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Does liability insurance pay for damage when you help a friend?

In short

Yes, if your policy explicitly includes damage caused while doing a favour (Gefälligkeitsschäden). Then your personal liability insurance pays even if you were only slightly careless and would not be liable by law. Many policies set a separate, lower limit for this. A good policy costs singles about EUR 40 to 120 a year.

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Does liability insurance pay for damage when you help a friend?

What it costs

Guide values for personal liability insurance that includes favour damage.

Example	Typical range
Single, policy with favour damage	about EUR 40 to 120 a year
Family, policy with favour damage	about EUR 60 to 180 a year
Simplest online policy with favour damage	from about EUR 3 a month

Guide values as of September 2026 from publicly quoted premium ranges. The limits for favour damage range from a few tens of thousands of euros to the full sum insured, depending on the policy (guide value from our quoting practice).

Worked example

Helping a friend move, the TV slides off a chest of drawers

You help a friend move. While you put it down, the TV slips and the screen breaks. It is three years old.

New price of the TV	EUR 900
Current value after three years	about EUR 450
Payment without the clause	often EUR 0, because slight carelessness among friends
Payment with the clause	about EUR 450

Your friend gets the current value, you pay nothing or only your deductible.

Why favours are a special case

German courts often assume that people who help a friend for free are only liable for gross negligence or intent. The idea is that friends silently agree not to hold each other responsible for small clumsiness.

That sounds good for you, but not for your friend: if the TV slips while you carry it, they are left with the loss. And your liability insurance does not pay, because it only pays when you are legally liable.

What is different if you come from abroad

In the UK or US, most people would simply expect their home or renters insurance to sort this out. In Germany personal liability insurance (Privathaftpflicht) is a separate policy, and this rule about favours is a German peculiarity that surprises many newcomers.

Helping each other move is common among expats without family nearby. If friends help you, it is fair to ask whether their policy includes favour damage. If you help, check your own policy first. The terms are usually in German, look for the word Gefälligkeitsschäden.

What the favour damage clause does

With the clause, the insurer agrees not to rely on the silent waiver of liability. It pays as if you were normally liable. The friendship stays intact and nobody has to negotiate.

Courts have also decided that such a silent waiver usually cannot be assumed if the helper has liability insurance. Do not rely on that alone, a clear rule in the contract is safer.

Situation	Without clause	With clause
Moving: TV falls through carelessness	often no payment	payment up to the agreed sum
Watering plants: tap left running	dispute about liability likely	payment
Damage through gross negligence	payment if gross negligence is covered	payment
Damage on purpose	no payment	no payment

Where the limits are

Damage to borrowed or rented items is not automatically a favour case. If you borrow a moving van, the owner's motor insurance or a separate rule applies. Damage to a car you drive for a friend is generally not paid by personal liability insurance.

Paid help is no longer a favour. If you are paid to help someone move, you are working, and personal liability insurance is not made for that.

When you do not need the clause

If you almost never help others and rarely get help, the clause brings little. Newer policies usually include it at no extra cost, so buying it separately only makes sense if your old policy is otherwise good.

Step by step

Search your policy for the word Gefälligkeitsschäden.
Check the limit for it and whether it is capped separately.
Check whether gross negligence is covered.
After damage, take photos and report it quickly.
Do not promise the other person any payment before the insurer has checked the case.

Checklist

Favour damage named explicitly in the policy
Separate limit at least five figures
Gross negligence included
Damage to borrowed items checked separately
No extra deductible just for this clause

Common mistakes

Assuming every liability policy pays for help among friends
Treating paid help as a favour
Reporting the damage weeks later out of politeness

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

What is favour damage?

Damage you cause while helping others for free, for example when moving house, watering plants or building a wardrobe.

Does liability insurance pay if I drop something while helping someone move?

With the favour damage clause, yes, usually at current value. Without it the insurer can refuse, because you are often not liable for slight carelessness.

Does this also apply within the family?

Not if the person is covered under the same policy. Personal liability insurance generally does not pay for damage among co-insured people.

Does it pay if I damage a friend's car?

Not while driving, that is a matter for motor insurance. If you damage the parked car, for example while carrying something, it can be a liability case.

Is the new price paid?

Usually only the current value. This is legal compensation, not new-for-old insurance.

Sources

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