diff --git a/include/silo/query_engine/query_parse_sequence_name.h b/include/silo/query_engine/query_parse_sequence_name.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ff8996411
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/silo/query_engine/query_parse_sequence_name.h
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include <optional>
+#include <string>
+
+#include "silo/database.h"
+
+namespace silo {
+
+template <typename SymbolType>
+std::string validateSequenceName(std::string sequence_name, const silo::Database& database) {
+   CHECK_SILO_QUERY(
+      database.getSequenceStores<SymbolType>().contains(sequence_name),
+      fmt::format(
+         "Database does not contain the {} Sequence with name: '{}'",
+         SymbolType::SYMBOL_NAME,
+         sequence_name
+      )
+   );
+   return sequence_name;
+}
+
+template <typename SymbolType>
+std::string validateSequenceNameOrGetDefault(
+   std::optional<std::string> sequence_name,
+   const silo::Database& database
+) {
+   if (sequence_name.has_value()) {
+      return validateSequenceName<SymbolType>(sequence_name.value(), database);
+   }
+
+   CHECK_SILO_QUERY(
+      database.getDefaultSequenceName<SymbolType>().has_value(),
+      "The database has no default " + std::string(SymbolType::SYMBOL_NAME_LOWER_CASE) +
+         " sequence name"
+   );
+
+   const auto default_sequence_name = database.getDefaultSequenceName<SymbolType>().value();
+   return validateSequenceName<SymbolType>(default_sequence_name, database);
+}
+
+}  // namespace silo
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/include/silo/test/query_fixture.test.h b/include/silo/test/query_fixture.test.h
index 20f9b809f..e918ffaf7 100644
--- a/include/silo/test/query_fixture.test.h
+++ b/include/silo/test/query_fixture.test.h
@@ -58,11 +58,20 @@ namespace silo::test {
                                                                                                    \
    TEST_P(TEST_SUITE_NAME##FixtureAlias, testQuery) {                                              \
       const auto scenario = GetParam();                                                            \
-      const auto result = query_engine.executeQuery(nlohmann::to_string(scenario.query));          \
-      const auto actual = nlohmann::json(result.query_result);                                     \
-      ASSERT_EQ(actual, scenario.expected_query_result);                                           \
+      if (!scenario.expected_error_message.empty()) {                                              \
+         try {                                                                                     \
+            const auto result = query_engine.executeQuery(nlohmann::to_string(scenario.query));    \
+            FAIL() << "Expected an error in test case, but noting was thrown";                     \
+         } catch (const std::exception& e) {                                                       \
+            EXPECT_EQ(std::string(e.what()), scenario.expected_error_message);                     \
+         }                                                                                         \
+      } else {                                                                                     \
+         const auto result = query_engine.executeQuery(nlohmann::to_string(scenario.query));       \
+         const auto actual = nlohmann::json(result.query_result);                                  \
+         ASSERT_EQ(actual, scenario.expected_query_result);                                        \
+      }                                                                                            \
