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Do I need natural hazard insurance as a tenant in Germany?

In short

As a tenant you do not buy a separate natural hazard policy. You add the natural hazard module (Elementarschaden) to your contents insurance (Hausratversicherung). Your landlord insures the building, you insure your own furniture and devices. In the safe flood zones the add-on costs about EUR 18 to 27 a year. If you live on the top floor without a cellar, you can reasonably skip it.

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Do I need natural hazard insurance as a tenant in Germany?

What it costs

Average German premiums for contents insurance with and without the natural hazard module, plus the usual daily limits for hotel costs.

Example	Typical range
Contents insurance without the module, German average	about EUR 77 a year
Contents insurance with the module, flood zone 1	about EUR 95 a year, so roughly EUR 18 more
Contents insurance with the module, flood zone 2	about EUR 104 a year, so roughly EUR 27 more
Hotel costs after an insured loss	often EUR 100 to 200 a day
Flood zone 3 or 4	clearly more than EUR 27, sometimes only with a higher deductible

Guide values as of September 2026. The average premiums come from a published analysis by a German comparison portal, the daily hotel limits from a specialist article on accommodation costs. The figures for flood zones 3 and 4 are guide values from our quoting practice. Your premium depends on your address, the sum insured and the cover you choose; we obtain the exact quote for you.

Worked example

Ground floor flat, 70 square metres, cellar with washing machine and bikes

Heavy rain pushes water through the light well into the cellar and through the terrace door into the living room. Contents are damaged to the tune of EUR 6,000.

Contents insurance without the module	EUR 0, water from outside is not covered
Contents insurance with the module	EUR 6,000 of contents damage is covered
Deductible inside the module	often EUR 500 per loss
Surcharge for the module	about EUR 18 to 27 a year
Screed, heating and walls	your landlord's problem and his building insurance

With the module you carry about EUR 500, without it the full EUR 6,000. Twenty years of the module cost less than this single loss. Loss amount and deductible are guide values from our quoting practice.

The building is the landlord's, the contents are yours

Germany splits the risk in two. Your landlord holds building insurance (Wohngebäudeversicherung) for everything fixed to the house: walls, windows, doors, screed, heating and fitted floors. Your own furniture, clothes, electronics and bikes are not covered by it.

For your own belongings you need contents insurance (Hausratversicherung). Cover against natural hazards is not included automatically; it is a separate module called Elementarschaden. A standalone natural hazard policy for tenants is normally not sold in Germany.

What gets damaged	Who insures it	Which policy
Walls, windows, screed, heating	your landlord	building insurance (Wohngebäudeversicherung)
Furniture, clothes, electronics, bike	you as the tenant	contents insurance (Hausratversicherung)
A fitted kitchen you installed yourself	you as the tenant	contents insurance (Hausratversicherung)
A hotel while the flat is uninhabitable	you as the tenant	contents insurance (Hausratversicherung)
Damage to the building that you caused	you as the tenant	personal liability insurance (Privathaftpflichtversicherung)

What the add-on does for your cellar and your ground floor flat

Without the module, contents insurance pays for fire, tap water, burglary, storm and hail only. Water running into the flat from outside is not included. That is exactly what happens with heavy rain, with flooding and with sewage backing up out of the drains (Rückstau).

German flats usually come with a cellar compartment (Kellerabteil), and more value sits there than people expect: washing machine and dryer, bikes, winter tyres, tools, boxes of clothes. All of that counts as contents, but against water from outside it is only covered with the module.

In a ground floor or basement flat the water comes in through light wells, terrace doors and the front door. Then it is not only boxes in the cellar, it is your living room.

Hotel costs and rent while the flat is uninhabitable

If an insured loss makes your flat uninhabitable, contents insurance pays for temporary accommodation. Daily limits of about EUR 100 to 200 are common, together with a maximum period, often around 100 days. Only the room rate is paid; breakfast, phone and internet are yours.

