In Germany it is recommended that you have a home content insurance if you have valuable items and cannot afford to buy them all new in case they been stolen, burned, or destroyed cause of water, storm or if chosen via other natural hazards.
Bicycles can also be included in the contract against theft outside of your home with an extra fee.
Some insurers even offer handicraftsmen services as an assistance coverage which need to be selected if wanted.
What is covered in the household content insurance in Germany?
Fire insurance cover extends to damage caused by fire, direct lightning strikes, explosion, impact or crash of aircraft, its parts or cargo, as well as consequential damage caused by smoke, soot, and extinguishing.
An example: Due to a technical defect, a television set catches fire, and a house fire occurs. The apartment is flooded as the fire department extinguishes the fire. In this case, home contents insurance covers both the damage to the household contents that was caused directly by the fire and the consequential damage caused by smoke and extinguishing water.
In the case of pipe water damage, insurance does not always pay. Typical causes of damage that insurers cover is burst pipes and burst hoses on washing machines and dishwashers. Frost damage to sanitary facilities is also replaced.
Damage caused by burglary is insured, but simple theft is not. Vandalism and robbery are also insured. So, if the perpetrator breaks open doors or breaks windows, it is a burglary and therefore an insured event.
But anyone who leaves windows and doors unlocked makes it all too easy for intruders and must be responsible for the consequences themselves.
A new door lock is provided if keys for apartment doors are lost, for example due to burglary or robbery. It also happens that burglars, angry at not having found anything useful, destroy the furnishings or smear the walls with paint. There is insurance cover for this vandalism damage.
If someone threatens you with violence or even uses it and takes items from you, this damage is insured (this is robbery).
The insured storm risk includes damage caused by wind force 8 or higher at most insurance products in Germany.
In the event of hail damage, the insurer pays regardless of the wind strength. Typical causes of damage: A storm covers the roof, hailstones break windows.
However, many home contents insurance policies do not cover damage caused by heavy rain, groundwater, or flooding. There are supplementary policies for this, called natural hazard insurance.
This can be included into the home content insurance in Germany.
Where are household goods insured?
If you take out home contents insurance, this only applies to the apartment specified in the insurance certificate. The apartment also includes rooms in outbuildings – including garages. Study rooms that are used exclusively for work or commercial purposes do not belong to the apartment unless they can only be accessed via the apartment. But there are tariffs who include this till a particular sub limit.
Household contents that are temporarily outside the home – usually no longer than three or up to six months – are insured worldwide as part of external insurance with compensation limits.
This could be, for example, the clothes that you took to the dry cleaners. Or a camera that you took on a trip and that was stolen in a hotel room break-in.
During a move, the household contents of the old and new apartment are insured. The insurance cover in the previous apartment ends usually no later than two months after the start of the move. You should notify your insurance company or us in good time if you move.
If you would like an offer for a home content insurance in Germany, please fill out the form below and we will send you offers based on your given information.
We also advice you to check the liability insurance, since in Germany the law has no limits towards your personal financial capability. In case you also did not have your health insurance sorted for Germany use our experience.
If you would like an offer for a home content insurance in Germany, please fill out the form below and we will send you offers based on your given information.