    }                                                                                               \
-   }  // namespace
+   }  // namespace                                                                                  \
 
 struct QueryTestData {
    const std::vector<nlohmann::json> ndjson_input_data;
@@ -75,6 +84,7 @@ struct QueryTestScenario {
    std::string name;
    nlohmann::json query;
    nlohmann::json expected_query_result;
+   std::string expected_error_message;
 };
 
 std::string printScenarioName(const ::testing::TestParamInfo<QueryTestScenario>& scenario);
diff --git a/src/silo/query_engine/filter_expressions/has_mutation.cpp b/src/silo/query_engine/filter_expressions/has_mutation.cpp
index 44483febd..ba5559c74 100644
--- a/src/silo/query_engine/filter_expressions/has_mutation.cpp
+++ b/src/silo/query_engine/filter_expressions/has_mutation.cpp
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 #include "silo/query_engine/filter_expressions/symbol_equals.h"
 #include "silo/query_engine/operators/operator.h"
 #include "silo/query_engine/query_parse_exception.h"
+#include "silo/query_engine/query_parse_sequence_name.h"
 
 namespace silo {
 class DatabasePartition;
@@ -48,20 +49,12 @@ std::unique_ptr<operators::Operator> HasMutation<SymbolType>::compile(
          "Database does not have a default sequence name for {} Sequences", SymbolType::SYMBOL_NAME
       )
    );
-   const std::string sequence_name_or_default =
-      sequence_name.has_value() ? sequence_name.value()
-                                : database.getDefaultSequenceName<SymbolType>().value();
-   CHECK_SILO_QUERY(
-      database.getSequenceStores<SymbolType>().contains(sequence_name_or_default),
-      fmt::format(
-         "Database does not contain the {} sequence with name: '{}'",
-         SymbolType::SYMBOL_NAME,
-         sequence_name_or_default
-      )
-   )
+
+   const auto valid_sequence_name =
+      validateSequenceNameOrGetDefault<SymbolType>(sequence_name, database);
 
    auto ref_symbol = database.getSequenceStores<SymbolType>()
-                        .at(sequence_name_or_default)
+                        .at(valid_sequence_name)
                         .reference_sequence.at(position_idx);
 
    std::vector<typename SymbolType::Symbol> symbols =
@@ -82,7 +75,7 @@ std::unique_ptr<operators::Operator> HasMutation<SymbolType>::compile(
       std::back_inserter(symbol_filters),
       [&](typename SymbolType::Symbol symbol) {
          return std::make_unique<SymbolEquals<SymbolType>>(
-            sequence_name_or_default, position_idx, symbol
+            valid_sequence_name, position_idx, symbol
          );
       }
    );
diff --git a/src/silo/query_engine/filter_expressions/insertion_contains.cpp b/src/silo/query_engine/filter_expressions/insertion_contains.cpp
index 2ef09e92a..7077def2e 100644
--- a/src/silo/query_engine/filter_expressions/insertion_contains.cpp
+++ b/src/silo/query_engine/filter_expressions/insertion_contains.cpp
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 #include "silo/query_engine/operators/operator.h"
 #include "silo/query_engine/operators/union.h"
 #include "silo/query_engine/query_parse_exception.h"
+#include "silo/query_engine/query_parse_sequence_name.h"
 #include "silo/storage/database_partition.h"
 #include "silo/storage/insertion_index.h"
 #include "silo/storage/sequence_store.h"
@@ -55,28 +56,14 @@ std::unique_ptr<silo::query_engine::operators::Operator> InsertionContains<Symbo
       return std::make_unique<operators::Empty>(database_partition.sequence_count);
    }
 
-   std::string validated_sequence_name;
