# Insurance we talk you out of > Newcomers to Germany are offered insurance at every turn: by the phone shop, the bank, the car dealer and the travel agent. Some of it is useful, much of it is not. Here is what we advise against, why, and what to do instead, even though a broker earns from every contract. Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-you-dont-need.php ## Phone insurance **Our verdict:** Almost always too expensive for what it pays. Over two years premiums often reach half the phone's price. Theft is usually covered only after burglary or robbery, and an excess is deducted. **Instead:** Set aside money for a replacement and use a sturdy case. Burglary at home is covered by contents insurance anyway. ## Extended warranty on electronics **Our verdict:** Usually unnecessary. Most faults appear in the first two years, when the seller's statutory liability for defects applies in Germany and the EU. After that, the premium is high compared with the device's remaining value. **Instead:** Use your statutory rights against the seller and add surge cover to your contents policy. ## Glasses insurance **Our verdict:** Hardly ever pays off. Premiums come close to the price of new glasses and benefits are capped. Many opticians include breakage cover for the first years. **Instead:** Keep a spare pair. If eyewear costs are high, check a supplementary health plan that includes glasses. ## Glass insurance **Our verdict:** Only for large or expensive glass. A broken window is rare and usually cheap to fix. Over the years the premium exceeds the likely loss. **Instead:** Consider it only with a conservatory, large glass fronts or an expensive ceramic hob. ## Travel luggage insurance **Our verdict:** Expensive, full of exclusions and often duplicated. Valuables and electronics are restricted, unattended luggage is excluded. Burglary and robbery on trips are already covered by contents insurance up to a limit. **Instead:** Check the away-from-home cover in your contents policy and carry valuables in hand luggage. ## Payment protection on loans (Restschuldversicherung) **Our verdict:** Often the costliest way to protect a loan. It is sold together with the loan and the premium is often financed with it, which makes the loan much more expensive. Exclusions for existing conditions and early unemployment are common. German consumer centres have criticised it for years. **Instead:** For larger loans, take out term life and disability cover separately. ## Card protection insurance **Our verdict:** Unnecessary. If a stolen card is misused, your liability is limited by law to 50 euros unless you were grossly negligent, and nothing after you block it. The German blocking number 116 116 is free. **Instead:** Block cards immediately and never keep the PIN with the card. ## Passenger accident cover in motor insurance **Our verdict:** Outdated. Passengers are compensated through the car's motor liability, even when the driver caused the accident. For the driver, passenger accident cover pays only small fixed sums. **Instead:** Add driver protection (Fahrerschutz) to the motor policy and take out personal accident cover. ## Hospital daily cash for employees **Our verdict:** Rarely useful. Statutory insurance pays the hospital, the employer continues salary for six weeks and the health fund then pays sick pay. Your co-payment is capped at 28 days a year. A daily amount for hospital stays fills no real gap. **Instead:** If you want more comfort in hospital, take a supplementary plan for a private room and senior physician. ## Funeral insurance when young **Our verdict:** Makes little sense without dependants. Over decades you often pay in more than is paid out. A funeral can be paid from savings or term life. **Instead:** Build savings, or take term life if someone depends on you. From around 60 it can be worth a look. ## Education or endowment policies for children **Our verdict:** Too expensive and too rigid. They mix saving and life cover, both at higher cost. Returns after costs are usually low, and expats who leave and cancel early lose money. **Instead:** A separate savings plan and term life for the main earner. ## Roadside cover twice **Our verdict:** One is enough. Breakdown help, towing and repatriation come with automobile club membership such as ADAC and with the add-on cover of motor insurers. Having both means paying twice. **Instead:** Keep whichever is cheaper and covers more, especially abroad. ## International health plan as your only cover **Our verdict:** Risky in Germany. Health insurance is compulsory for residents, and many travel or expat plans do not meet the German requirements because of limits, exclusions or fixed terms. Authorities and later insurers may then treat you as uninsured, with back payments. **Instead:** Join statutory insurance or take a German-compliant private plan, then add international cover only as a supplement. ## FAQ ### Why would a broker advise against insurance? Because long-term clients stay only if they trust us, and a policy that never pays costs that trust. The money you save is usually better spent on liability or income protection. ### Which policies do German consumer groups call unnecessary? The consumer centres (Verbraucherzentralen) regularly name phone and glasses insurance, payment protection, luggage cover, extended warranties and hospital daily cash for employees. Our view is largely the same, with exceptions depending on your situation. ### Can I cancel an unnecessary policy right away? Usually at the end of the policy year with three months' notice. Contracts longer than three years can be cancelled after the third year. We check the earliest date for you. ### Is phone insurance worth it on a contract phone? No. The calculation is the same: high premiums over the term, an excess and exclusions. That the contract finances the phone changes nothing. ### Should I keep insurance from my home country after moving? Only if it is valid in Germany and not duplicated. Home country contents or liability policies usually stop working once you live here, and you may be paying for nothing. ### How do I spot policies I pay twice for? Put all contracts side by side, including cover that comes with credit cards, bank accounts and club memberships. Duplication is common in liability, roadside cover, travel and luggage. We do this comparison free of charge. --- NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act, broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37. For boat and yacht insurance we act as underwriting agency, not as broker. NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, Karl-Marx-Straße 4, 15711 Königs Wusterhausen, +49 3375 29 12 77, info@nammert.com. Wikidata: Q141141479.