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Partnership is the future.

Growing and thriving together.
132
Employees
9
Countries
14122
Members
74
Insured assets (EUR)

Strong values for strong members.

Because security is a matter of trust.

Responsibility

As a specialist insurer and market leader, we bear a high level of responsibility for the green industry. We strive to reliably be the best security service provider for all our members – especially when it matters most.

Transparency

We make risks visible – and therefore security feasible. Because we show our members effective risk management tools. We also create transparency about our services and processes, decisions and goals.

Sustainability

We contribute to the transformation of horticulture, the economy and society in an ecologically, economically and socially responsible way. Sustainability has been a fundamental value throughout our more than 175-year history.

Gartenbau-Versicherung’s boards.

Committed to working together to navigate the company and its members safely into the future.

As the operational body of the mutual insurance company, the Board of Directors is responsible for managing the business of Gartenbau-Versicherung. The top management is therefore instrumental in supporting the development of Gartenbau-Versicherung, is responsible for the entire risk management and is the primary public representative of the insurance company.

Christian Senft

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Christian Senft has been the chairman of the board of Gartenbau-Versicherung since August 2022. His responsibilities include insurance operations, marketing and collaborative projects. Christian Senft joined the company in 2008 as an assistant to the Board of Directors, was made authorized signatory for Southern Europe in 2013, and was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2016. A Master of Science, he studied horticulture at the Technical University of Munich (Weihenstephan) and at the Università di Bologna in Italy.

Dr. Dietmar Kohlruss was appointed to the Board of Directors of Gartenbau-Versicherung in 2019. Previously, he held the position of managing director of an actuarial consulting firm for property/casualty and accident insurers. With a doctorate in mathematics, his areas of focus include accounting and finance, actuarial mathematics and reinsurance as well as human resources.

Dr. Dietmar Kohlruss

Member of the Board of Directors

The Supervisory Board consists of nine persons elected by the General Assembly of Member Representatives. The term of office is three years, re-election is permitted. The duties of the Supervisory Board include overseeing the management of the company, auditing the annual financial statements, and appointing and employing the members of the Board of Directors.

Frank
Werner

Horticulture entrepreneur Frank Werner has been a member of the Supervisory Board since 2007 and has held the position of Chairman since 2017. He and his brother Ralf are the fourth generation to run the production company for flowers and ornamental plants Werner & Werner – Mein kleiner Garten in the Cologne-Bonn area. Frank Werner is also chairman of the Bundesverband Zierpflanzen (German Ornamental Plants Association).

The Berchtenbreiter family business has been in operation for over 130 years. Hermann Berchtenbreiter has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Gartenbau-Versicherung since 2008 and is active as the President of Bayerischer Gärtnerei-Verband e.V. (Bavarian Gardeners’ Association).

Hermann
Berchtenbreiter

Lothar
Dahs

As the longest-serving member, Lothar Dahs has been on the Supervisory Board since 1990, and has been Vice Chairman since 2007. The owner of Jüngsfelder Qualitätsbaumschulen Heinrich Dahs & Co is an honorary member of the Board of Directors of Baumschulverband NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia Tree Nursery Association) in the Association of German Tree Nurseries.

Together with her husband, she manages Hagdorn Tomaten company in the  area of Stuttgart, which has been established as a family business in horticulture for 20 years. Karin Hagdorn has been a member of the Supervisory Board since 2024.

Karin
Hagdorn

Ute
Martin

Ute Martin has been running the family business Kinnemann & Martin together with her husband since 1992. In the same year, she became a member of the Supervisory Board of Gartenbau-Versicherung and remains a member to this day.

Hanspeter Meyer’s Schweizer Meyer Orchideen AG produces 400,000 orchids in many exclusive varieties. He has been a member of the Supervisory Board since 2009.

Hanspeter
Meyer

Tobias
Müller

Tobias Müller, an economist and insurance specialist, was elected to the Supervisory Board in 2021. He is familiar with the company through his consulting activities and contributes in-depth knowledge of the insurance industry.

Jens Schachtschneider was elected to the Supervisory Board in 2016. In the perennial nursery he runs with his sons, about 2,000 species and varieties are cultivated in various pot sizes.

Jens
Schachtschneider

Beate
Schönges

Sustainability plays a major role for horticultural entrepreneur Beate Schönges and her ornamental plant business Schönges GbR, which she runs together with her husband. Beate Schönges has been a member of the Supervisory Board since 2020.

The General Assembly of Member Representatives is the supreme body of a mutual insurance company, which is the corporate form of Gartenbau-Versicherung. Once a year, the elected member representatives meet under the leadership of the Chairman of the Supervisory Board to reach decisions on fundamental issues of corporate policy. The General Assembly of Member Representatives is made up of forty member representatives from different regions of the company’s business area. Each member representative additionally has an elected deputy.

