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Does contents insurance pay if a parcel is stolen from the doorstep in Germany?

In short

Does contents insurance pay if a parcel is stolen from the doorstep in Germany? Usually not. It pays for burglary and robbery inside your flat, and the area outside your door is not part of it. Without a drop-off permit the seller normally has to resend or refund, because the risk stays with them until you receive the goods. If you allowed the courier to leave parcels, the loss is usually yours.

Does contents insurance pay if a parcel is stolen from the doorstep in Germany?

What it costs

Typical annual premiums for basic contents insurance in Germany, without bike cover.

ExampleTypical range
1 room, 35 square metres, sum insured about EUR 23,000about EUR 50 to 90 a year
2 rooms, 65 square metres, sum insured about EUR 42,000about EUR 70 to 140 a year
3 rooms, 90 square metres, sum insured about EUR 58,000about EUR 90 to 190 a year
House, 140 square metres, sum insured about EUR 91,000about EUR 140 to 280 a year

Guide values as of November 2026 from published tariff examples.

Simple theft add-ons vary in price with tariff and limit; we obtain the exact quote.

Parcel values in the worked example are guide values from our quoting practice.

Worked example

Headphones left outside the flat door and gone

A parcel with headphones worth EUR 250 sits outside the door in the afternoon, by evening it has gone. The outcome depends on the drop-off permit.

Value of the goodsEUR 250
Basic contents insuranceEUR 0, simple theft outside the flat
Without a drop-off permitseller resends or refunds EUR 250
With a drop-off permitusually no compensation, loss of EUR 250

Without a drop-off permit you get your money back from the seller. With a permit the loss usually stays with you, unless your policy covers simple theft at that place.

Why contents insurance rarely pays

Contents insurance (Hausratversicherung) protects your belongings in the flat named in the policy. Under the standard terms this includes the living rooms, balconies, loggias, terraces directly attached to the building and private cellar rooms and garages on the plot. The doormat, the landing and the pavement outside are not included.

The type of theft matters too. Burglary is covered, meaning the thief breaks into a room, climbs in or enters with a false key. Someone who simply picks a parcel off the mat overcomes no barrier. That is simple theft (einfacher Diebstahl), which basic cover excludes, even if the parcel was on your balcony.

Where the parcel wasContents insurance pays?
Left outside the front door or flat doorno, simple theft outside the flat
In an open stairwellno
In a parcel box outside the house, broken openno under the standard terms, the box is not in a room
Inside the flat, stolen after a break-inyes, at replacement value
Snatched from you at the door by forceyes, that is robbery
Left with a neighbour whose flat is burgledvia the neighbour's policy, not yours

Without a drop-off permit the seller is liable

When you buy as a consumer, the risk of goods being lost in transit only passes to you on handover. Shipping does not change that unless you hired the courier yourself. If the courier leaves the parcel outside your door without your permission and it disappears, it was never handed over to you.

Your contact is then the seller, not the courier and not your insurer. The seller must send the goods again or refund the price. Write to them and state that the parcel never reached you.

With a drop-off permit the risk is yours

If you allowed the courier to leave parcels at a certain place (Abstellgenehmigung), the parcel counts as delivered there. If it is stolen afterwards, consumer advice centres take the view that neither courier nor seller is liable. The seller does have to be able to show that the parcel was left at the agreed spot.

Basic contents cover does not help in that case either. Some policies extend cover to simple theft, often with a low limit and only for certain places. Whether parcels outside the door are included is only stated in the wording of your policy, so read it before relying on it.

When you do not need extra cover

If you do not give a drop-off permit, you do not need any insurance add-on for parcels, the risk is with the seller. Better than any policy are a parcel locker, a parcel shop, delivery to your workplace or a neighbour who accepts parcels.

A simple theft add-on is worth it for other reasons, such as items in the cellar or on the balcony, not for single parcels.

Step by step

  1. Check the tracking and ask your neighbours.
  2. Tell the seller in writing that the parcel did not arrive.
  3. Find out whether you gave a drop-off permit and ask for proof.
  4. Report the theft to the police and note the reference number.
  5. Only if your policy covers simple theft, also report it to your contents insurer.
  6. In future use a parcel locker, a parcel shop or your workplace.

Checklist

  • No blanket drop-off permit for expensive orders
  • Preferred spot only where the parcel cannot be seen from the street
  • Policy wording checked for simple theft outside the flat
  • Order confirmation and tracking number kept
  • Expensive deliveries sent to a pick-up point

Common mistakes

  • Reporting the loss to the insurer first instead of the seller
  • Giving a drop-off permit and forgetting about it
  • Waiting for the courier instead of writing to the seller
  • Treating a broken parcel box outside the house as an insured burglary

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Is a stolen parcel a case for contents insurance?

Rarely.

Outside the door there is no break-in and it is not the insured location.

If the parcel was stolen from inside the flat after a burglary, it pays.

Who is liable if the courier leaves the parcel without permission?

The seller.

The risk stays with them until handover and they must resend or refund.

What does a drop-off permit change?

The parcel counts as delivered at the agreed spot.

If it disappears afterwards, the loss is usually yours.

Does contents insurance pay if the parcel box is broken open?

If the box is inside the building in a locked room, it can be burglary.

If it stands outside the house, not under the standard terms.

Should I report it to the police?

Yes, in any case.

The report records the theft and supports your statement that you never received the parcel.

Does a simple theft add-on help?

Only if the wording expressly includes the area outside your flat.

Many add-ons only apply inside the flat or at certain places and have low limits.

Sources

NAMMERT insurance broker

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