From what wind speed does insurance pay for storm damage in Germany?

Two sets of figures matter here: what a storm-damaged roof costs to repair, and what the cover costs. Both are guide values from published German examples, as of 2026.

The Beaufort scale runs from 0 to 12. The German weather service calls force 8 a gale (stürmischer Wind) and puts it at 62 to 74 kilometres per hour. That exact step appears in the model wording for German buildings insurance (Wohngebäudeversicherung): a storm is a weather-related air movement of at least Beaufort force 8, which means at least 62 kilometres per hour.

What counts is the gust, not an hourly average. A thunderstorm with a short gust of 80 kilometres per hour clears the bar; a steady 55 kilometres per hour does not. For your car, partial cover (Teilkasko) often starts at force 7, but that is a different policy with different terms.

Weather stations are not on every corner, so the wording contains a fallback rule. If the wind speed cannot be established for the place of loss, a storm is assumed when you prove one of two things.

First: the air movement damaged buildings in sound condition, or equally sturdy objects, in the area around your property. Second: because your building was in sound condition, only a storm can have caused the damage.

In practice that means evidence. Photograph snapped trees, torn fences and damaged neighbouring roofs. Keep the weather report or the official storm warning for that day, and note when you first saw the damage. For a measured value you can order a weather report from the German weather service; it is not free, but insurers often accept the cost when they ask for it.

Cover applies when the storm acts directly on the insured building, and when the storm throws building parts, trees or other objects onto it. Knock-on damage counts too: if rain comes through the torn roof into your rooms, the water damage is part of the storm claim.

Storm surge is not covered. Nor is rain, hail or snow entering through windows or doors that were not properly closed. The exception: if the storm itself tore the opening and that is damage to the building, the rain that follows is covered.

Flood, backwater from drains, earthquake, landslide, snow pressure and avalanches are not storm damage. They belong to the natural hazards add-on (Elementarschadenversicherung), which you have to agree separately. After a bad night it is not the word storm in the forecast that decides, but what the wind or the water actually did.

What is insured is the building named in your policy schedule (Versicherungsschein), with its fixed parts and its accessories. Garages, carports, garden sheds and fences are not automatically included. They are covered only if they are listed in the schedule, so check that before the next storm rather than after it.

An awning bolted to the house usually counts as building accessory (Gebäudezubehör) and is then covered. Many policies cap the payout or expect you to retract the awning when a storm is forecast. Leave it out through a warned storm and the insurer will cut the payout for gross negligence (grobe Fahrlässigkeit).

Solar panels are expressly excluded in the model wording and must be added or insured separately. Plug-in balcony solar units do count as building accessory. Movable things such as garden furniture or a trampoline belong to contents insurance (Hausratversicherung), not to buildings insurance.

Section 82 of the German Insurance Contract Act (Versicherungsvertragsgesetz) obliges you to avert and limit the loss as far as you reasonably can. Fail to do so deliberately and you get nothing; act with gross negligence and the insurer may reduce the payment. Throwing a tarpaulin over an open roof is therefore a duty, not a favour.

Photograph first, tidy up afterwards. Take wide shots and close-ups of every single item of damage, keep the broken tiles and store damaged parts until the insurer releases them. You may order emergency repairs straight away and the cost forms part of the claim. Agree the full repair with the insurer first, otherwise you will argue about the price later.

Report the loss without delay and get a written quote. After a hurricane-force event roofers are booked out for weeks, so an early report secures your place in the queue.

The most common dispute is not the wind speed but the condition of the building. Loose tiles, a rotten roof structure or a chimney that has been cracked for years point to wear rather than to the storm. Neglect the upkeep and you lose all or part of the cover, even when there really was a storm. Keep the invoices from roofers and chimney sweeps, they are your proof.

Buildings and parts of buildings that are not ready for occupation are not insured, and neither are shop windows. Purely cosmetic damage with no loss of function, such as dents in cladding, is often refused or paid only in part.

And storm cover is not all-round weather protection. If you live on a slope, next to a stream or in a dip, you need the natural hazards add-on as well. If you live in a sheltered spot with a new roof and only a small shed of little value, you do not need to pay extra to insure outbuildings.