Note the link: if the loss is a flood and you do not have the natural hazard module, the hotel is not covered either, because it was not an insured loss in the first place.

The rent itself is reduced under § 536 BGB for as long as the flat cannot be used properly. Report the defect to your landlord in writing and document it with photos. The landlord's own loss of rent is his problem and runs through his building insurance, not through yours.

What your landlord may put on the service charge bill

Under § 2 no. 13 BetrKV, the cost of insuring the building against fire, storm, water and other natural hazards counts as an operating cost (Betriebskosten). Your landlord may therefore pass it on to you if your rental contract provides for operating costs to be charged.

That does not mean you are insured. You pay a share for the protection of the building. Your own belongings stay unprotected until you buy the module yourself.

Cost item	Can be passed on	What it means for you
Building insurance including natural hazards	yes, if your contract says so	appears on the service charge bill, protects the building only
Liability insurance for the building	yes	protects the landlord, not your contents
Your contents insurance	no	you pay for it yourself
Your natural hazard module	no	you pay for it yourself, usually a few euros a month

When you can skip it on the top floor

Honestly: if you live on the third or fourth floor, use no cellar compartment and your address sits in flood zone 1, the benefit is small. Water does not rise that far, and sewage backup hits cellars and ground floors. Skipping the module saves about EUR 18 to 30 a year, so roughly EUR 1.50 to 2.50 a month.

That is little money for cover that can still help higher up, for example when heavy rain gets in through a leaking roof window. Decide it with three questions: do you use a cellar, is your address in a higher flood zone, and could you replace a loss of EUR 5,000 out of your own pocket?

Three times no, and skipping it is defensible. One yes, and the module belongs in your policy.

Step by step

Check your rental contract for a cellar compartment (Kellerabteil).
Ask for the flood zone of your address; we look it up in the insurers' zoning system.
Estimate the value of what you keep in the cellar and on the ground floor and add it to the sum insured.
Have the natural hazard module added to your existing contents insurance.
Mind the waiting period, often around four weeks after you sign.
Read your service charge bill: the building insurance can be passed on, your contents insurance cannot.

Checklist

The module covers flooding, heavy rain and sewage backup
Items in the cellar are included in the sum insured
Daily limit and maximum period for hotel costs are known
The deductible matches what you could pay yourself
The waiting period is over before the first storm warning

Common mistakes

Assuming your landlord's building insurance also pays for your furniture
Forgetting the cellar when the sum insured is calculated
Trying to buy the module once a storm has been announced
Skipping it to save EUR 20 a year while the washing machine and bikes sit in the cellar

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Does my landlord's insurance pay for my furniture?

No. Building insurance covers the building. Your furniture, clothes and devices are only covered by your own contents insurance (Hausratversicherung).

What does the natural hazard module cost for tenants?

In the safe flood zones usually about EUR 18 to 30 a year, so roughly EUR 1.50 to 2.50 a month. In zones 3 and 4 it gets clearly more expensive.

Is my cellar compartment covered?

Yes, it belongs to the flat and counts as contents. Against water entering from outside, however, it is only protected with the module.

Who pays for a hotel while my flat is uninhabitable?

Your contents insurance, usually with a daily limit of EUR 100 to 200 and a maximum period. Breakfast and phone are on you.

Do I have to keep paying the full rent?

Under § 536 BGB the rent is reduced for as long as the flat cannot be used properly. Report the defect in writing and document it with photos.

Can my landlord charge me for natural hazard cover?

Insurance of the building against fire, storm, water and other natural hazards is chargeable under § 2 no. 13 BetrKV if your contract provides for operating costs. Your own contents insurance is never chargeable to you as an operating cost.

Do I need the module on the fourth floor?

Often not. Without a cellar, without a slope above you and in flood zone 1 the benefit is small. But you only save about EUR 2 a month by skipping it.

Sources

NAMMERT insurance broker

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Natural hazard cover in Germany (Elementarschadenversicherung)

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