Liability insurance covers you financially from damages, injuries, and financial loss caused to another third party, along with any associated legal expenses. It’s becoming a popular, and in some countries mandatory, form of insurance.
Although not a legal requirement in the country, 83% of Germans have liability insurance and 79% consider it a crucial type of insurance. This makes Germany one of the countries with one one of the highest penetration rates for liability insurance. In the US, by contrast, only 20% of American homeowners opt for extra coverage through an umbrella liability policy.
In this post, we’ll unpack the latest data on liability insurance, the costs coverage and the size of the global liability insurance market.
North America remains the dominant region by market share, driven by strong commercial adoption and high litigation risk.
Source: Precedence Research, TechSci Research
Here is the breakdown of the 5 countries with the largest liability insurance markets:
Source: Agency Checklists, market.us, CEIC Data, Asian Business Review, France Assureurs, Statista
Here is the breakdown of the most liability insurance purchased by small business owners:
Source: BusinessDasher, Investopedia, The Zebra, Next, New York Post
Case Type | Defense Success Rate |
---|---|
Medical Malpractice | 81% |
Product Liability | 62% |
Premises Liability | 61% |
Motor Vehicle | 39% |
Out-of-court settlements remain the dominant resolution method. Defense outcomes vary widely by liability type, with medical cases showing the highest defense success rate.
Sources: Case Pacer, On the map, Advocate Magazine, NOLO, Risk & Insurance
Germany has one of the world’s highest liability insurance penetration rates despite no legal mandate.
Source: BusinessDasher, Investopedia, The Zebra, Next
Motor vehicle incidents accounted for nearly half of all U.S. liability payouts in 2023.
Sources: Case Pacer, On the map, Advocate Magazine, NOLO, Risk & Insurance
While most payouts remain modest, exceptional jury awards (known as “nuclear verdicts”) are increasing in frequency and size:
In these cases, large-scale product liability claims drive the majority of high-value jury awards.
Source: On the map, Brown and Crouppen, The Zebra, Risk & Insurance, InsuranceBusiness, Allianz
In the United States, the average annual cost of general liability insurance is approximately $360. Average annual increases in the price of American liability insurance are typically between 5% and 10%.
Here is the estimated cost of different types of liability insurance in the United States:
In Germany, liability insurance is one of the cheaper forms of popular insurance with average policy tariffs ranging from €3.30 to €6.60 per month.
Source: Forbes, Feather Insurance, Brown and Brown
“Damaged my rental walls. Claim approved fast with simple email communication. ”
Zohra
“Feather handled my claim smoothly after an incident. I didn’t worry about a thing.”
Manish
“Got all my liability insurance questions answered in less than 20 minutes, and signed up right after.”
Sandra