Key takeaways
- You should consider getting a home insurance policy if you own expensive furniture and electronics.
- Household insurance covers the cost of your home contents (furniture, electronics, valuables, etc.) in the event of damage. The damage can be caused by fire, storm, water, theft, etc.
- You can get a good home insurance contract for around 18€ per month.
This is how you do it
- Check what items you want to insure and if it’s worth paying the premium.
- Estimate the value of your household contents.
- We find household insurance from Die Haftpflichtkasse, NV Versicherung, and Waldenburger to be the best.
Table of Contents
What is home insurance (Hausratversicherung)?
Household contents insurance covers the cost of your movable household contents (furniture, clothing, electronics, etc.) if they are damaged or stolen. It pays for damages caused by.
- Fire, lightning, and resulting overvoltage, explosion, and implosion
- Burglary (including attempted) and vandalism
- leakage of tap water
- Natural hazards such as storms or hail
Don’t confuse home insurance (Hausratversicherung) with building insurance (Wohngebäudeversicherung). Building insurance covers your house and all fixed installations, such as electrical wiring and the heating system. There is an exception.
Home contents insurance (Hausratversicherung) covers the permanently installed parts that belong to you, such as the fitted kitchen, flooring that you installed as a tenant, etc.
Who needs home insurance in Germany?
Unlike car insurance, household insurance (Hausratversicherung) is voluntary. So, you can choose whether to get it or not.
You must consider the following factors while deciding.
- Value of household content: Suppose you have recently renovated your home or have expensive furniture and electronics. In this case, it makes sense to get home insurance to cover the costs if the worst happens.
- Probability of the worst happening: If you live in a safe neighborhood, the probability of theft is low. So, you don’t need burglary protection. If you live in a region with frequent storms, the chances of damage are high. In this case, you should get home content insurance. Ultimately, if the probability of the worst events is high, get household insurance. Otherwise, you don’t need it.
- Can you replace the household contents yourself? You should always ask yourself this question when deciding to get home insurance. If the answer is no, you need a home insurance policy.
- Are you willing to pay for the damages yourself? If not, then get home insurance in Germany.
- Do you own expensive bicycles? Ensure your home insurance includes bicycle theft.
NOTE: Household contents insurance is intended to cover the major costs and not every small damage, such as a laundry basket stolen from the laundry room.
Best household contents insurance in Germany
Based on our research, we found the following household contents insurance plans (Hausratversicherung) to be the best.
- Die Haftpflichtkasse
- NV Versicherung
- Waldenburger
What does the home insurance cover in Germany?
Home insurance covers the following contents.
- Movable goods such as furniture, carpets, books, bicycles, etc.
- Permanently installed goods, such as the fitted kitchen.
- Borrowed items are also protected by household contents insurance.
- Money, jewelry, and art are insured up to a certain limit.
- Extensions of the property: Home contents insurance also covers the terrace, basement, and privately used rooms or garages near the property.
- Things lost while traveling: Home insurance protects you when you are on vacation. Suppose your watch is stolen from your hotel room. In this case, the insurance provider will pay the costs. However, the insurance coverage is usually limited to 3 months while you are traveling. If you are travelling longer than 3 months, the coverage doesn’t apply.
- Children’s residence: Suppose your children live in their own apartment while completing training. In this case, their household contents are also covered by home insurance.
- Bank safety deposit box: You can even insure the bank’s safety deposit box with German home insurance.
NOTE: Household content insurance covers damages to the goods you own. Suppose the landlord owns the kitchen. In this case, YOUR home insurance won’t cover the costs of damage caused to the kitchen.
How much does home contents insurance reimburse?
- The home insurance companies reimburse the replacement value of the damaged objects. So, even if your furniture is old, you get enough money to buy similar new furniture.
NOTE: Your insured sum must correspond to the actual replacement value of the household contents. Otherwise, you’ll be underinsured. In this case, you won’t get enough money to buy a new similar furniture if the insured event occurs.
