Does contents insurance in Germany pay new value or current value?
In short
Yes, contents insurance (Hausratversicherung) in Germany does pay new value (Neuwert), the price of equivalent new items, not just the current value. Exceptions: items you no longer use only get their sale value, art and antiques their replacement price. The 19 percent VAT is only paid if you actually buy new. A 40 percent rule for old items does not exist in the German model terms.
What contents insurance with new value cover costs in Germany and how the VAT rule works, based on published examples.
Example
Typical range
80 square metres in Dresden
about EUR 23 to 25 a year
80 square metres in Düsseldorf
about EUR 51 to 54 a year
Usual range depending on flat and cover
about EUR 50 to 200 a year
New price EUR 1,190, no replacement bought
EUR 1,000 without the 19 percent VAT
Guide values as of October 2026 from published tariff examples and the German insurance
association's model terms.
Your terms may differ.
The current values in the example are assumed values for illustration.
Worked example
Kitchen fire, furniture seven years old
A kitchen fire destroys sofa, TV and dining table, all about seven years old. Next to it: what current value cover would pay.
Sofa: new value / current value (assumed)
EUR 1,500 / 450
TV: new value / current value (assumed)
EUR 900 / 150
Dining table: new value / current value (assumed)
EUR 800 / 300
Total new value / current value
EUR 3,200 / 900
Contents insurance pays EUR 3,200 if you buy new, about EUR 2,690 without VAT if you do not. Current value would only be EUR 900.
New value is the rule in German contents insurance
Under the German insurers' model terms, the insured value in contents insurance is new value: the amount needed to buy items of the same kind and quality in new condition. An eight year old sofa is replaced at the price of a comparable new sofa.
That is the key difference to personal liability insurance (Privathaftpflicht), which pays others only the current value (Zeitwert). For your own belongings after a fire, tap water damage or burglary, contents insurance leaves you much better off.
Three exceptions where you get less
New value does not apply to everything. Know these cases before something happens.
Item
What is paid
Example
No longer used in the household
achievable sale price
old TV stored in the cellar
Art and antiques over 100 years old
price of an equivalent piece
antique chest of drawers
Valuables above the limit
only up to the agreed limit
jewellery outside a safe
Cosmetic damage, still usable
loss in value instead of replacement
scratch on the fridge
The VAT catch
The insurer only reimburses VAT (Mehrwertsteuer) if it was actually incurred for replacement or repair. If you do not buy anything new, you receive the new value without tax. For a new price of EUR 1,190 that is EUR 1,000; the rest follows only against an invoice.
The German model terms for contents insurance do not require you to replace items within a deadline. You may use the money differently, but then you forgo the VAT.
Where the 40 percent rule comes from
You often read that contents insurance only pays current value if it is below 40 percent of the new price. The German model terms for contents insurance contain no such limit. It appears in Austrian household insurance terms and in other lines of insurance.
Individual tariffs may still differ. Search your terms under insured value (Versicherungswert) and compensation (Entschädigung) for the words Zeitwert or Prozent. If nothing is there, new value applies.
New value needs the right sum insured
Because contents insurance pays new value, the sum insured must reflect the new value of everything you own. If it is too low, the insurer cuts the claim for underinsurance (Unterversicherung), and only part of the new value is paid.
Many tariffs waive this cut if the sum was set using a flat rate per square metre. Check the sum after moving or after large purchases.
Step by step
Read the insured value section (Versicherungswert) in your terms.
Look for current value limits or special rules for bikes and electronics.
Compare the sum insured with the new value of all your belongings.
After a loss, document current new prices of equivalent models.
Buy replacements and submit invoices to get the VAT as well.
Checklist
Terms state new value as the insured value
No percentage based current value limit in the tariff
Sum insured based on new value, underinsurance waiver agreed
Receipts or photos of expensive items available
Discarded items in the cellar not counted as fully insured
Common mistakes
Setting the sum insured by the used value of your furniture
Stating the used value instead of the new price after a loss
Not buying new and being surprised about the missing VAT
Applying Austrian rules to a German policy
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Does contents insurance pay new value for a bike?
In the bike add on of contents insurance, usually yes.
Some separate bike policies switch to current value after a few years,
which is then stated in the terms.
Do I get new value for clothes?
Yes, under the model terms clothes you still wear are replaced at new value.
Clothes you have sorted out count as no longer used.
What about phones and laptops?
You receive the price of an equivalent new device, not necessarily the same model.
If the old model is no longer sold, a comparable current device counts.
Do I have to spend the money on replacements?
Not under the German model terms.
You only receive the VAT against proof of purchase.
Why does liability pay current value but contents insurance new value?
Liability insurance pays someone else's loss under German law, which only grants current value.
Contents insurance is your own contract, and it agrees new value.