-   if (sequence_name.has_value()) {
-      validated_sequence_name = sequence_name.value();
-   } else {
-      CHECK_SILO_QUERY(
-         database.getDefaultSequenceName<SymbolType>().has_value(),
-         "The database has no default " + std::string(SymbolType::SYMBOL_NAME_LOWER_CASE) +
-            " sequence name"
-      )
-      // NOLINTNEXTLINE(bugprone-unchecked-optional-access) -- the previous statement checks it
-      validated_sequence_name = *database.getDefaultSequenceName<SymbolType>();
-   }
+   const auto valid_sequence_name =
+      validateSequenceNameOrGetDefault<SymbolType>(sequence_name, database);
+
    const std::map<std::string, SequenceStorePartition<SymbolType>&>& sequence_stores =
       database_partition.getSequenceStores<SymbolType>();
-   CHECK_SILO_QUERY(
-      sequence_stores.contains(validated_sequence_name),
-      "The database has no default " + std::string(SymbolType::SYMBOL_NAME_LOWER_CASE) +
-         " sequence name"
-   )
 
    const SequenceStorePartition<SymbolType>& sequence_store =
-      sequence_stores.at(validated_sequence_name);
+      sequence_stores.at(valid_sequence_name);
    return std::make_unique<operators::BitmapProducer>(
       [&]() {
          auto search_result = sequence_store.insertion_index.search(position_idx, value);
@@ -121,10 +108,6 @@ void from_json(const nlohmann::json& json, std::unique_ptr<InsertionContains<Sym
       json["position"].is_number_unsigned(),
       "The field 'position' in an InsertionContains expression needs to be an unsigned integer"
    )
-   CHECK_SILO_QUERY(
-      !json.contains("sequenceName") || json["sequenceName"].is_string(),
-      "The optional field 'sequenceName' in an InsertionContains expression needs to be a string"
-   )
    CHECK_SILO_QUERY(
       json.contains("value"), "The field 'value' is required in an InsertionContains expression"
    )
@@ -132,7 +115,7 @@ void from_json(const nlohmann::json& json, std::unique_ptr<InsertionContains<Sym
       json["value"].is_string() && !json["value"].is_null(),
       "The field 'value' in an InsertionContains expression needs to be a string"
    )
-   std::optional<std::string> sequence_name;
+   std::optional<std::string> sequence_name = std::nullopt;
    if (json.contains("sequenceName")) {
       sequence_name = json["sequenceName"].get<std::string>();
    }
diff --git a/src/silo/query_engine/filter_expressions/symbol_equals.cpp b/src/silo/query_engine/filter_expressions/symbol_equals.cpp
index 207ef2cc8..19c8c78cb 100644
--- a/src/silo/query_engine/filter_expressions/symbol_equals.cpp
+++ b/src/silo/query_engine/filter_expressions/symbol_equals.cpp
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 #include "silo/query_engine/operators/index_scan.h"
 #include "silo/query_engine/operators/operator.h"
 #include "silo/query_engine/query_parse_exception.h"
+#include "silo/query_engine/query_parse_sequence_name.h"
 #include "silo/storage/database_partition.h"
 
 namespace silo::query_engine::filter_expressions {
@@ -77,19 +78,12 @@ std::unique_ptr<silo::query_engine::operators::Operator> SymbolEquals<SymbolType
          "Database does not have a default sequence name for {} Sequences", SymbolType::SYMBOL_NAME
       )
    );
-   const std::string sequence_name_or_default =
-      sequence_name.has_value() ? sequence_name.value()
-                                : database.getDefaultSequenceName<SymbolType>().value();
-   CHECK_SILO_QUERY(
-      database.getSequenceStores<SymbolType>().contains(sequence_name_or_default),
-      fmt::format(
-         "Database does not contain the {} Sequence with name: '{}'",
