Does insurance pay if burglars hack my smart home in Germany?
In short
Contents insurance (Hausratversicherung) pays for burglary. If burglars hack your smart lock in Germany without leaving marks, you have to prove the break-in; the model conditions do not say whether digital opening counts as entry with a false key or tools. Data recovery and online fraud are more a matter for private cyber insurance from about EUR 45 a year. Contents insurance usually costs EUR 25 to 120.
You do not need a special smart home product. What counts are the premiums for contents insurance and, if you want it, private cyber insurance.
Example
Typical range
Contents insurance, 80 square metres in Dresden
about EUR 23 to 25 a year
Contents insurance, 75 square metres, medium tariff zone
about EUR 90 to 120 a year
Private cyber insurance, basic policy, single person
about EUR 45 a year
Private cyber insurance with money for fraud
about EUR 125 to 160 a year
Range of all tested cyber policies, single person
EUR 7 to 212 a year
Guide values as of October 2026 from publicly quoted tariff examples and the consumer test of May
2024.
The loss in the worked example is a guide value from practice.
Your premium depends on where you live and the scope of cover; we obtain the exact offer.
Worked example
Smart lock opened, laptop and jewellery gone
During a week's holiday someone opens the smart lock of a rented flat through the hijacked user account. There are no marks on the door, and the app shows an opening at 3 a.m.
Stolen laptop and jewellery
assumed EUR 4,000
Policy with a rule on digital opening
pays after checking the app logs
Policy without such a rule
dispute over proof of burglary
Regaining the account, recovering data
private cyber insurance, depending on the policy
Whether you get the EUR 4,000 depends on the wording of your contents policy and the evidence from the app.
What contents insurance pays when your smart home is hacked
The German model conditions for contents insurance (VHB 2022) cover burglary. Under A 4.1.1, burglary means the thief breaks into a room, climbs in or enters with a false key or with the help of other tools. A key is false if its making was not arranged or approved by an authorised person.
Whether hacked digital access, such as a spied-out code or a hijacked app, counts as a false key or a tool is not stated in the model conditions. Only your own policy wording shows whether your insurer has a rule on it, so read its definition of burglary.
What happens in a smart home burglary
Who pays under the model conditions
Door forced, lock damaged
contents insurance for burglary
Smart lock opened by a hack, no marks
contents insurance only if you can prove the burglary
Data on devices encrypted or deleted
private cyber insurance, depending on the policy
Money taken through online fraud
private cyber insurance, depending on the policy
Damage from faulty device software
in future, claims against the manufacturer
The problem of proof without signs of a break-in
The VHB 2022 state that the use of a false key is not proven just because insured items are missing. Without scratches, breakage or pry marks, the burden is on you to make the burglary credible.
A car case shows how hard this can be: in 2019 the Frankfurt local court (Amtsgericht) dismissed a claim after a suspected radio attack because there were no signs of a break-in (case number 32 C 2803/18). With a smart lock, the app's logs showing when and how the lock was opened can therefore be decisive.
What cyber insurance covers for a smart home
Depending on the policy, private cyber insurance helps with online shopping fraud, identity misuse, cyberbullying and data recovery. Stiftung Warentest, the German consumer testing body, found big differences in 2024: policies without legal expenses cover often offer little, and prices range from EUR 7 to 212 a year.
Cyber insurance does not replace stolen items; that stays with contents insurance. For a connected home you only need both if your data and online accounts are a real risk as well as burglary.
New duties for makers of connected devices
The EU Cyber Resilience Act entered into force on 10 December 2024. Reporting obligations for manufacturers apply from 11 September 2026, the main obligations from 11 December 2027. Manufacturers must then set a support period for security updates and state its end date at the time of purchase.
On 8 October 2026 the German parliament passed the law modernising product liability, due to enter into force on 9 December 2026. Software will count as a product, the destruction of private data becomes compensable, missing security updates can make a product defective, and the EUR 500 deductible for property damage is dropped.
Making your smart home secure
Stiftung Warentest tested smart door locks in 2020: two models accepted passwords that were too short for remote access, and for one the Federal Office for Information Security later reported a flaw that let attackers open the lock.
Use long passwords, switch on two-factor login and install updates straight away. Check that your smart lock really bolts the door, because a door that is only pulled shut offers burglars little resistance.
How a broker can help with smart home risks
Norman Nammert arranges contents and cyber insurance as an insurance broker (Versicherungsmakler). A broker can check how policy wordings treat the digital opening of doors and compare offers with the right scope. The commission is paid by the insurer, so it costs you nothing.
Step by step
Read the definition of burglary in your contents insurance.
Ask your insurer in writing how it treats the digital opening of a smart lock.
Switch on logging in the lock app and activate two-factor login.
After a theft, call the police straight away and save the app logs.
Check whether private cyber insurance makes sense for your online accounts.
Checklist
Contents insurance with a clear rule on digital opening
Long password and two-factor login for the lock
Updates switched on for all connected devices
Lock bolts the door rather than just pulling it shut
End date of security updates noted when buying new devices
Common mistakes
Assuming that every opening via the app automatically counts as burglary
Not saving the app logs after a theft
Leaving short passwords and old software on the door lock
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Does insurance pay if burglars hack my smart home and leave no marks?
Contents insurance pays if you can prove the burglary.
Without marks this is difficult; your policy may have an express rule on digital opening.
Will my contents insurance cost more if I fit a smart lock?
There is no general rule.
Ask your insurer beforehand whether it accepts the lock as adequate security.
Does cyber insurance pay for stolen items?
No, stolen items are a matter for contents insurance.
Depending on the policy, cyber insurance helps with online fraud,
identity misuse and data recovery.
Is the manufacturer liable if its lock is hacked?
Under the new German product liability law, due to enter into force on 9 December 2026,
missing security updates can make a product defective.
This applies to products placed on the market after that date.
What does the Cyber Resilience Act change for my smart home?
From 11 December 2027 makers of connected products must handle vulnerabilities for a set support
period and state at purchase how long they will provide security updates.
