How often should I have my insurance policies reviewed?
In short
How often should I have my insurance policies reviewed? As a rule of thumb, thoroughly every two to three years and straight away after any big life event: moving, marriage, a child, buying a home, going self-employed, retiring. Once a year a quick look at premiums and sums insured is enough. With an insurance broker (Versicherungsmakler) the review costs you nothing.
What an insurance review costs depends on who does it.
Example
Typical range
Review by an insurance broker
0 euros invoice, commission is inside the premium
Fee based insurance adviser, hourly rate
about 150 to 250 euros net per hour
Review of five private policies by an adviser, about 2 hours
about 300 to 500 euros net
Your own yearly look at premiums and sums
0 euros, about 30 to 60 minutes
Fee rates from published figures, as of October 2026.
Time estimates and the two to three year rhythm are guide values from day to day practice.
Worked example
Family moves from 70 to 110 square metres
The contents insurance keeps running with the old sum insured. A burst pipe destroys furniture and electronics.
Old sum insured (70 × 650 euros)
45,500 euros
Real value of the household contents
71,500 euros
Damage
20,000 euros
Payment with underinsurance (45,500 / 71,500)
about 12,727 euros
Around 7,300 euros stay with the family. A review after the move would have prevented that; the higher sum usually costs only a few euros more a month.
Why a full insurance review every year is rarely needed
Most policies barely change from one year to the next. A complete annual review of all your insurance policies takes time and rarely changes much. A thorough review every two to three years works better, plus a quick look whenever an invoice or a change notice arrives.
Over that period things do shift: new tariffs with better terms, higher values for your household contents (Hausrat) and your building, a new bike, a child growing out of family cover.
Life events that should trigger a review
Big life events change what you need overnight. If you move to a bigger flat and keep the old sum insured in your contents insurance, you are quickly underinsured. In a claim the insurer then pays only in proportion of the sum insured to the real value (§ 75 VVG, German Insurance Contract Act).
Marriage or separation also calls for a review: two personal liability policies can often be merged, while after a separation each person needs a contract of their own again.
Event
What to have reviewed
Moving
contents insurance: floor space, sum insured, rating zone; flood cover at the new address
Marriage or partnership
merge liability and contents policies, beneficiaries in life policies
A child
family liability tariff, term life cover, accident cover
professional or business liability, sick pay cover, disability cover
Retirement
disability cover ends, check care provision and liability
What an insurance review actually checks
A proper insurance review first asks what you need to protect and only then whether your existing policies fit. It looks at sums insured, excesses, key clauses such as gross negligence (grobe Fahrlässigkeit) and duplicate policies you pay for twice.
To be honest: not every old policy is bad. Older disability or health contracts often have advantages a new contract with fresh health questions no longer offers. There the outcome of a review is often simply: keep it.
Who does the review in Germany
Under German law the insurer must advise you during the contract too if it sees a reason to (§ 6 (4) VVG). That duty does not apply if a broker arranged the contract (§ 6 (6) VVG); then ongoing support is the broker's job under the broker agreement.
At NAMMERT, Norman Nammert acts as an insurance broker under § 34d (1) of the Trade Regulation Act (GewO). He compares insurers, and the insurer pays his commission. If you want a review without buying anything, you can also hire a fee based insurance adviser (Versicherungsberater).
Step by step
List all policies with premium and term.
Note what has changed since the last review: home, family, job, income.
Bring sums insured for contents and building up to today's value.
Cancel duplicate policies and add ons you do not need.
Do not cancel old contracts with good terms too quickly.
Put the next review date in your diary for two to three years from now.
Checklist
List of all policies with premium and notice date
Sums insured at today's value
Gross negligence covered in contents and buildings insurance
No duplicate liability or accident policies
Beneficiaries in life policies up to date
Next review date noted
Common mistakes
Not updating the floor space in contents insurance after moving
Cancelling an old disability policy before the new one is accepted
Switching every year just because another tariff is a few euros cheaper
Staying on a former partner's policy after separating, although the cover ends
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Do I need to have my policies reviewed every year?
No.
A quick look of your own once a year is enough,
a thorough review every two to three years and after big life events.
What does a review by a broker cost?
No invoice.
The broker is paid through the commission that is already inside the premium.
Will my insurer contact me by itself?
It must advise you if it sees a reason.
Whether it learns about a move or a child depends on whether you tell it.
Is a review worth it if I only have a few policies?
Yes, especially then: often an important cover such as personal liability or disability is missing
altogether.
Which documents do I need?
Policy schedules (Versicherungsschein), recent premium invoices and, if you have them, the terms.