-         SymbolType::SYMBOL_NAME,
-         sequence_name_or_default
-      )
-   )
+
+   const auto valid_sequence_name =
+      validateSequenceNameOrGetDefault<SymbolType>(sequence_name, database);
+
    const auto& seq_store_partition =
-      database_partition.getSequenceStores<SymbolType>().at(sequence_name_or_default);
+      database_partition.getSequenceStores<SymbolType>().at(valid_sequence_name);
    if (position_idx >= seq_store_partition.reference_sequence.size()) {
       throw QueryParseException(
          "SymbolEquals position is out of bounds '" + std::to_string(position_idx + 1) + "' > '" +
@@ -107,7 +101,7 @@ std::unique_ptr<silo::query_engine::operators::Operator> SymbolEquals<SymbolType
          std::back_inserter(symbol_filters),
          [&](SymbolType::Symbol symbol) {
             return std::make_unique<SymbolEquals<SymbolType>>(
-               sequence_name_or_default, position_idx, symbol
+               valid_sequence_name, position_idx, symbol
             );
          }
       );
@@ -120,7 +114,7 @@ std::unique_ptr<silo::query_engine::operators::Operator> SymbolEquals<SymbolType
          position_idx
       );
       auto logical_equivalent = std::make_unique<SymbolEquals>(
-         sequence_name_or_default, position_idx, SymbolType::SYMBOL_MISSING
+         valid_sequence_name, position_idx, SymbolType::SYMBOL_MISSING
       );
       return std::make_unique<operators::BitmapSelection>(
          std::move(logical_equivalent),
@@ -137,7 +131,7 @@ std::unique_ptr<silo::query_engine::operators::Operator> SymbolEquals<SymbolType
          position_idx
       );
       auto logical_equivalent_of_nested_index_scan = std::make_unique<Negation>(
-         std::make_unique<SymbolEquals>(sequence_name_or_default, position_idx, symbol)
+         std::make_unique<SymbolEquals>(valid_sequence_name, position_idx, symbol)
       );
       return std::make_unique<operators::Complement>(
          std::make_unique<operators::IndexScan>(
@@ -164,9 +158,9 @@ std::unique_ptr<silo::query_engine::operators::Operator> SymbolEquals<SymbolType
          symbols.end(),
          std::back_inserter(symbol_filters),
          [&](typename SymbolType::Symbol symbol) {
-            return std::make_unique<Negation>(std::make_unique<SymbolEquals<SymbolType>>(
-               sequence_name_or_default, position_idx, symbol
-            ));
+            return std::make_unique<Negation>(
+               std::make_unique<SymbolEquals<SymbolType>>(valid_sequence_name, position_idx, symbol)
+            );
          }
       );
       return And(std::move(symbol_filters)).compile(database, database_partition, NONE);
@@ -175,7 +169,7 @@ std::unique_ptr<silo::query_engine::operators::Operator> SymbolEquals<SymbolType
       "Filtering for symbol '{}' at position {}", SymbolType::symbolToChar(symbol), position_idx
    );
    auto logical_equivalent =
-      std::make_unique<SymbolEquals>(sequence_name_or_default, position_idx, symbol);
+      std::make_unique<SymbolEquals>(valid_sequence_name, position_idx, symbol);
    return std::make_unique<operators::IndexScan>(
       std::move(logical_equivalent),
       seq_store_partition.getBitmap(position_idx, symbol),
diff --git a/src/silo/test/amino_acid_insertion_contains.test.cpp b/src/silo/test/amino_acid_insertion_contains.test.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8f7eb3716
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/silo/test/amino_acid_insertion_contains.test.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+#include <nlohmann/json.hpp>
+
+#include <optional>
+
+#include "silo/test/query_fixture.test.h"
+
