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Does buildings insurance pay if the heating fails in winter?

In short

Does buildings insurance pay if the heating fails in winter? Not for the repair: a technical fault is not an insured peril in Germany. It does pay for the consequences if pipes, radiators or the boiler burst from frost and water escapes, as long as pipe water cover (Leitungswasser) is included. Insurers count up to 32,000 frost claims a year. If you neither heat nor check, the payout may be cut.

Does buildings insurance pay if the heating fails in winter?

What it costs

Published insurance industry figures on frost damage and average prices for annual heating maintenance in a German family home.

ExampleTypical range
Insured frost damage to pipes per yearup to 32,000 claims, about EUR 115 million in total
Average per frost claim, calculated from these figuresabout EUR 3,600
Maintenance of a gas heating system, family homeabout EUR 130 on average
Maintenance of an oil heating system, family homeabout EUR 160 on average
Maintenance of a heat pump, family homeabout EUR 140 on average

As of November 2026.

Claims figures from the German insurers' association,

the average per claim is calculated from them.

Maintenance prices from a survey published by an energy advice platform.

The amounts in the worked example, including the call out,

are guide values from our quoting practice.

We are happy to check what your policy requires in winter and obtain the exact quote.

Worked example

Gas heating fails in January while the family is away for a week

A neighbour checks the house every two days. On her visit it is cold, and a pipe in the guest toilet on the outside wall has burst. Pipe water cover is included.

Emergency call out and new circulation pumpabout EUR 600, not insured
Pipe repair and opening the wallabout EUR 1,200, insured
Drying, screed and tilesabout EUR 6,500, insured
Payment from buildings insuranceabout EUR 7,700 less the deductible

The family pays the heating repair of about EUR 600 itself; the insurer bears the frost damage of about EUR 7,700. The neighbour's regular checks are the decisive point here. Calculation with guide values.

Why the heating repair is not insured

German buildings insurance pays for named perils. Under section A 1 of the 2022 model terms these are fire, lightning, surge from lightning and explosion, pipe water, storm and hail and, if agreed, further natural hazards. A burner that gives up after fifteen years, a broken pump or a failed circuit board is not on that list.

You therefore pay for the emergency call out, the spare part or a new boiler yourself. It is different if an insured peril damaged the heating: a fire in the boiler room, lightning or, if included, a surge from lightning on the control unit.

What happenedDoes buildings insurance pay?Note
Burner or pump broken, house stays coldnotechnical fault, your own cost
Pipe bursts from frost after the failureyes, under pipe waterpipe and water damage to the building
Radiator or boiler cracked by frostyes, under pipe waterfrost related breakage
Control unit destroyed after a thunderstormyes, with surge from lightningcheck your policy
Soaked furniture and carpetsnocontents insurance matter
Hotel because the flat is only coldnono insured damage

What is paid for frost damage

If the heating fails for longer during frost, the water in pipes and radiators freezes and splits them. The model terms cover, in section A 4.3, frost breakage inside the building to water supply and heating pipes and to radiators, boilers, water heaters, fittings, washbasins and toilets.

If water escapes after thawing, the wet damage to the building is also a pipe water claim; heating water expressly counts. This requires pipe water cover in your contract, because the peril groups can be insured separately. Furniture, carpets and appliances hit by the water belong to contents insurance.

Your duties: heat, check or drain

The model terms contain safety rules in section A 20.1. In the cold season all buildings and parts of buildings must be heated, and this must be checked often enough. The alternative is to shut off, drain and keep drained all water carrying installations. Buildings not in use must be checked in every season and their pipes drained.

If you break these duties, the insurer may cancel and may refuse payment in full or in part. The law sets limits: under section 28 (2) of the Insurance Contract Act (VVG) payment is only refused entirely for intent, for gross negligence the insurer may cut in line with the degree of fault. If the breach did not affect the damage at all, the insurer must still pay (section 28 (3) VVG).

Sudden failure: what the Federal Court of Justice decided

Nobody can watch a heating system around the clock. In 2008 the Federal Court of Justice made clear that the duty to check is not meant to prevent every frost claim after a sudden failure (judgment of 25 June 2008, case IV ZR 233/06). That remaining risk lies with the insurer and is paid for by the premium.

How often you must check depends on the system: type, age, operation, maintenance, reliability and proneness to faults. In the case decided, a temporarily empty house had not been checked for eleven days. The court did not treat that as a breach per se and sent the case back. A well maintained, reliable system therefore needs fewer checks than an old, fault prone boiler.

What to do as soon as the heating stops

From the moment of the failure you are responsible for what happens next. Call a heating engineer and keep rooms with pipes frost free until the repair, for example with electric heaters. If the repair takes longer during hard frost and the house cannot be kept warm, shut off the water and have the pipes drained. That is exactly the alternative the terms provide.

Write down when the failure was noticed and what you did. If frost damage happens anyway, you can show that you acted.

When you need not worry much, and when you should

In a lived in house a failure is noticed within hours, and an insulated building does not drop below zero straight away. Frost damage is rare there. Then it is only about the repair bill, and that is not insured.

Critical are houses where nobody notices the failure: holiday homes, houses up for sale, inherited houses, homes during a long winter trip. Arrange fixed checks there or have the pipes drained. As a tenant, a heating failure is your landlord's matter: the buildings policy is his contract, your own contents insurance protects your furniture.

Step by step

  1. Read the fault code and call a heating engineer or emergency service.
  2. Keep rooms with water pipes frost free until the repair, for example with electric heaters.
  3. If it takes longer during frost: close the main stopcock and have the pipes drained.
  4. Note the time of the failure and everything you did.
  5. If a pipe bursts, shut off the water at once, take photos and report the claim.
  6. After the repair, check radiators and pipes in outside walls for leaks.

Checklist

  • Pipe water cover is included in your buildings policy
  • Heating is serviced every year, receipts are kept
  • Someone checks the house regularly when you are away in winter
  • Everyone in the household knows where the main stopcock is
  • Unused parts of the building are shut off and drained
  • Surge from lightning is included for the heating control

Common mistakes

  • Expecting buildings insurance to pay for the call out or a new boiler
  • Leaving the house unchecked during a winter holiday
  • Relying on the frost setting of the thermostat: it only protects the radiator
  • Waiting after the failure instead of heating or shutting off the water

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Does buildings insurance pay for the heating emergency service?

No.

A technical fault is not an insured peril; you pay the call out and spare part yourself.

Only the frost consequences to pipes and building are insured.

Does insurance pay for a new boiler if the old one cracked from frost?

Frost breakage of a boiler is covered under pipe water in the model terms.

A boiler that fails from age or wear is not.

How often must I check the heating in winter?

There is no fixed number.

The terms require checks often enough.

According to the Federal Court of Justice this depends on type, age,

maintenance and reliability of the system.

Is the frost setting on the thermostat enough?

No.

According to the insurers it only protects the radiator itself, not pipes in outside walls,

cellars or lofts.

If the heating fails completely it does not help anyway.

Does insurance pay for a hotel if the flat is cold?

No.

The model terms only provide hotel costs if the permanently occupied home became uninhabitable

through insured damage.

A cold flat without insured damage does not count.

The heating failed after a thunderstorm. Is that covered?

Yes, if surge from lightning is in your contract.

The destroyed control unit is then insured damage to fixed technology.

Can the insurer cut the payout if I was on holiday?

Only if you broke your duties, for example because nobody checked for weeks.

For gross negligence it may cut according to the degree of fault.

A sudden failure despite reasonable checks is the insurer's risk.

Sources

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