Are landslides and subsidence covered by insurance in Germany?

Extra cost of the whole natural hazard add-on on an existing policy, from published market analyses. There is usually no separate price for landslides alone.

In German policy wording, Erdrutsch means earth or rock sliding or falling for natural reasons. A typical case is a slope that gives way after weeks of rain and pushes into the house below or takes part of the foundation with it.

Erdsenkung means the ground sinking over natural cavities. These form when water dissolves gypsum, salt or limestone underground. Some policies call a sudden collapse above such a cavity Erdfall.

The key word is natural. As soon as people have dug, mined or loaded the ground, natural hazard cover does not pay.

In former mining regions such as the Ruhr, Saarland or parts of Saxony, the ground is full of man made cavities. If it sinks above them, this is mining damage (Bergschaden), not a natural hazard.

Under the Federal Mining Act the company that ran the mine is liable. If your house lies within the area affected by a mine, the law presumes that subsidence and cracks come from the mining, which makes your claim easier.

If the company no longer exists, a fallback fund of the mining industry can step in, and several federal states run arbitration boards. Very old mines without a legal successor are harder and usually need a case by case review.

Clay and loam soils shrink when they dry out in hot summers. One corner of the house drops and cracks open in walls and floor slab. There is no cavity, so the definition of subsidence does not fit.

Most German policies therefore do not pay for this. A few tariffs go further, but that is the exception and has to be written into the contract.

If you buy or build on clay, prevention matters more: lead rainwater away from the house and do not plant large trees right next to the walls, because their roots draw extra water from the soil.

The building is covered: foundation, walls, roof and pipes, plus clearing up, demolition and rebuilding as far as the policy names these costs.

The land itself is not insured. Stabilising the slope, refilling earth or relaying the garden is usually not paid, or only within tight limits for outdoor areas. After a landslide this can be a larger bill than the damage to the house.

Damage visible before the policy started, such as existing cracks, is excluded. Many policies also have a waiting period after you take out the cover.

On flat land with no soluble rock below, the risk of landslides and subsidence is low. For that reason alone you would not need the add-on.

But it comes as a package with heavy rain, flooding, sewer backflow, snow load and earthquakes. Heavy rain in particular hits houses far from any river, so the decision is rarely about landslides alone.

If you rent a flat on an upper floor, you hardly need natural hazard cover on your contents because of landslides. It matters more on the ground floor and for belongings kept in the cellar.