Professional Indemnity Insurance in Germany: Which Professions Must Be Covered (and Minimum Sums)

No, professional indemnity insurance is not a general requirement in Germany. It is mandatory only for two groups: chamber-regulated professions, whose professional chamber demands proof of cover, and certain trades for which a statute orders the cover. For every other profession, the protection is voluntary.

The obligation arises in two ways. First, directly through a statute, such as the Trade Regulation Act for insurance intermediaries. Second, through the professional chamber, which makes proof of insurance a condition of admission, as with lawyers or doctors. The federal government lists the affected professions in its register of rights and obligations. Which professions belong on that list is covered in the next section. The matching minimum sums follow in the table below.

Professional indemnity insurance and professional liability insurance describe the same product in Germany: the Berufshaftpflichtversicherung. UK insurers say professional indemnity, US insurers say professional liability or errors and omissions (E&O) — German insurers use one word for all of them. If a client contract demands "professional liability insurance in Germany", a Berufshaftpflicht policy is what satisfies it.

One German split has no direct English equivalent. Advisory professions whose mistakes cause purely financial damage — lawyers, tax advisors, brokers — often carry a specialised variant called Vermögensschadenhaftpflicht (VSH), the financial loss liability insurance. General business risks like a visitor injury fall under the separate Betriebshaftpflicht (public liability). The comparison of all three covers shows which one a contract or chamber actually demands. Whether the cover is voluntary or compulsory for your profession is exactly what the rest of this guide answers — including for self-employed professionals and freelancers.

Professional indemnity insurance is mandatory above all for chamber-regulated professions and for trades licensed under Section 34 of the Trade Regulation Act. These include legal and business professions, healthcare professions, planning professions, plus intermediaries and a few licensed trades. In each of these cases, proof of cover is the condition for practising the profession at all.

The overview below groups the main mandatory professions by their legal basis. It is not exhaustive, but it covers the most common cases.

1. 1Legal and business professions (through the chamber) lawyers and notaries (chamber or official duty under the Federal Lawyers' Act (BRAO) and the Federal Notaries' Act (BNotO)), tax advisors (Tax Advisory Act) and auditors (Public Auditors Act).
2. 2Healthcare professions (through professional codes and social law) doctors and dentists (the professional codes of the regional medical associations), pharmacists (state-level rules) and midwives (effectively required through the midwifery care contract under § 134a SGB V).
3. 3Planning professions (through the state chamber) architects and consulting engineers, depending on the relevant state architects' or engineers' act (more on this below).
4. 4Intermediaries and trades (directly by statute) insurance intermediaries (§ 34d GewO), financial investment brokers (§ 34f GewO), estate agents, property managers and property developers (§ 34c GewO), the security trade (§ 34a GewO) and debt collection service providers (§ 12 RDG).

The common thread is always the same: before granting a licence or permit, the competent authority requires proof of cover. Without that proof, there is no professional admission. The statutory minimum sum insured that applies to each of these professions is shown in the table in the next section.

Where professional indemnity insurance is mandatory, the legislator usually also sets a minimum sum insured, meaning the amount for which cover must exist as a minimum. The figures sit in specific statutes such as the Federal Lawyers' Act (BRAO), the Public Auditors Act (WPO) or Book Five of the Social Code (SGB V). The table summarises the main lower limits. For lawyers specifically, see our guide to professional indemnity insurance for lawyers.

No, there is no single nationwide requirement for architects and engineers. The obligation comes from the architects' or engineers' act of the relevant federal state and from the professional code of the state chamber. That is why the scope and the minimum sum insured differ from state to state.

You often read about a 'Germany-wide requirement'. That is imprecise. Unlike for lawyers or intermediaries, no single federal law governs professional indemnity insurance for the planning professions. The states are responsible. North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, anchors the requirement in the Building Chambers Act NRW. Other states have their own rules, some with different minimum sums for bodily injury and property damage.

In practice this means anyone entered in the chamber as an architect or engineer must provide proof of cover according to the rules of their state chamber. So ask your competent state chamber directly which sum applies to you. In its service register, the federal government explicitly refers to these state and chamber rules.

A second point is often forgotten: clients and property developers frequently require proof of cover in the contract as well. And because planning errors often trigger pure financial losses, consulting and reviewing engineers should also look at financial loss liability insurance (see below).

For the state-by-state minimum sums and what cover costs, see our guide to professional indemnity insurance for architects.