- Special regulations apply to valuables like jewelry, cash, and art. Home insurance providers usually reimburse only 20 to 25% of the agreed insured sum. Moreover, you must keep your valuables in a secure safe. Otherwise, you risk losing coverage.
- The insurance company sets an upper limit for valuables stored unsecured. It’s recommended that you store your valuables in a fireproof and waterproof safe. You can get one on Amazon*.
- The insurer not only covers the cost of the stolen or damaged goods. It also covers the additional costs that may arise due to the damage. For example, the cost of repairing a broken lock after a burglary, cleanup, or repairs. Suppose you cannot live in your home due to a fire. In this case, the insurance will cover the costs of your hotel stay.
What does home insurance NOT cover in Germany?
- Rooms you use exclusively for professional purposes and can enter via a separate entrance are not insured. For example, your professional workshop in the garage. However, home contents insurance covers the home office.
- No sign of a break-in: If there are no signs of a break-in, it’s tough to get an insurance claim. Under home insurance, the cause of the damage is vital. It determines whether the insurance company will pay or not.
- Damage from war, civil unrest, and nuclear energy is not covered.
NOTE: Many insurance companies have strict requirements for burglary coverage. For example, Haftpflichtkasse only offers burglary coverage if your home doors have flush cylinder locks (Bündigen Zylinderschlössern).
What should you pay attention to when choosing household insurance in Germany?
- Gross negligence: Gross negligence refers to damages caused by your carelessness. For example, theft may have occurred if you had left the house door open. The home insurance company normally doesn’t pay in such cases. But if your home insurance has the “Gross negligence” clause, the insurer covers the costs. So, ensure your contract has the following clause: “Verzicht auf die Einrede der groben Fahrlässigkeit.”
- Extended provision (Erweitere Vorsorge): Suppose your policy doesn’t cover a certain damage. However, another company in the market covers it. In this case, your insurance company will also cover the damage. The household content insurance we found to be the best offer, “Erweitere Vorsorge”.
- Guarantee of the same services as your previous insurer (Besitzstandsgarantie). Suppose you are changing your household contents insurance provider. If the new provider offers “Besitzstandsgarantie”, you’ll get either the same or better coverage than your old insurance plan. This ensures that your coverage is not reduced after the switch.
- Unknown dangers (Unbenannte Gefahren): This clause covers everything that isn’t explicitly excluded in your policy. It increases your household insurance costs by approximately 10%. If the cost increase is not much (around 20€ per annum), it’s worth taking this addon.
- Natural hazard coverage: If you live in a flood, earthquake, or storm-prone area, you must get this add-on. Adding it to your home insurance will increase the premium up to 300%, depending on your location. You can check the probability of natural hazards on “Die Versicherer” (German).
- Bike insurance: If you own an expensive bike, you should consider getting this add-on to your home insurance. You should check carefully what situations are covered by the policy. Some home insurance contracts only cover the damage if the bike was stored in a locked room when it was stolen. You can also get separate bike insurance for expensive bicycles.
- Water damage: Do you own a waterbed or an aquarium? Ensure your home contents insurance policy covers water damage caused by a water bed or aquarium. Normally, household insurance covers only damage from tap water.
- Door locks: Many insurance companies require specific door locks to offer burglary coverage. For example, Haftpflichtkasse only offers burglary coverage if your home doors have flush cylinder locks (Bündigen Zylinderschlössern). On the other hand, NV Versicherung and Waldenburger don’t have such restrictions.
Other add-ons that might be interesting but not necessarily required.
- Theft from the car: Suppose someone stole your phone from the car. However, the insurance will only cover the damage if the stolen item is not visible from the outside.
- Internet usage: Some home insurance tariffs also cover damages from internet usage, such as data theft and phishing. However, the insured sum is usually small. You don’t need this if you use a VPN or surf the web securely.
Best VPN providers in Germany ->
- Glass insurance: You usually don’t need this add-on. However, if you own many glass or ceramic items, consider getting it.