+using silo::ReferenceGenomes;
+using silo::config::DatabaseConfig;
+using silo::config::ValueType;
+using silo::test::QueryTestData;
+using silo::test::QueryTestScenario;
+
+nlohmann::json createDataWithAminoAcidInsertions(
+   const std::string& primaryKey,
+   const nlohmann::json& aminoAcidInsertions
+) {
+   return {
+      {"metadata", {{"primaryKey", primaryKey}}},
+      {"alignedNucleotideSequences", {{"segment1", nullptr}, {"segment2", nullptr}}},
+      {"unalignedNucleotideSequences", {{"segment1", nullptr}, {"segment2", nullptr}}},
+      {"alignedAminoAcidSequences", {{"gene1", nullptr}, {"gene2", nullptr}}},
+      {"nucleotideInsertions", {{"segment1", {}}, {"segment2", {}}}},
+      {"aminoAcidInsertions", aminoAcidInsertions}
+   };
+}
+
+const std::vector<nlohmann::json> DATA = {
+   createDataWithAminoAcidInsertions("id_0", {{"gene1", {"123:A"}}, {"gene2", {}}}),
+   createDataWithAminoAcidInsertions("id_1", {{"gene1", {"123:A"}}, {"gene2", {}}}),
+   createDataWithAminoAcidInsertions("id_2", {{"gene1", {"234:BB"}}, {"gene2", {}}}),
+   createDataWithAminoAcidInsertions("id_3", {{"gene1", {"123:CCC"}}, {"gene2", {}}}),
+};
+
+const auto DATABASE_CONFIG = DatabaseConfig{
+   .default_nucleotide_sequence = "segment1",
+   .schema =
+      {.instance_name = "dummy name",
+       .metadata = {{.name = "primaryKey", .type = ValueType::STRING}},
+       .primary_key = "primaryKey"}
+};
+
+const auto REFERENCE_GENOMES = ReferenceGenomes{
+   {{"segment1", "A"}, {"segment2", "T"}},
+   {{"gene1", "*"}, {"gene2", "*"}},
+};
+
+const QueryTestData TEST_DATA{
+   .ndjson_input_data = {DATA},
+   .database_config = DATABASE_CONFIG,
+   .reference_genomes = REFERENCE_GENOMES
+};
+
+nlohmann::json createAminoAcidInsertionContainsQuery(
+   const nlohmann::json& sequenceName,
+   int position,
+   const std::string& insertedSymbols
+) {
+   return {
+      {"action", {{"type", "Details"}}},
+      {"filterExpression",
+       {{"type", "AminoAcidInsertionContains"},
+        {"position", position},
+        {"value", insertedSymbols},
+        {"sequenceName", sequenceName}}}
+   };
+}
+
+nlohmann::json createAminoAcidInsertionContainsQueryWithEmptySequenceName(
+   int position,
+   const std::string& insertedSymbols
+) {
+   return {
+      {"action", {{"type", "Details"}}},
+      {"filterExpression",
+       {
+          {"type", "AminoAcidInsertionContains"},
+          {"position", position},
+          {"value", insertedSymbols},
+       }}
+   };
+}
+
+const QueryTestScenario AMINO_ACID_INSERTION_CONTAINS_SCENARIO = {
+   .name = "aminoAcidInsertionContains",
+   .query = createAminoAcidInsertionContainsQuery("gene1", 123, "A"),
+   .expected_query_result = nlohmann::json({{{"primaryKey", "id_0"}}, {{"primaryKey", "id_1"}}})
+};
+
+const QueryTestScenario AMINO_ACID_INSERTION_CONTAINS_WITH_NULL_SEGMENT_SCENARIO = {
+   .name = "aminoAcidInsertionWithNullSegment",
+   .query = createAminoAcidInsertionContainsQueryWithEmptySequenceName(123, "A"),
+   .expected_error_message = "The database has no default amino acid sequence name",
+};
+
+QUERY_TEST(
+   AminoAcidInsertionContainsTest,
+   TEST_DATA,
+   ::testing::Values(
+      AMINO_ACID_INSERTION_CONTAINS_SCENARIO,
+      AMINO_ACID_INSERTION_CONTAINS_WITH_NULL_SEGMENT_SCENARIO
+   )
+);
diff --git a/src/silo/test/insertion_contains.test.cpp b/src/silo/test/insertion_contains.test.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5e46ece8f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/silo/test/insertion_contains.test.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+#include <nlohmann/json.hpp>
+
+#include <optional>