Yes. Insurance intermediaries must hold professional indemnity insurance. Section 34d of the Trade Regulation Act requires it as a condition of the trade licence and of registration in the intermediary register (Vermittlerregister). Financial investment brokers face a comparable obligation under Section 34f of the Trade Regulation Act. Without this proof, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce grants no licence.

The level of cover is set by European law. Under the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) and its German implementation in § 12 VersVermV (Insurance Mediation Regulation), the professional indemnity insurance of insurance intermediaries has had to cover at least €1,564,610 per claim and €2,315,610 per year since the EIOPA indexation of October 2024. These amounts are fixed across the EU and are adjusted regularly by EIOPA in line with price developments. Financial investment brokers have their own lower limit, which is not EU-indexed, of €1,276,000 per claim and €1,919,000 per year (§ 34f GewO with § 9 FinVermV).

Here we speak from our own experience: DigiCare is itself an insurance broker registered with the Chamber of Industry and Commerce under § 34d GewO, publicly verifiable in the intermediary register, and carries exactly this statutory professional indemnity insurance. That is why we advise independently and under the supervision of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), never as a comparison portal.

The situation is similarly strict for the trades under § 34c GewO: estate agents, property managers and property developers also need the appropriate proof of insurance or security for their licence. Anyone working in these areas without cover risks their trade licence.

No, ordinary employees usually do not need their own professional indemnity insurance. They are covered by their employer's business or professional liability insurance. On top of that, the employee liability privilege under German labour law protects them. Your own policy only pays off once you have a sideline business, management responsibility, or self-employed work on your own account.

The liability privilege works like this: if an employee causes damage on the job, the employer is liable first under the internal apportionment of damages. For bodily injury among colleagues, § 105 SGB VII (Book Seven of the Social Code) covers this as well. The employee is only held fully liable in cases of gross negligence or intent. For slight negligence, the business carries the risk.

That is why a personal professional indemnity policy is rarely necessary for employees. It is different in management positions. Managing directors, board members, authorised officers (Prokuristen), and compliance and data protection officers are often personally liable for financial losses arising from management decisions. For them there is D&O insurance (directors and officers insurance), which covers exactly this management liability risk; the people who ask us about it most are newly appointed GmbH managing directors. Anyone who is employed and also self-employed on the side needs their own policy for the self-employed part.

Three products are constantly confused. They cover different risks and follow different rules on whether they are mandatory. The federal government lists all three in its service register. The table shows the differences at a glance. We've summarised the difference between Berufshaftpflicht and Betriebshaftpflicht in a dedicated guide.

Without the required professional indemnity insurance, mandatory professions may not practise. Without proof of cover, there is no licence or permit, and existing licences can be suspended. Anyone who is not subject to the insurance requirement is not penalised, but is personally liable with their private assets in the event of a claim.

For mandatory professions, proof of cover is the entry ticket. Without it, the chamber or the authority grants no licence. For panel doctors and medical care centres, the licence can even be suspended if the cover lapses. § 95e SGB V provides for this explicitly. In practice this means a ban on practising until the cover is back in place.

For freelancers with no such obligation, it is different. They pay no penalty and lose no licence. Their risk is a different one: if they make a mistake, they are personally liable under § 823 BGB (German Civil Code), meaning with their private assets. On top of that comes a business risk, because more and more clients require proof of cover before a project starts. Without a policy, you drop out of the tender process.

For freelancers without a chamber, professional indemnity insurance is voluntary. IT contractors, graphic designers, copywriters, consultants, translators and interpreters face no legal obligation. The cover still makes sense, because a single advisory mistake can quickly become expensive and clients increasingly ask for proof.

In advisory and creative work in particular, bodily injury is rare, while pure financial losses are common. Faulty code, a wrong translation in a contract, or a late delivery can cause a client a large financial loss. As a self-employed person, you are personally liable for that mistake. This is exactly where professional indemnity insurance steps in.

A second reason is the market: large clients and agencies often require proof of cover before they award a contract. A policy becomes a door-opener for work. How high the premiums are depends on the profession, turnover and sum insured. You will find concrete figures and worked examples in our guide What does professional indemnity insurance cost?. If you want to take out the cover, our professional liability insurance page walks you through the options that fit.

Whether professional indemnity insurance is mandatory is decided by your profession alone. Chamber-regulated professions and trades under § 34 GewO cannot avoid it, and a fixed statutory minimum sum insured applies to them. Employees are covered through their employer. All other self-employed people decide voluntarily, but should take the liability risk seriously. First check which group you fall into, then choose the cover according to your contract volume. For an overview of benefits and how to take out a policy, see our professional liability insurance.