care and short term care - Assisted living providers and supported shared flats - Providers of intensive and ventilation care at home ## Who does not need it - Freelance nurses working alone, who need their own professional liability policy ## What it costs There is no fixed price. A small companion service without medical care and a hundred bed home with an intensive care unit are rated very differently. Insurers calculate by places, clients served, staff or turnover and look closely at the services offered. **What drives the premium:** - Home care, day care or residential care - Number of places or clients and of staff - Medical treatment care, intensive care, secure dementia units - Limits for keys, residents' property and financial loss - Deductibles, often separate ones for keys and items in your care - Claims history _We do not publish sample premiums, because published figures rarely state what is included. Your premium is fixed only in the quote we obtain for you._ ## The policy levels on the market - **Basic cover:** Business and professional liability with EUR 3 million and small limits for keys and residents' property. At most a starting point for a small companion service. - **Care package:** Written for care providers, with medical treatment care, damage to aids, keys at EUR 50,000 or more and social insurance recourse. Right for most home care services and homes. - **Provider group:** One contract for several sites and service types with high limits, financial loss, data protection and cover for new sites, often with criminal legal expenses. For larger operators. ## How to recognise a good policy | Criterion | Minimum standard | Strong policy | Why it matters | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Limit of indemnity | EUR 3 million combined | EUR 5 million or more without low sublimits | One serious care error with lifelong care needs can reach seven figures. | | Lost keys | EUR 50,000 for keys used at work | EUR 100,000 or more, including access cards and your own locking system | One lost key ring of a home care round can open dozens of flats. | | Clients' property | items in your care with a small sublimit | aids, belongings and valuables with their own limits | Glasses, hearing aids and dentures are the most frequent everyday losses. | | Medical treatment care | named in the policy | including intensive and ventilation care if offered | Activities not described are the first point of dispute after a claim. | | Insured persons | employees | agency staff, freelancers, trainees and volunteers, claims between insureds | Without them, an agency nurse faces a claim alone. | | Social insurance recourse | included | included without a sublimit | After a grossly negligent workplace accident the accident insurer claims its costs back. | | Financial loss and data protection | small limit | own limit, including handling residents' cash | Care providers process health data and often manage pocket money. | ## Insurers on the German market Many large German property and casualty insurers write care providers, often through dedicated health and social care schemes. The list describes the German market; it says nothing about which insurers we work with. - **Allianz**: offers for care professions and health businesses, agents and brokers - **HDI**: part of the Talanx group, small business and health professions - **R+V**: insurer of the German cooperative banks - **VHV**: commercial lines mainly through brokers - **Haftpflichtkasse**: mutual specialising in liability, including health professions - **Zurich**: German entity of the Zurich group, based in Frankfurt - **Markel**: specialty insurer based in Munich, broker distribution only - **Versicherungskammer Bayern**: public sector insurer, also for church and municipal operators 127 insurers supervised by BaFin, the German regulator, are licensed for this class of insurance. (Allgemeine Haftpflicht). Source: BaFin company database, 2026-09-18; EU insurers without a German office excluded. ## Typical claims and who pays - **Key ring of the round is lost** (often five figures for new locking systems): Basic policies set small limits for clients' keys. Several apartment blocks need strong cover. - **Resident falls during a transfer** (from a few thousand euros to six figures): Bodily injury from care is the core case, as far as the provider is liable. - **Hearing aid broken while washing** (around EUR 1,000 to 3,000): Aids in a carer's hands are items in your care and need their own extension. - **Health fund reclaims its costs** (often five figures): Recourse by a health fund after a care error is a liability claim and is handled like any other. - **Investigation after restraint** (lawyers' fees, four to five figures): Liability insurance does not pay criminal defence. That needs Strafrechtsschutz. - **Employee steals jewellery** (depends on value): Intentional acts by your own staff are excluded and belong to fidelity insurance. ## Myth or truth - „A federal law requires every German care provider to hold liability insurance." ✘ False, there is no such federal law. Care home law is state law, and contracts with the care funds may ask for proof. Working uninsured would still be reckless. - „The provider is liable for its carers' mistakes." ✔ True, the provider answers for the fault of its staff, and carers can also be liable personally. - „Staff injuries are covered by the business liability policy." ✘ False, the statutory accident insurer pays. Liability cover only matters if that insurer takes recourse for gross negligence. - „Grossly negligent care errors are still insured." ✔ True, in liability insurance cover is lost only for intent and, depending on the policy, knowing breach of duty. - „The liability insurer pays the lawyer when prosecutors investigate." ✘ False, it handles civil claims. Criminal defence needs separate legal expenses cover. ## Common mistakes - Services not fully described - Key limit too low - Agency staff forgotten - Weak care records - Admitting liability on the spot ## FAQ ### Who is liable when a carer makes a mistake? Towards the client, primarily the provider, which is responsible for its staff. The carer can also be pursued personally, which is why staff should be insured under the same policy. ### Is every fall in a care home a liability claim? No. A home must take reasonable care, not prevent every fall. Liability depends on whether risks were recognised and addressed, and the insurer defends unfounded claims. ### What does a lost client key cost? For a single lock, little. For a central locking system in an apartment block, often five figures. That is why key loss needs its own, adequate limit. ### Is medical treatment care covered automatically? Not in every policy. Injections, wound care and giving medication on a doctor's order should be named. Medical treatment by doctors is excluded. ### Do we need criminal legal expenses cover? For care providers it is strongly advisable. Deaths and restraint often lead to investigations, and liability insurance does not pay defence lawyers. ### Are volunteers and trainees insured? If the policy names them. Check that claims between insured persons are included too. ### What about driving clients? Accidents with the service car fall under motor liability. The liability policy can cover help when getting in and out of the car if agreed. ### Does the policy cover missing jewellery? Only if residents' belongings and valuables are included, usually with a low limit. Theft by your own employees is excluded. ## 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-care-provider-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.