+
+#include "silo/test/query_fixture.test.h"
+
+using silo::ReferenceGenomes;
+using silo::config::DatabaseConfig;
+using silo::config::ValueType;
+using silo::test::QueryTestData;
+using silo::test::QueryTestScenario;
+
+nlohmann::json createDataWithNucleotideInsertions(
+   const std::string& primaryKey,
+   const nlohmann::json& nucleotideInsertions
+) {
+   return {
+      {"metadata", {{"primaryKey", primaryKey}}},
+      {"alignedNucleotideSequences", {{"segment1", nullptr}, {"segment2", nullptr}}},
+      {"unalignedNucleotideSequences", {{"segment1", nullptr}, {"segment2", nullptr}}},
+      {"alignedAminoAcidSequences", {{"gene1", nullptr}}},
+      {"nucleotideInsertions", nucleotideInsertions},
+      {"aminoAcidInsertions", {{"gene1", {}}}}
+   };
+}
+
+const std::vector<nlohmann::json> DATA = {
+   createDataWithNucleotideInsertions("id_0", {{"segment1", {"123:A"}}, {"segment2", {}}}),
+   createDataWithNucleotideInsertions("id_1", {{"segment1", {"123:A"}}, {"segment2", {}}}),
+   createDataWithNucleotideInsertions("id_2", {{"segment1", {"234:TT"}}, {"segment2", {}}}),
+   createDataWithNucleotideInsertions("id_3", {{"segment1", {"123:CCC"}}, {"segment2", {}}}),
+};
+
+const auto DATABASE_CONFIG = DatabaseConfig{
+   .default_nucleotide_sequence = "segment1",
+   .schema =
+      {.instance_name = "dummy name",
+       .metadata = {{.name = "primaryKey", .type = ValueType::STRING}},
+       .primary_key = "primaryKey"}
+};
+
+const auto REFERENCE_GENOMES = ReferenceGenomes{
+   {{"segment1", "A"}, {"segment2", "T"}},
+   {{"gene1", "*"}},
+};
+
+const QueryTestData TEST_DATA{
+   .ndjson_input_data = {DATA},
+   .database_config = DATABASE_CONFIG,
+   .reference_genomes = REFERENCE_GENOMES
+};
+
+nlohmann::json createInsertionContainsQuery(
+   const nlohmann::json& sequenceName,
+   int position,
+   const std::string& insertedSymbols
+) {
+   return {
+      {"action", {{"type", "Details"}}},
+      {"filterExpression",
+       {{"type", "InsertionContains"},
+        {"position", position},
+        {"value", insertedSymbols},
+        {"sequenceName", sequenceName}}}
+   };
+}
+
+nlohmann::json createInsertionContainsQueryWithEmptySequenceName(
+   int position,
+   const std::string& insertedSymbols
+) {
+   return {
+      {"action", {{"type", "Details"}}},
+      {"filterExpression",
+       {
+          {"type", "InsertionContains"},
+          {"position", position},
+          {"value", insertedSymbols},
+       }}
+   };
+}
+
+const QueryTestScenario INSERTION_CONTAINS_SCENARIO = {
+   .name = "insertionContains",
+   .query = createInsertionContainsQuery("segment1", 123, "A"),
+   .expected_query_result = nlohmann::json({{{"primaryKey", "id_0"}}, {{"primaryKey", "id_1"}}})
+};
+
+const QueryTestScenario INSERTION_CONTAINS_WITH_EMPTY_SEGMENT_SCENARIO = {
+   .name = "insertionContainsWithNullSegmentDefaultsToDefaultSegment",
+   .query = createInsertionContainsQueryWithEmptySequenceName(123, "A"),
+   .expected_query_result = nlohmann::json({{{"primaryKey", "id_0"}}, {{"primaryKey", "id_1"}}})
+};
+
+const QueryTestScenario INSERTION_CONTAINS_WITH_UNKNOWN_SEGMENT_SCENARIO = {
+   .name = "insertionContainsWithUnknownSegment",
+   .query = createInsertionContainsQuery("unknownSegmentName", 123, "A"),
+   .expected_error_message =
+      "Database does not contain the Nucleotide Sequence with name: 'unknownSegmentName'"
+};
+
+QUERY_TEST(
+   InsertionContainsTest,
+   TEST_DATA,
+   ::testing::Values(
+      INSERTION_CONTAINS_SCENARIO,
+      INSERTION_CONTAINS_WITH_EMPTY_SEGMENT_SCENARIO,
+      INSERTION_CONTAINS_WITH_UNKNOWN_SEGMENT_SCENARIO
+   )
+);