Occupational safety for insurance
An insurer employs claims handlers, sales staff and loss adjusters, often in separate units and at different locations. For occupational safety, that means a risk assessment covering at least two very different job profiles. The field force needs as much attention as the office building, even though it is rarely there.
- Insurance
Office staff and field staff: two risk profiles in insurance
In the office building the subject is screen work, as in any larger office. Field staff, by contrast, spend their working day in the car, in other people's homes and in damaged buildings, where different protective measures apply.
Company cars and pool vehicles are work equipment. Under DGUV Regulation 70 on vehicles, a competent person must check them for safe operating condition as needed and at least once a year, and the result must be recorded in writing (section 57). If the field force's cars are seldom at head office, this check needs a fixed date in the annual calendar. According to the VBG, the check on a car also counts as done if a service scheduled by the manufacturer at an authorised workshop covered occupational safety and found no defects.
In loss inspections, the hazard depends on the damage. After water damage, mould can add a biological hazard; after a fire, there is dust from fire residues and a structure that may have been weakened. A short check before every appointment helps: type of damage, whether the building has been cleared, the protective equipment needed, and how the inspector can be reached during the visit.
Insurers and occupational safety: responsibilities and duties
| Subject | Insurer |
|---|---|
| Accident insurance institution | Usually the Verwaltungs-Berufsgenossenschaft (VBG), also for insurance agencies and brokers. The membership notice is what counts |
| Economic sector | WZ 65.1 insurance, WZ 66.2 for agencies and brokers |
| Support group under DGUV Regulation 2 | III for both sectors: above 20 employees 0.5 hours of basic support per employee and year, shared between specialist and occupational physician, at least 20 per cent each |
| From the first employee | Risk assessment, safety training, first-aid organisation, appointment of an occupational safety specialist and an occupational physician |
| Company vehicles in the field | Check by a competent person as needed, at least once a year (section 57 DGUV Regulation 70) |
| Above 20 employees | Occupational safety committee meeting once per calendar quarter (section 11 ASiG) |
| From 50 employees in office work | Safety officers (section 22 SGB VII, since 29 May 2026) |
Employed field staff count towards every threshold, even if they rarely set foot in the office building. Self-employed agents running their own business are not your employees. Part-time staff count proportionally towards the threshold of 20: up to 20 hours a week as 0.5, up to 30 hours as 0.75.
The four focal points of an insurer's risk assessment
- Loss inspections. Fire, water and storm damage is assessed where it happened. That means damaged buildings with risks of collapse, falls and hazardous substances, in other words conditions like a building site.
- Driving in the field. Anyone driving to appointments every day spends a substantial share of working time in the car. That is the area with the highest accident risk, and commuting accidents are reportable.
- Home visits and lone working. Appointments in other people's homes happen alone, sometimes in contentious situations after a claim has been declined. Signing out, checking back in and criteria for calling it off have to be settled.
- Large screen estates indoors. Identical workstations in large numbers mean setup errors and glare repeat across the whole estate. The offered eyesight screening has to be offered demonstrably.
It is worth giving field work its own section in the risk assessment, broken down into driving, home visits and inspections, each with measures and named people responsible. The reporting routes after an accident on the road are described in Accidents at work in the office: reporting and deadlines.
What a walkthrough at an insurer reveals, indoors and in the field
Indoors the familiar picture appears: recurring monitor heights, glare from window fronts, screening offered without evidence. For field work, everything is regularly missing: no assessment of driving, no rules for loss inspections in damaged buildings, no personal protective equipment and no arrangement for lone working during home visits.
Safety training for an insurer's office and field staff
Office staff get the screen-work part with a focus on adjusting their own workstation and on whether screening is actually offered. Field staff get a block of their own: conduct in damaged buildings, protective equipment, criteria for calling it off when a hazard is apparent, rules for driving and breaks, lone working during home visits, and the reporting route after an accident while out.
Field staff seldom attend in-person sessions at the office. Whether their block can be held online, and what has to be documented if so, is covered in Online safety training and home office: what is allowed.
Related
- External occupational safety specialist: Support models and hours for head office and field force.
- Occupational safety for banks and savings banks: The related financial sector, with branches and cash.
- Occupational safety for real estate and property management: Another sector with property appointments outside the office.
- 7 risk assessment mistakes in offices: Common gaps and how to avoid them.
- Outsourcing the risk assessment: How the process works when the assessment is prepared externally.
- First-aider calculator: How many first aiders must be present among office staff.
Legal basis
- DGUV Regulation 2 (occupational physicians and safety specialists)
- Occupational Safety Act (ASiG)
- Social Code Book VII (SGB VII), statutory accident insurance
Frequently asked questions
Which employers' liability insurance association covers insurance companies?
Usually the VBG. Its hazard tariff lists insurance companies and pension funds as well as insurance agencies and insurance brokers. The membership notice is binding for your company.
Is an accident on the way to a loss inspection an accident at work?
Yes. Journeys made on the employer's instructions, for example from the office or from one appointment to the next damaged property, are part of the insured activity. An accident on the direct route between home and the place of work is a commuting accident (section 8 (2) SGB VII). Both are covered by statutory accident insurance.
Do field staff need protective equipment for loss inspections?
Yes, if the risk assessment shows a need, and the employer provides it. After fires and water damage, safety shoes, a hard hat and respiratory protection against dust or mould spores may be called for, depending on the situation. Decide once what equipment is kept in the car, and explain it in the safety training.
Other business types
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