# Contents insurance in Germany: how Hausrat works and what newcomers miss > In Germany, the insurance for your belongings is called Hausratversicherung. It pays new-for-old after fire, burst pipes, burglary, storm and hail. Unlike renters insurance in the US, it does not include personal liability: that is a separate policy, the Privathaftpflicht. Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-contents-insurance.php Updated: 2026-09-18 ## Do I need contents insurance as a renter in Germany? If you own furniture, electronics and clothes you could not easily replace, yes. Your landlord's building insurance only covers the structure and fixed installations, never your belongings, and the cost of that policy is usually passed on to you in the service charges anyway. Contents insurance is not compulsory and no landlord can force a particular insurer on you, but after a fire or water leak it is the only thing that pays for your things. ## At a glance - **Compulsory?:** No, voluntary for tenants and owners - **Basis of payment:** new-for-old replacement value - **Typical sum insured:** often €650 per m² of living space - **Liability included?:** No, needs a separate Privathaftpflicht policy - **Cancellation:** yearly with three months' notice, or within a month after a claim ## What is different from the UK and the US German policies split risks that other countries bundle. Contents insurance covers your belongings. Personal liability, which a US renters policy usually includes, is a separate contract here. Accidental damage to your own things, common as an add-on in the UK, is rarely available at all. German contracts also renew automatically each year. If you want to leave, you have to cancel in writing, normally three months before the renewal date. A contract taken out when you arrived will keep running until you actively end it, even after you have left the country. ## Getting the sum insured right If your belongings are worth more than the sum insured, the insurer reduces every claim in proportion (§ 75 of the German Insurance Contract Act, VVG). Insure €30,000 when your things are worth €45,000, and a €3,000 water claim pays only €2,000. Most insurers waive this check if you insure a flat rate per square metre, usually €650. That works for an average flat. If you brought high-value furniture, art or a lot of camera and music equipment with you, calculate the total yourself and insure that amount. ## Burglary is not the same as theft The policy pays when someone breaks in: a forced door, a smashed window, a picked lock. Things taken from an unlocked flat, from a shared basement without signs of forced entry, or from the balcony count as simple theft, which is not covered unless you add it. Bicycles follow the same logic. A bike stolen from a locked and broken-into cellar is covered; one stolen outside the supermarket is only covered with the bicycle add-on. For expensive e-bikes a dedicated bicycle policy is often the better fit. ## Moving, travelling and gross negligence When you move within Germany, both homes are covered during a transition period. Tell the insurer your new address and floor area before the move, because the postcode sets the price. Belongings temporarily elsewhere, such as in a hotel room, are covered up to a share of the sum insured. German law lets insurers reduce payment if you caused the loss through gross negligence (§ 81 VVG), for example a candle left burning in an empty room. Good policies waive this defence. It costs little and is worth having. Small boats such as canoes stored at home count as contents; boats with a berth need hull insurance, which we write as an underwriting agency. ## What is covered - Fire, lightning and explosion - Water escaping from pipes, heating and appliances - Burglary, robbery and vandalism after a break-in - Storm from wind force 8 and hail - Power surge from lightning, in most policies - Hotel costs while your home is uninhabitable - Belongings temporarily away from home, up to a limit - Bicycle theft outside the home, as an add-on - Flooding and sewer backflow, only with the natural hazards add-on ## What is not covered - Simple theft without forced entry, unless added - Damage you cause to other people or their property - Cars, motorbikes and boats with a berth - The building itself and the landlord's fixtures - Flooding from heavy rain without the natural hazards add-on - Wear and tear and accidental damage to your own items ## Who needs it - Anyone renting or owning a home with their own furniture - Expats who shipped belongings to Germany and could not easily replace them - Households with valuables, instruments or expensive bicycles - Ground floor and basement tenants with higher burglary and water risk ## Who can do without - People in fully furnished short-term flats with few belongings of their own ## What it costs The price depends mostly on your postcode and the sum insured. Insurers group postcodes into zones based on burglary statistics, so the same flat can cost several times more in a large city than in a village. We do not quote typical prices because the zone matters more than the insurer. **What drives the premium:** - Postcode and risk zone - Floor area or chosen sum insured - Floor level and type of building - Add-ons such as bicycle theft, natural hazards or glass - Excess and contract length - Claims in the last five years _No sample prices, because they vary widely by postcode. Your premium is only fixed in the quote._ ## The policy levels on the market - **Basic:** The core perils on a new-for-old basis. Gross negligence only partly waived, power surge sometimes excluded. - **Standard:** Full gross negligence waiver, power surge, underinsurance waiver per square metre and higher limits for valuables. - **Premium:** Bicycle theft around the clock, some cover for simple theft, higher limits away from home and a guarantee to match better market standards. ## How to recognise a good policy | Criterion | Minimum standard | Strong policy | Why it matters | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Gross negligence | waived up to €5,000 | waived up to the full sum insured | It is the most common reason a German insurer cuts a household claim. | | Underinsurance waiver | with the per m² flat rate | also with an individually calculated sum | Without it even small claims are reduced if the sum is too low. | | Power surge | included with a limit | up to the full sum insured | A lightning strike nearby can destroy every device plugged in. | | Valuables | 20% of the sum insured | 30% or more | Jewellery and watches are the first thing burglars take. | | Bicycle theft | add-on with night-time restrictions | 24-hour cover without night clause | Most bikes are stolen outside, not from inside the flat. | | Cover away from home | 10% of the sum, up to three months | higher share and longer periods | Relevant for students, long trips and belongings in storage. | | Hotel costs | up to 100 days | 200 days or more | Repairs after a fire often take longer than three months. | ## Insurers on the German market Almost every property insurer in Germany sells Hausrat. Most documents are in German only, so the quality of the wording matters more than the brand. Some insurers sell only direct and do not work with brokers; we list them to give you the full picture. - **Allianz**: several product lines, sold through tied agents and brokers - **HUK-COBURG**: sells through its own offices only, does not work with brokers - **AXA**: German arm of the French AXA group, agents and brokers - **ERGO**: part of Munich Re, agents, brokers and direct sales - **R+V**: insurer of the cooperative banks, sold mainly through them - **VHV**: Hanover-based insurer with strong broker distribution - **Ammerländer**: mutual insurer that sells exclusively through brokers - **Interlloyd**: property insurer of the ARAG group, broker distribution - **Alte Leipziger**: mostly broker distribution 155 insurers supervised by BaFin, the German regulator, are licensed for this class of insurance. (Feuer, Sturm, Hagel-, Frost- und sonstige Sachschäden). Source: BaFin company database, retrieved 2026-09-18. Insurers from other EU countries selling through a branch or without a German office are not included. ## Typical claims and who pays - **Bike stolen outside the U-Bahn** (around €500 to €3,000): Theft away from home needs the bicycle add-on. Even good policies cap it per bike, often as a share of the sum insured. - **Burglar gets in through a tilted window** (around €3,000 to €10,000): Climbing in counts as burglary, but a tilted window may be gross negligence. Basic policies can cut the payout; strong ones waive that defence. - **Washing machine hose floods the flat** (around €2,000 to €8,000 in belongings): Escaping water is a core peril in every German contents policy. Damage to the landlord's floors is a matter for the building insurance. - **Laptop knocked off the desk** (around €800 to €2,000): Accidental damage is not a named peril in German contents insurance. You would need a separate device or electronics policy. - **Lightning surge fries the TV** (around €500 to €2,500): Surge damage from lightning is included in most current policies, but basic ones may limit it tightly. Strong policies pay up to the full sum. - **Pram stolen from the stairwell** (around €300 to €1,500): Taking an unlocked pram from a shared hallway is simple theft. Some strong policies add prams and wheelchairs in communal areas up to a limit. ## Myth or truth - „If a pipe bursts and ruins my sofa, my landlord's insurance will pay." ✘ No, the landlord's building policy covers walls, floors and fixed parts only. Your sofa is your own risk, which is exactly what contents insurance is for. - „Contents insurance can pay for a hotel if your flat becomes unliveable." ✔ Yes, most German contents policies cover hotel costs after an insured event such as a fire, for a limited number of days. Check the daily cap. - „A laptop stolen from your locked car is covered by contents insurance." ✘ Usually not in basic policies, because theft from vehicles is excluded. Some stronger policies add it with a low limit and conditions such as a locked boot. - „Cash stolen in a burglary is covered too." ✔ Yes, but only up to a low limit set in the policy, and higher if it was in a locked safe. Larger amounts at home are poorly protected. - „A German insurer can pay the full new price for a five-year-old TV." ✔ Correct, German contents insurance pays replacement value for items you still use. That surprises people used to depreciation in other markets. ## Common mistakes - Assuming liability is included, as it would be in a US renters policy - Forgetting to cancel the German policy three months before renewal when leaving the country - Not updating the floor area after moving and losing the underinsurance waiver - Leaving the bike in a shared cellar and expecting theft to be covered - Skipping the gross negligence waiver to save a few euros ## FAQ ### Does German contents insurance cover my stuff worldwide? Only temporarily and within limits. Belongings that are away from home for a short time, such as in a hotel, are usually covered up to about a tenth of the sum insured. If you keep items permanently elsewhere, they need their own cover. ### Is my laptop covered if I drop it? No. Contents insurance covers named perils like fire, water, burglary and storm, not accidental damage. For that you need a separate electronics or device policy, which exists in Germany but is sold separately. ### Can my landlord make me take out contents insurance? A landlord can ask for it, but cannot tell you which insurer to use. Your belongings are your risk, and the landlord's building policy never pays for them. What landlords often care about more is your personal liability policy. ### Do I pay for my landlord's building insurance? Usually yes. Under the German service charge rules (BetrKV § 2 No. 13) the landlord may pass the cost of building insurance on to tenants. Check your annual service charge statement. That policy still does not cover your belongings. ### How do I cancel when I leave Germany? In writing, by the notice period in the contract, usually three months before the renewal date. Many policy wordings also contain a rule for moving abroad that ends cover for the old flat after a transition period, so check yours. Keep proof of your deregistration and the end of your tenancy. ### Will my claims history from abroad count? Insurers ask about claims in the last few years and will accept your answer for any country. Unlike car insurance, there is no transferable no-claims class for contents cover, so a clean history abroad does not earn a formal discount. ### Are my bikes covered? At home and in a locked, broken-into cellar, yes. Stolen elsewhere only with the bicycle add-on. Check the limit per bike: many policies cap it at a percentage of the sum insured, which may be too low for an e-bike. ### What happens after a burglary? Report it to the police immediately and hand in a list of stolen items, as insurers require that. Then notify the insurer without delay. Receipts, photos and bank statements help prove what you owned and what it cost. ## Legal basis and sources - [Insurance Contract Act (VVG, German)](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/vvg_2008/) - [BaFin company database (licensed insurers)](https://portal.mvp.bafin.de/database/InstInfo/) ## Request quotes We obtain quotes and come back with a comparison. Free of charge and without obligation: the insurer pays our commission. You can write in English. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-contents-insurance.php#anfrage --- 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.