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Are Christmas presents covered by contents insurance in Germany?

In short

Yes. Christmas presents are covered by contents insurance in Germany while they are in your home, for example against fire, burst pipes, burglary and robbery. Away from home only the outside cover (Außenversicherung) applies, often capped at 10 percent of the sum insured. Theft from a car is only covered with a specific clause after a break-in, and jewellery, cash and gift cards have their own limits.

Are Christmas presents covered by contents insurance in Germany?

What it costs

What contents insurance costs in Germany and how much the outside cover pays on the way, based on published examples.

ExampleTypical range
2 rooms, 65 square metres, sum insured about EUR 42,000about EUR 70 to 140 a year
75 square metres, mid tariff zone, sum insured about EUR 49,000about EUR 90 to 120 a year
80 square metres, depending on the cityabout EUR 23 to 54 a year
Outside cover with EUR 50,000 sum insured and a 10 percent limitup to EUR 5,000 away from home

Guide values as of November 2026 from published examples.

The amounts in the worked example, including the limit for theft from a car,

are guide values from everyday quoting practice; the limits in your own policy are what counts.

Worked example

Visiting the parents, car broken into overnight

A family leaves presents worth EUR 1,500 in the locked boot overnight, including a necklace worth EUR 400. In the morning the window is smashed.

Policy without a clause for theft from vehiclesEUR 0
Policy with the clause, assumed limit EUR 1,000, jewellery excludedEUR 1,000
Left for the family to bearEUR 500

Without the clause the family bears the whole loss. Had the presents been inside the parents' house, the outside cover would have protected them against burglary.

Presents at home

Anything you buy and keep at home is part of your contents. That applies to the new tablet in the wardrobe just as much as to the wrapped parcels under the tree. You are covered against the risks in your policy, mainly fire, lightning, burst pipes, storm and hail, burglary, robbery and vandalism after a break-in. Payment is normally based on replacement value.

If guests bring presents over the holidays, these are also covered by your contents insurance while they are in your household. That is what the German insurers' model terms say. The only exception there is property belonging to your subtenants.

SituationDoes contents insurance pay?
Fire under the tree destroys the presentsyes, at replacement value
Burglary, presents stolenyes, valuables only up to their limits
A present falls and breaksno, that is not an insured risk
Parcel stolen from the doorstepnot under basic cover, there was no break-in
Presents taken from a car that was broken intoonly with a clause for theft from vehicles
Bag of presents stolen at the Christmas marketno, simple theft

On the way: what the outside cover does

If you take presents to family or friends, the outside cover applies. It protects your belongings worldwide as long as they are only temporarily away from your home. Your policy states how long that may be.

The payout is limited, often to 10 percent of the sum insured. With EUR 50,000 that is EUR 5,000. For burglary, someone must have broken into a locked room or a locked container. Robbery is covered, simple theft is not. If you leave the bag in a café or someone opens your backpack in a crowd, you get nothing.

Presents in the car and in the boot

A car is not a room in a building. Theft from a car is therefore only covered if your policy has a separate rule for it. In the German insurers' model terms, it requires that the locked vehicle was broken into or opened with false keys or tools. The same applies to a locked roof box.

Not every policy includes this rule, and where it does, a separate and usually low limit applies. Cash and jewellery are often excluded. Put presents in the boot rather than on the back seat, and do not leave them in the car overnight.

Jewellery, watches and gift cards

Jewellery, items made of gold or platinum, cash and money loaded onto cards count as valuables under the model terms. They have an overall limit as a percentage of the sum insured and, outside an approved safe, lower limits for each type. Your policy sets the exact figures.

If there is an expensive watch or a valuable ring under the tree, check these limits beforehand. If they are too low, you can often raise them for an extra premium or insure the item separately.

Ordered online: the parcel on the doorstep

If an order is lost or damaged in transit, that is normally not your risk. When you buy from a business as a consumer, the risk only passes to you on delivery, unless you arranged the shipping yourself (section 475 (2) of the German Civil Code). Contact the seller in that case.

If a delivered parcel is stolen from your doorstep, that is simple theft. Basic contents cover does not pay because nobody broke in. If you order a lot, have parcels sent to a parcel locker, a shop or a neighbour.

Step by step

  1. Check your sum insured: expensive presents increase the value of your contents.
  2. Look in your policy to see whether theft from vehicles is included and up to what amount.
  3. Compare the limits for valuables with the value of jewellery and watches.
  4. Keep receipts and photos of the presents.
  5. After a burglary or robbery, inform the police and your insurer straight away and send a list of what was taken.

Checklist

  • Sum insured covers the replacement value, including new purchases
  • Outside cover: you know the limit and the time frame
  • Theft from vehicles included if you travel with presents
  • Limits for jewellery and cash are high enough for expensive gifts
  • Presents in the car only in the locked boot and not overnight
  • Delivery address chosen so parcels are not left on the doorstep

Common mistakes

  • Leaving presents visible on the back seat
  • Assuming contents insurance pays for any theft on the way
  • Buying an expensive ring without knowing the jewellery limit
  • Handing over the receipt with the gift without keeping a photo of it

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Are presents brought by guests covered by my policy?

Yes, while they are in your household.

Under the model terms, other people's property in your household counts as contents.

Does contents insurance pay if a present breaks while unwrapping?

No.

Dropping or breaking something is not an insured risk.

If a guest damaged it, their personal liability insurance may pay.

Is a gift card covered?

Money loaded onto cards counts as a valuable under the model terms and falls under those limits if

it is stolen in a burglary.

Who pays if the parcel never arrives?

When you buy from a business, normally the seller, because the risk only passes to you on delivery.

Do I have to report expensive presents to my insurer?

Usually not item by item.

If the value of your contents rises noticeably, adjust the sum insured,

otherwise you risk being underinsured.

Are presents covered in a hotel room?

Through the outside cover against burglary from the locked room and against robbery,

not against simple theft.

Sources

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