Insurance broker / Insurance questions / Contents insurance

Is my phone covered by contents insurance in Germany?

In short

Only for certain kinds of loss. German contents insurance (Hausratversicherung) usually pays the replacement value if your phone is stolen in a break-in at home, destroyed by fire or a burst pipe, or taken from you by force in the street. Pickpocketing, losing it and a cracked screen after a drop are not covered.

Request a quote +49 3375 29 12 77

Is my phone covered by contents insurance in Germany?

What it costs

What separate phone insurance costs, and what a repair costs without it, based on published prices in Germany.

Example	Typical range
Basic phone insurance with an excess	from about EUR 2 to 3 a month
Cover including theft	from about EUR 3 a month, theft usually adds EUR 2 to 4
High end phone costing EUR 1,000 to 1,500	from about EUR 7 a month, full cover up to about EUR 20
Excess per claim	about EUR 0 to 150, depending on the policy
New screen without insurance, current flagship models	about EUR 340 to 490

Guide figures as of September 2026, from published policy and repair prices. Your contents premium does not go up because of your phone. The worked example uses guide figures from our quoting practice.

Worked example

New smartphone for EUR 1,100, used for two years

Is separate phone insurance worth it on top of your contents policy? Here is the maths.

Phone insurance with theft, about EUR 8 a month	about EUR 190 over two years
Excess on one claim	about EUR 50 to 100
One cracked screen without insurance	about EUR 340 to 490
Robbed in the street	contents insurance pays, no phone policy needed

With one screen repair in two years, you roughly break even. Without a claim you have paid about EUR 190. If you are careful or could pay a repair yourself, you can skip it.

German contents insurance only covers named risks

A German contents policy is not an all risks policy. It pays only when one of the listed events happens: fire, water from pipes, storm and hail, burglary, robbery and vandalism after a break-in. Your phone counts as ordinary household contents.

With theft, the details matter. Burglary means the thief had to get past something, such as forcing a door. Robbery means someone took the phone from you using force or threats. If it is slipped out of your pocket without you noticing, that is simple theft (einfacher Diebstahl), and almost every policy excludes it.

What happened	Does contents insurance pay?
Break-in at your flat, phone gone	yes, usually at replacement value
Phone snatched from you by force in the street	yes, via outside cover
Pickpocketed on the U-Bahn or bus	no, this is simple theft
Left in a café or lost	no
Dropped, screen cracked	no, not an insured event
Burst pipe at home, phone soaked	yes, water damage
Lightning strike fries the phone while charging	yes, if power surge cover is included

Away from home: outside cover

Outside your flat, your belongings are only protected by outside cover. It applies for a limited time, often up to three months in a row, and is usually capped at 10 percent of your sum insured. With a sum insured of EUR 50,000 that is EUR 5,000, plenty for a phone.

Here too, the insurer only pays for robbery or a break-in, for example into a locked hotel room. A phone under your towel at the beach or in an open backpack is not covered. Phones stolen from a car are excluded in many policies or only covered during the day.

When separate phone insurance makes sense, and when not

Dedicated phone insurance covers what contents insurance cannot: a broken screen, water damage, drops and, with an add-on, simple theft. It is worth considering for an expensive new phone, where a new screen alone costs EUR 340 to 490.

You do not need it if your phone is older or you could easily pay for a repair yourself. Two years of premiums quickly add up to the cost of a repair, plus the excess. Manufacturing faults are covered by the seller's statutory warranty (Gewährleistung) anyway.

Step by step

Check your policy terms for power surge cover and outside cover.
Look at the outside cover limit and the rules on theft from cars.
Keep the receipt for your phone, ideally as a photo or PDF.
Ask yourself whether you could pay for a broken screen or pickpocketing yourself.
Only for an expensive new phone, choose phone insurance with a sensible excess.

Checklist

Outside cover with a sufficient limit and duration
Power surges from lightning included
Gross negligence covered
Receipt and serial number to hand
After robbery or burglary, report it to the police straight away

Common mistakes

Assuming contents insurance pays for any theft
Not reporting a robbery to the police, which often means no payout
Buying phone insurance at the shop counter without comparing price and excess
Paying a lot to insure an older phone that is worth little

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Does contents insurance pay if my phone is pickpocketed?

No. Pickpocketing counts as simple theft and almost all German contents policies exclude it.

Does contents insurance pay for a cracked screen?

No. Dropping your phone is not an insured event. You need phone insurance or pay yourself.

What if someone else breaks my phone?

Their personal liability insurance (Privathaftpflicht) pays, usually the current value. It does not apply between people living in the same household.

Do I have to register my phone with my insurer?

No, it counts as contents automatically. Keep the receipt so you can prove its value.

Will my premium go up because I have an expensive phone?

No, the premium depends on your total sum insured. Just make sure that sum matches everything you own.

Is my phone covered on holiday?

For robbery or a break-in into a locked hotel room, yes, through outside cover. Left on the beach, no.

Sources

NAMMERT insurance broker

Request a quote: Contents insurance

We compare several insurers and come back with a proposal. Free for you; the insurer pays our fee. You can write in English.

1Who is it for?

Personal My company

2Which insurance?

Choose as many as you like. For each one, the details an insurer needs for a quote appear below.

Personal

Business

Please review all my existing policies

3Details

Contents insurance in Germany (Hausratversicherung)

Living space in m² * Excluding cellar, attic and garage Type of home * How is the home used? * Value of jewellery, watches, art and collections * Total value of all bikes and e-bikes Do you want cover for flooding and heavy rain? Contents claims in the last five years, in any country * Anything else we should know For example valuable equipment, a safe, instruments, your planned length of stay

4Your current policy

Current insurer Policy ends on What matters more to you?

5How can we reach you?

Name * Email * Phone Postcode Town Preferred contact Anything else we should know