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What does contents insurance pay for water damage in Germany?

In short

What does contents insurance pay for water damage in Germany? After a burst pipe or leaking appliance, it pays the replacement value of your damaged furniture, rugs, clothes and electronics, plus clearing up and often hotel costs. Walls, floors and pipes are for the landlord's buildings insurance. Heavy rain or flooding from outside is only covered with the natural hazard add-on.

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What it costs

What damage and cover cost, from published figures.

Example	Typical range
Drying by a specialist firm, equipment and measurements	around EUR 1,500 to 5,000
Rented drying unit	around EUR 50 to 150 per unit and week, plus EUR 5 to 15 electricity a day
Pipe water claims paid by contents insurers in one year (2019)	around EUR 280 million
Contents insurance for 75 to 80 square metres, pipe water included	around EUR 25 to 120 a year

Guide values as of October 2026 from published figures.

The surcharge for natural hazard cover on contents, usually a few euros to a few dozen euros a year depending on location, is a guide value from our quoting practice, as are the hotel limits.

Worked example

Rented flat, washing machine hose bursts

Water stands in the hallway and living room. The laminate floor belongs to the landlord, the furniture and electronics to you. Policy with a EUR 150 excess.

Sofa, new price	EUR 1,800
Rug and chest of drawers	EUR 1,000
Laptop and router on the floor	EUR 1,100
Storing furniture during drying	EUR 400
Excess	minus EUR 150

Contents insurance pays around EUR 4,150. Laminate, screed and drying equipment are paid by the landlord's buildings insurance.

What counts as water damage

In German contents insurance, water damage mainly means Leitungswasser: water that escapes from supply or waste pipes, the heating system, appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers, or from an aquarium or waterbed, where it does not belong.

Rain coming in through a window or roof broken by a storm is usually covered too. Rain through a window you left open is not, and water pushing in from outside through the ground counts as a natural hazard.

Cause	Contents insurance pays?
Burst washing machine hose	yes, as Leitungswasser
Burst pipe in the flat above you	yes, for your belongings
Leaking aquarium or waterbed	yes, in most tariffs
Heavy rain, sewer backflow, flooding	only with natural hazard cover
Rain through an open window	no
Mould from constant damp	usually no

What exactly is paid

You get the replacement value, meaning the price of equivalent new items. If a repair is cheaper, the insurer pays for the repair. Costs for clearing up and disposal, and for moving furniture out and back while the flat dries, are usually included.

If the flat becomes uninhabitable, many tariffs pay for a hotel for a limited time and up to a daily maximum. Check your policy terms, as these limits vary a lot.

Contents, buildings or liability: who pays what

Contents insurance pays for everything you would take with you when moving. Walls, screed, pipes and the landlord's floor covering are paid by the owner's buildings insurance, including the technical drying of the walls.

If you caused the leak and water runs through the ceiling of the flat below, the neighbour's damage is paid by your personal liability insurance (Privathaftpflicht). In Germany this is a separate policy, not part of contents insurance. Your own belongings remain a contents claim.

Limits and when you do not need extra cover

If someone leaves an old washing machine running unattended or the tap open in winter, the insurer can reduce the payout for gross negligence unless your tariff includes it. Cash and jewellery are only covered up to a limit.

You do not necessarily need natural hazard cover if you live high up in an apartment block and have no cellar storage that could flood. On the ground floor, in a basement flat or with a cellar near a river or slope, it matters.

Step by step

Turn off the water, switch off power in affected rooms and move belongings somewhere dry.
Photograph the damage and do not throw damaged items away straight away.
As a tenant, tell your landlord at once so they can involve their buildings insurance.
Report the claim to your contents insurer without delay.
List the damaged items with receipts or current prices for new ones.

Checklist

Leitungswasser in the policy, including aquarium and waterbed
Gross negligence fully covered
Natural hazard cover if you live on the ground floor or have a cellar in a risk area
Hotel costs with enough days and a sufficient daily rate
Sum insured high enough to avoid cuts for underinsurance
Personal liability insurance for damage to neighbours
Receipts for expensive devices to hand

Common mistakes

Throwing wet items away before the insurer has seen them
Reporting the damage days later
Assuming contents insurance also pays for floors and walls
Taking heavy rain in the cellar for pipe water

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Does contents insurance pay for the laminate floor?

Only if you laid it yourself as a tenant. The landlord's floor is part of the building.

Does it pay if my neighbour caused the leak?

Yes, for your belongings. Your insurer can then recover the money from the neighbour or their liability insurer.

Is mould after water damage covered?

Mould resulting from an insured pipe leak often is. Mould from constant damp or poor ventilation is not.

Do I have to pay for the drying units?

Not as a tenant. Drying the walls is a buildings insurance matter, and you settle the electricity with your landlord.

Does contents insurance pay if my cellar floods?

Only with natural hazard cover. Without it, your things in the cellar are not covered against flooding and backflow.

Will my premium go up after a claim?

It can, and several claims in a short time can lead to cancellation. Paying small losses yourself can make sense.

Sources

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