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What is the difference between contents and buildings insurance?

In short

What is the difference? Imagine turning the house upside down. What falls out is contents (Hausrat): furniture, clothes, electronics. What stays fixed is covered by buildings insurance (Wohngebäudeversicherung): walls, roof, windows, heating and built-in pipes. There is no overlap between the two. Home owners need both, tenants only contents insurance.

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What is the difference between contents and buildings insurance?

What it costs

Guide values from published tariff examples and market analyses, without the natural hazards add-on unless stated.

Example	Typical range
Contents, 80 square metres in a low-cost tariff zone	about EUR 23 to 25 a year
Contents, 80 square metres in an expensive city	about EUR 51 to 54 a year
Contents, usual range depending on cover	about EUR 50 to 200 a year
Buildings, average without natural hazards	about EUR 241 a year
Buildings, detached house with natural hazards	about EUR 350 to 800 a year

Guide values as of October 2026 from published tariff examples and analyses.

The damage amounts in the example are guide values from our quoting practice.

Your premium depends on location, living space, year of construction and cover; we obtain the exact quote.

Worked example

Burst pipe in a detached house

A water pipe bursts inside the wall upstairs. Water runs through the ceiling into the living room below.

Locating and repairing the pipe	about EUR 500 to 1,500, buildings
Drying screed and wall	about EUR 2,000 to 5,000, buildings
Ceiling, plaster and decorating	about EUR 2,000 to 6,000, buildings
Sofa, rug and cupboard in the living room	about EUR 2,500 to 6,000, contents

With both policies every item is covered, minus any agreed excess. Without contents insurance you pay for the furniture yourself, about EUR 2,500 to 6,000.

Fixed versus movable

Buildings insurance pays for damage to the structure: walls, roof, stairs, windows and doors, heating, pipes, wiring and bathrooms. Depending on the policy, garage, carport and garden shed are included, sometimes only for an extra premium.

Contents insurance pays for what stands, lies or hangs in your home and is not built in: sofa, beds, clothes, TV, crockery, books, food and bicycles. It normally pays the new value, so what it costs to buy the items again today.

The two policies complement each other. With only one of them, a fire leaves you half covered.

Item or damage	Which policy pays
Roof damaged by a storm	buildings
Pipe bursts inside the wall, wall and screed wet	buildings
Sofa and rug soaked by the same pipe	contents
TV stolen in a burglary	contents
Fitted kitchen installed by the landlord	buildings
Fitted kitchen you installed yourself as a tenant	contents
Basement flooded by heavy rain	both only with the natural hazards add-on

What surprises newcomers

Many rented flats in Germany come without a kitchen, so tenants often buy and fit their own. That kitchen is then usually yours and is insured through your contents policy, not the landlord's buildings insurance.

Personal liability is a separate policy in Germany (Privathaftpflicht). Neither contents nor buildings insurance pays for damage you cause to others, such as water leaking into the flat below. Most people here have all three.

Who needs which policy

Tenants do not need buildings insurance. The landlord has it and may usually pass the cost on through the service charges (Nebenkosten), so you pay your share without being the policyholder.

House owners need both. Buildings insurance is not required by law, but banks almost always demand it while a mortgage is running.

In an owner-occupied flat, the owners' association insures the whole building. You only need contents insurance for your flat.

You may not need contents insurance if you own little and could replace it all from savings, for example in a furnished room in a shared flat.

Setting the sums insured

For contents, the rule of thumb is EUR 650 per square metre of living space. With that sum, many insurers waive the deduction for underinsurance.

For the building, the sum is usually based on the 1914 value or on living space and fittings. If it is too low, every claim is cut in proportion. A waiver of underinsurance protects you as long as your details are correct.

Step by step

Clarify whether you own a house, own a flat or rent.
As a tenant take out contents insurance only, as a house owner both.
Assign grey areas such as a fitted kitchen, flooring, awning and wallbox clearly to one policy.
Check the sums: EUR 650 per square metre for contents, 1914 value or living space for the building.
Decide on the natural hazards add-on the same way in both policies.
Make sure you also have personal liability insurance.

Checklist

Contents sum of at least EUR 650 per square metre
Buildings insurance with a waiver of underinsurance
Natural hazards cover the same for building and contents
Self-fitted kitchen or flooring assigned to a policy
Solar panels, wallbox and outbuildings named in the buildings policy
Personal liability insurance in place, since neither policy pays for damage to others

Common mistakes

As an owner, having buildings insurance but forgetting contents
As a tenant, looking for buildings insurance the landlord already has
Adding natural hazards to the buildings policy only and leaving contents in the basement unprotected
Not assigning a kitchen you paid for to any policy

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Do I need buildings insurance as a tenant?

No. The landlord takes it out and usually passes the cost on through the service charges. You only need contents insurance for your own things.

Can contents and buildings be in one policy?

With many insurers, yes, as a bundled contract. They remain two lines with their own sums. A bundle can be cheaper, but switching is then often only possible for both together.

Who pays for the front door after a burglary?

For tenants, many contents policies pay; otherwise the landlord's buildings insurance does. In your own house it is usually buildings insurance.

Does either pay for mould?

Only if it results from an insured event such as a burst pipe. Mould from poor ventilation or building defects is not covered by either.

What do I need for an owner-occupied flat?

The owners' association insures the building. You need contents insurance, and it is worth checking how your own fittings in the flat are covered.

Sources

NAMMERT insurance broker

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