# Allotment garden insurance in Germany: cover for your Laube and what is inside > If you have taken on a Kleingarten or Schrebergarten in Germany, the small garden house on it, the Laube, is yours to insure. Your home contents policy usually stops at your front door. Cover comes either from a stand-alone policy called Laubenversicherung or from a group contract your garden association has arranged. Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-allotment-insurance.php Updated: 2026-11-11 ## Do I need separate insurance for my German allotment garden house? Usually yes. Things kept permanently in an allotment are generally not covered by the contents insurance for your flat, and the garden house is a building, not contents. A Laubenversicherung covers the building and what is in it against fire, burglary, storm and hail, and depending on the policy also against escape of water and vandalism. The law does not require it, but many associations ask tenants for at least fire cover. Ask your association first whether its regional federation has a group contract you can join. ## At a glance - **Compulsory?:** Not by law, but many associations require fire cover - **Garden house:** no more than 24 m² including covered patio, section 3 BKleingG - **Home contents policy:** generally does not extend to the allotment - **Group contracts:** many regional federations have framework contracts for members - **Typical cost:** simple cover from about €40 a year, good stand-alone policies about €110 ## The 24 square metre rule and why insurers care Allotments in Germany are governed by the Federal Allotment Garden Act, the Bundeskleingartengesetz. Section 3 allows one simple garden house with a floor area of no more than 24 square metres, and a covered patio counts towards that figure. Its construction and fittings must not make it suitable for permanent living. The plot itself should not exceed 400 square metres. Many policies for allotment holders are built around exactly this frame. If the house you took over is larger, has an extension the association never approved, or you spend more than weekends there, say so before you sign. Otherwise the argument after a fire is not about the fire but about whether this building was insured at all. ## Group contract or your own policy Many regional federations of garden associations have framework contracts with an insurer. The federation is the policyholder and members of affiliated associations can join. These contracts are generally cheaper than an individual policy, but the sums insured and limits are fixed and the paperwork is in German. Your association board, the Vorstand, is the first place to ask. A policy of your own makes sense when the group contract only covers fire, when the sums are too low for a house you have refitted, or when your garden house is not on an allotment site at all. Do not assume the association has you covered: what it insures is often the shared facilities, or the buildings against fire only, and not your furniture and tools. ## Fire, burglary and storm in detail The core perils are fire, lightning and explosion, burglary including vandalism after a break-in, and storm and hail. Escape of water, power surge and glass breakage are added in some policies. Flood, heavy rain and snow load count as further natural hazards in Germany and almost always need a separate module. With burglary the details decide. Cover applies to theft from the locked garden house, not to a barbecue lifted from the patio. Some policies require particular locks or restrict what may stay in the house over winter, when the site is empty. Read those conditions before your first winter. ## What is covered - The garden house itself for fire, lightning and explosion - Storm and hail damage to roof, walls and windows - Burglary from the locked garden house - Vandalism after a break-in and forced doors, depending on the policy - Contents: furniture, garden tools and electrical equipment - Escape of water and glass breakage where agreed - Clearing and demolition costs after an insured loss ## What is not covered - Simple theft from the plot without a break-in, under many policies - Flood and heavy rain without the natural hazards module - Cash, jewellery and valuables, usually excluded or tightly limited - Garden houses lived in permanently or let out, depending on the wording - Extensions and outbuildings that are not permitted or not declared - Wear, rot and lack of maintenance ## Who needs it - Tenants of a German allotment with their own garden house, old or new - Anyone storing a mower, tools, furniture or electrical equipment there - New tenants who paid the previous tenant for the house when taking over - Owners of a garden house on a leisure plot away from where they live ## Who does not need it - A policy of your own if the group contract of your federation covers house and contents with suitable sums - Separate cover for a shed in the garden of your own home, if buildings and contents insurance already include it ## What it costs This is one of the cheaper insurance contracts in Germany. The premium depends mainly on the sums insured for the house and its contents and on which perils are included. Group contracts through a federation are generally cheaper than individual ones. | Example | Typical range | | --- | --- | | Simple garden house with a low sum insured, entry-level policy | about €35 to €65 a year | | Individual policy with good benefits for house and contents | about €110 to €160 a year | **What drives the premium:** - Sum insured for the garden house - Sum insured for contents - Perils chosen: fire only or the full package - Individual policy or group contract - Deductible and natural hazards module _The ranges come from published prices and from the comparison by Stiftung Warentest, the German consumer testing body. Contents sums of €2,000 to €5,000 are common. Your premium is only fixed in the quote._ ## The policy levels on the market - **Fire cover for the house:** The minimum many associations ask for: the building for fire, lightning and explosion. Contents and burglary stay uninsured. - **House and contents:** Building and contents for fire, burglary, storm and hail. This is the usual scope of group contracts and individual policies. - **Extended cover:** Adds escape of water, glass, vandalism without a break-in, items left outdoors and further natural hazards, with higher sums and no reduction for underinsurance. ## How to recognise a good policy | Criterion | Minimum standard | Strong policy | Why it matters | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sum insured for the house | current value of a simple timber house | rebuilding at today’s prices including demolition | After a fire the ruin has to be removed before anything is rebuilt. | | Sum insured for contents | €2,000 | €5,000 or more, new for old | Mowers, cordless tools and garden furniture add up quickly. | | Underinsurance | applied | insurer waives the underinsurance reduction | Otherwise every claim is paid only in proportion if the sum was set too low. | | Burglary and vandalism | theft from the locked house | also vandalism and damage from attempted break-ins | The broken door often costs more than what was taken. | | Items outdoors | not covered | furniture, barbecue and tools on the plot up to a limit | In summer much of it stands outside, not behind a locked door. | | Further natural hazards | storm and hail only | flood, heavy rain and snow load as a module | Many sites lie next to railway embankments, streams and in hollows. | | Winter conditions | valuables must be removed | no special restrictions | Break-ins happen mostly when nobody is on the site. | ## Insurers on the German market Some German property insurers sell allotment cover as a product of its own, others insure garden tenants through the framework contracts of the regional federations. Your association can tell you which insurer stands behind its contract. This list is a market overview, not a ranking. - **Janitos**: property insurer based in Heidelberg, part of the Gothaer group - **Dialog**: the broker insurer of Generali in Germany - **Baloise**: German company of the Swiss Baloise group, formerly Basler - **Allianz**: agents and brokers, garden cover within contents insurance - **Zurich**: German branch of the Swiss Zurich group - **Feuersozietät**: public insurer for Berlin and Brandenburg 155 insurers supervised by BaFin, the German regulator, are licensed for this class of insurance. (Feuer, Hagel-, Frost- und sonstige Sachschäden). Source: BaFin company database, 2026-09-18; EU insurers without a German office excluded. ## Typical claims and who pays - **Lightning burns the house down** (rebuilding and demolition, often five figures): Fire and lightning are the core of every policy. What matters is whether the sum also pays for removing the ruin. - **January break-in, mower gone** (about €500 to €2,000): Burglary is covered. Basic policies restrict what may stay in the house over winter and reduce the payment. - **Storm strips the roof** (about €1,000 to €4,000): Storm and hail are standard. Damage to contents from rain coming in afterwards is then usually included. - **Barbecue stolen from the patio** (about €200 to €800): This is simple theft without a break-in. Only policies covering items outdoors pay, and mostly up to a small limit. - **Heavy rain floods the plot** (soil, furniture and equipment): Flooding is not a storm peril. Only the natural hazards module pays, often with a deductible of its own. - **Rotten roofing felt lets rain in** (repair of the roof): Wear and lack of maintenance are not insured events. Keeping the roof tight remains the tenant’s job. ## Myth or truth - „A German allotment garden house may be no larger than 24 square metres." ✔ Correct. Section 3 of the Federal Allotment Garden Act says so, and a covered patio counts. Older, larger houses may be protected as existing buildings, but the insurer should know. - „My contents insurance pays if someone breaks into the garden house." ✘ Generally not. Things kept permanently in the allotment are outside the away-from-home extension. That is what allotment insurance is for. - „The association has insured everything, so I need nothing." ✘ Usually the association’s contract covers shared facilities, or the houses against fire only. Furniture, tools and burglary are often left open. - „Many associations require tenants to hold fire insurance." ✔ True. No statute demands it, but tenancy agreements and garden rules often do. - „I can live in the garden house all summer." ✘ No. Under the Act the house must not be suitable for permanent living, and many policies exclude houses that are lived in. ## Common mistakes - Assuming the contents policy for your flat also applies in the garden house - Relying on the association’s insurance, which often covers buildings against fire only - Never adjusting the sum insured after refitting a house you took over - Leaving expensive cordless tools in the house over winter despite restrictions in the wording - Not declaring sheds and extensions ## FAQ ### Is allotment insurance compulsory in Germany? Not by law. Many associations do require at least fire cover in the tenancy agreement or garden rules, so that a burnt-out house can be cleared. Your tenancy agreement, the Pachtvertrag, tells you what applies. ### Does my German contents insurance pay for a break-in at the allotment? Generally not. The away-from-home extension of contents insurance only applies to things that are temporarily elsewhere. What stays in the allotment needs its own cover or an explicit garden module. ### How big may the garden house be? The Federal Allotment Garden Act allows no more than 24 square metres of floor area including a covered patio. Many policies for allotment holders use the same limit. Larger garden houses on other land can be insured under policies without that restriction. ### What does it cost? Simple contracts start at around €40 a year. In the comparison by Stiftung Warentest a low-priced policy with good benefits cost €110 a year and one with more benefits €156. Group contracts are usually below that. ### I do not speak much German. How do I join the group contract? Ask the board of your association for the membership form of the federation’s insurance. The documents are in German, and a broker can go through the sums and conditions with you. ### Are garden furniture and the barbecue on the patio covered? Only if the policy includes items outdoors. Simple theft without a break-in is excluded or limited to a small amount under many wordings. ### What happens to the policy when I give up the garden? The wording decides. Under group contracts cover usually ends with membership. Individual policies can be cancelled at the end of the tenancy or passed to the next tenant. Report the change in good time. ### Is flooding included? Not automatically. Storm and hail are part of basic cover. Flood and heavy rain are further natural hazards and need a module that not every policy offers. ## 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. You can write in English. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-allotment-insurance.php#anfrage --- Your broker: Norman Nammert, trading as NAMMERT. Insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act. Broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37. NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH is a separate company. It does not arrange your contract. NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, Karl-Marx-Straße 4, 15711 Königs Wusterhausen, +49 3375 29 12 77, info@nammert.com. Wikidata: Q141141479.