Member representatives Location Deputy
Inga Balke Nützen Jessica Mayer, Lauffen am Neckar
Andreas Beier Mannheim Stephan Sinn, Lustadt
Wilhelm Böck Neufarn Andreas Evers, München
Gerard de Regt Westerstede Carolin Melle, Ganderkesee
Hans Fleischle Murr Werner Metzger, Schönaich
Bernd Freese Großefehn Steffi Rogge, Westoverledingen
Jan Gärtner Drebach Thomas Rost, Dresden
Pierre Goby Holling (FR) Andreas Huben, Ladenburg
Ute Gorges Babenhausen Mario Mertz, Hadamar
Hartmut Goldschmidt Güsten Gerhard Langenberg, Alsleben
Jochen Engelhard Alzenau Uwe Schmidt, Hessisch Lichtenau
Gert Höfer Dresden Heidi Landmann, Ebersbach
Franz-Josef Hoffacker Wesel Hubert Brandkamp, Isselburg
Josef Hoffmann Wachtendonk Matthias Draek, Straelen
Andreas Huben Ladenburg Oliver Mewes, Hyères
Bernd Hubert Emskirchen Anja Gessnitzer, Wilhermsdorf
Gerhard Kiemle Bietigheim-Bissingen Heiko Hagdorn, Eberdingen
Andreas Knaup Röthlein André Busigel, Albertshofen
Karl Lampert Geiselhöring Martin Wagle, Pfarrkirchen
Heinz Markl Tuntenhausen Heinrich Zitzelsberger jun., Ingolstadt
Frank Mildenberger Germersheim Thomas Hohn, Hornbach
Daniel Moll Leinfelden-Echterdingen Jörg Vatter, Bempflingen
Christoph Nagelschmitz Wesseling Josef Engels, Pulheim
Robert Pake Bad Harzburg Johannes Schmidt, Königslutter
Marc Peters Kranenburg Michael Hannen, Kleve
Thomas Psenner I-Bozen Andreas von Danwitz, Tönisvorst
Andreas Rathenow Großbeeren André Krötz, Oberkrämer
Karl Rehner Bad Kreuznach Helmut Koch, Kaiserslautern
Manfred Rieke Recke Kurt Dominik, Hörstel
Andreas Rombach Glottertal Franc Gerloff, Gernsbach
Herbert Runge Torgelow Thomas Heinemann, Rostock
Johannes Scheffler Opfenbach Willy Enßlin, Nördlingen
Maria Schlieker Billerbeck Hubert Schräder, Greven
Christoph Schönges Korschenbroich Stefan Bongartz, Mönchengladbach
Olaf Schröpfer Erfurt Christiane Bielefeld-Remde, Weimar
Klaus Schürg Wissen Peter Hallen, Erkelenz
Philipp Schwab Ingolstadt Johannes Schmitt, Poxdorf
Konrad Schwarz Bornheim Volker Janssen, Viersen
Max Schwarz-Zurkinden CH-Villigen Nicolas Desarzens, CH-Pomy
Rolf Stengel Balingen Dieter Schweizer, Filderstadt
Felix Trauth Karlsruhe Hans Keller, Malterdingen

Our members are what make us special.

As a mutual insurance company, the community is our greatest strength.

Our service portfolio designed to keep you safe.

Because your risks are our core competence.

Tailor-made

You want neither too much nor too little protection? Our risk consultants offer customized advice and protection packages. You decide.

Reliable

You need to be able to rely on your partner when it counts. When things don’t go as planned, you can rely on us. Unbureaucratic, prompt and personal.

End-to-end services

Our insurance coverage is only part of the services we offer: With comprehensive advice and information, we also provide you with preventative support for risk management.

Stronger together.

Together with our partners we make an excellent team.

Two insurance companies – one solution.

Benefit from insurance coverage from the AGRORISK® Group.

For more than 25 years, the two independent German insurance companies Vereinigte Hagelversicherung and Gartenbau-Versicherung have complemented each other within the AGRORISK® Group: Vereinigte Hagel as an insurance partner for agricultural crops production and Gartenbau-Versicherung as a specialist insurer for European horticulture in greenhouses and open-field crops. Insurance solutions are also developed collaboratively. Both cooperating partners market their products in Europe under the AGRORISK® brand: https://www.agrorisk.de/

Facts, figures, data.

If you want to know more – discover important details in our annual and risk reports.

Sustainability Report

Which countries does Gartenbau-Versicherung operate in?

Gartenbau-Versicherung currently operates in 9 countries. In addition to its domestic market in Germany, it also provides protection for operations in Italy, France and the Netherlands, as well as in Luxembourg, Switzerland, Greece, Belgium and Poland.

What are Gartenbau-Versicherung's core competencies?

Our core competency is to identify, assess and mitigate the risks unique to horticulture. We guarantee to provide competent advice on business risks, tailor-made insurance cover and, in the event of damage or loss, fast and fair compensation.

Where does your horticultural expertise come from?

In order to meet the requirements of our role, a highly qualified team with in-depth knowledge of the industry is essential. More than half of all Gartenbau-Versicherung’s employees have completed vocational training and/or have a degree in horticulture. Together with insurance know-how and many years of experience, the result is unique expert knowledge.

What makes a mutual insurance company special?

Our mutual insurance company’s sole obligation is to serve the interests of its members. Gartenbau-Versicherung is therefore not dependent on any outside capital interests and does not seek to maximize profits. Instead, our focus is on the quality of our service and advice – we do everything we can to provide security for our members. Our assistance is fast and unbureaucratic, especially in the event of damage or loss.

What is the history of Gartenbau-Versicherung?

It all began in Berlin. In the middle of the 19th century, several hailstorms had caused considerable damage to horticultural businesses there. But none of the agricultural insurance companies were willing to accept nurseries. They considered the risks to be too great and too complex. “Then let’s just start our own insurance company!” The story of Gartenbau-Versicherung must have begun something like this. In an unprecedented act of self-help, the gardeners overcame many obstacles. On May 10, 1847, Deutsche Hagelversicherungsgesellschaft für Gärtnereien zu Berlin (German Hail Insurance Company for Nurseries in Berlin) was founded.