How do I get cover confirmation from German legal expenses insurance?
In short
You get cover confirmation (Deckungszusage) from German legal expenses insurance by reporting the case without delay: policy number, a short account, the date the other side first broke the rules and documents such as the dismissal letter. Your lawyer usually sends it. There is no fixed deadline, but the insurer must reply without undue delay; one court found almost twelve weeks too late.
Cost risk of a lawsuit under the German lawyers' fee act and court fees act, rates since June 2025, plus ombudsman figures.
Example
Typical range
Cost risk first instance, value in dispute EUR 1,500, case lost
about EUR 1,094
Cost risk first instance, value in dispute EUR 5,000, case lost
about EUR 2,668
Own costs first instance, value in dispute EUR 10,000
about EUR 2,812
Business fee for a detailed cover request, statutory range
0.5 to 2.5 fee units
Refusal held too late by a court
after almost 12 weeks
Insurance ombudsman
EUR 0, binding up to EUR 10,000
As of October 2026, from a litigation cost calculator using fees since 1 June 2025,
the ombudsman's rules of procedure and published decisions.
That confirmation often comes within days for complete files,
and the costs in the worked example, are guide values from our quoting practice.
Worked example
Dismissal, gross salary EUR 3,500, employment cover for two years
Why cover confirmation must come in the first days after a dismissal.
Deadline for an unfair dismissal claim
3 weeks from receipt
Lawyer sends the request with dismissal letter and contract
day 2
Value in dispute, three gross monthly salaries
EUR 10,500
Own lawyer's fees at first instance
about EUR 2,000
Deductible with cover confirmation
EUR 150
With cover confirmation you pay EUR 150. Without it you pay around EUR 2,000 even if you win, because at the German labour court each side pays its own lawyer at first instance.
What cover confirmation is and why it comes first
With cover confirmation (Deckungszusage), your legal expenses insurer (Rechtsschutzversicherung) confirms in writing that it will pay for a specific dispute. The model conditions of the German insurance association ask you to agree steps that cost money beforehand where possible: instructing a lawyer, filing a claim and every appeal.
If you act before cover confirmation, the insurer only pays what it would have paid if it had confirmed in time. Read the confirmation carefully: it often covers one stage only, such as out of court work. The lawsuit and any appeal need a new confirmation.
What to include in your request for cover confirmation
A complete request saves weeks, because the insurer's check only starts once it has everything. Describe the case in a few sentences and give the date of the first breach. The insurer uses it to see whether the case falls within your policy and after the waiting period (Wartezeit).
Detail or document
Why the insurer needs it
Policy number and insured person
to match the case to your contract
Short account with your goal, for example payment of EUR 2,400
value in dispute and prospects
Date of the other side's first breach
policy start and waiting period
Copies: contract, dismissal letter, official notice, correspondence
evidence of the facts
Your lawyer's name, if chosen
confirmation and billing directly with the firm
Running deadlines, such as three weeks for an unfair dismissal claim
urgent handling
Ask yourself or let your lawyer ask
In a clear case you can request cover confirmation yourself, many insurers have a form for it. With a dismissal, a fine or any dispute with a deadline, asking through your lawyer is usually faster, because they state the value and the goal correctly from the start.
Whether the lawyer may charge for the request is disputed. For a simple request, the Federal Court of Justice sees much against a separate fee; a detailed legal argument can be billed, and your insurer normally does not pay for it. Ask first, and if in doubt instruct the lawyer only on condition that cover is confirmed.
How long the insurer may take
Neither the law nor the model conditions give a number of days. Courts require a check without undue delay. In 2023 the Higher Regional Court of Nuremberg held a refusal after almost twelve weeks to be too late, so the insurer could no longer argue that the case lacked prospects, not even for the first instance.
In practice cover confirmation often arrives within a few days if the file is complete. If you hear nothing for two weeks, chase it in writing with a short deadline. If a court deadline is running, your lawyer should still meet it; until confirmation arrives, the cost risk stays with you.
If you get a refusal instead of cover confirmation
If the insurer refuses because it sees no prospect of success or calls the case wanton, section 128 of the Insurance Contract Act (VVG) obliges it to point you to an expert procedure or the binding opinion of your own lawyer (Stichentscheid). If that note is missing, your need for cover counts as accepted in that case.
Your lawyer's binding opinion is paid by the insurer. If the answer is still no, the insurance ombudsman (Versicherungsombudsmann) reviews the case free of charge and decides bindingly for the insurer up to EUR 10,000.
When you do not need cover confirmation
For the insurer's telephone advice line you do not need cover confirmation. A one-off consultation in family or inheritance law is often paid as a fixed amount after a simple notification.
A request is also pointless if the case is clearly not insured, for example a dispute about building your own house or a divorce. Then skip the wait and ask your lawyer straight away what the case will cost.
Step by step
Find your policy and check that this area of life is covered.
Describe the case in a few sentences and give the date of the first breach.
Attach documents and point out any running deadline.
Send the request in writing, yourself or through your lawyer.
Chase it in writing after two weeks without an answer.
Check scope and instance of the confirmation before the next step.
Checklist
Policy number and insured person stated
Date of the first breach given
Goal and value in dispute described
Copies of all key letters attached
Court or other deadlines named
Written confirmation received and scope checked
Common mistakes
Instructing a lawyer and filing a claim before cover is confirmed
Dating the start of the dispute too early and falling into the waiting period
Assuming first instance confirmation also covers an appeal
Accepting a refusal without checking for the note on the expert procedure
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
How can I get cover confirmation faster?
Send complete documents and point out any running deadline.
The check only starts once the insurer has everything.
Can I ask for cover confirmation afterwards?
Yes, but the insurer then only pays what it would have paid if asked in time.
Costs of steps it would have refused stay with you.
Does cover confirmation have to be in writing?
It is not required, but ask for it in text form.
That is the only way to prove scope and instance later.
Does confirmation cover an appeal?
Usually not.
Each further instance needs new confirmation, which the insurer checks for prospects again.
What if the insurer does not answer?
Chase it in writing.
If it does not reply without undue delay,
courts may bar it from later arguing that your case lacked prospects.
Does my lawyer charge extra for the request?
A simple request usually not.
A detailed legal argument may be billed, so ask beforehand.