There are a lot more things that you can insure under home insurance. Adding each extra item increases the insurance cost.
So, you must ask yourself what add-ons you really need. We recommend insuring expensive items that can set you back financially.
You can ignore items
- you can buy on your own without ruining you financially, and
- the probability of damage to those items is low.
How much does good household insurance cost in Germany?
The price of the home insurance depends on
- the area of your house
- your location
- add-ons you opt for
- insured sum
The costs of household insurance vary drastically from one street to another in the same neighbourhood. It may be that the household insurance we identified as the best in our research is very expensive in your area.
Here is the table showing the annual cost of household insurance for a
- 70sqm apartment in different locations in Germany, and
- an insured sum of 45,500€
- with no deductible
| Location | Die Haftpflichtkasse (Einfach Komplett) | NV Versicherung (HausratPremium 7.0 inkl. unbenannte Gefahren) | Waldenburger (Premium plus inkl. Marktgarantie) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12557 Berlin | 190€ per annum | 214€ per annum | 206€ per annum |
| 10999 Berlin | 269€ per annum | 214€ per annum | 221€ per annum |
| 70469 Stuttgart | 132€ per annum | 214€ per annum | 125€ per annum |
GermanPedia representation (as of Nov 2025)
How high should the house insurance insured sum be?
The home insurance premium varies based on the insured sum. Most insurance companies calculate the insured sum using the property area method.
In the property area method, the insurer calculates the insured sum using 650 € per m2. For example, for a 100 m2 apartment, the insured sum will be 65k € (650 * 100).
If the value of your household contents is less than this sum, you can reduce the amount. However, if it’s more, you should enter the correct amount.
Suppose your household content value is 100,000 €, but you insured only 60,000 €. This is then a case of underinsurance (Unterversicherung).
In the cases of underinsurance, the insurer reimburses only the underinsured sum. In the above example, it’s 60% (60k/100k) of the damaged item’s value.
For example, suppose all the items in your house were damaged in a fire. You’ll receive the full insured sum (60,000 €) in this case.
Another scenario would be that only your couch was damaged. Suppose the couch was worth 5000 €. In this case, the insurer will reimburse only 3000 € (60% of 5000 €).
NOTE: Never enter a smaller sum to reduce the household insurance premium. You should increase the deductible amount instead.
Things you must do after taking household insurance in Germany
- Save the receipts for expensive furniture online. Without the invoices, it’s tough to claim the damage. Suppose you don’t have an invoice. In this case, the insurance provider will check the value of a similar item on eBay or Amazon.
- Click photos of the furniture. This will prove what the furniture looked like and where it was stored.
- Inform the insurer about the following cases
- New expensive purchases.
- Changes in your property building. It’s because some changes may increase the risk of damage events. For example, scaffolding installation increases the risk of theft.
- You are going on a vacation.
- Moved into a new home. Depending on the new property’s location and size, the insurance premium may increase or decrease.
NOTE: If you don’t inform the insurer about the changes, the insurance company may refuse or reduce the reimbursement sum in the event of damage.
How do you claim home insurance benefits in the event of damage?
You must report the damage to the home insurance company as soon as possible. You can report the damage online on the insurance provider’s website.
You also must provide proof of how the damage occurred. Here is the proof you need for different situations.
- Lightning or storm damage: Submit weather reports from the German Weather Service.
- Break-in: Submit police report and photos.
- Fire: You must prove exactly how the damage occurred.
The insurance company may also request invoices for the damaged items to estimate the cost.
What can you do if the home insurance company refuses to pay?
Suppose your home contents insurance provider refuses to pay for the damages. You can get help from the insurance ombudsman.
You can also get support from the consumer advice center near you. If you are unsatisfied with the settlement, you can sue the insurance company.
Filing a legal dispute is expensive. Hence, legal insurance is another type of insurance many locals take in Germany. It covers your legal costs.
You can also apply for legal aid if you can’t afford a lawyer.
How high are the legal costs in Germany? ->
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