Liability and Home Insurance (Haftpflicht and Hausrat)
The two insurances Germans treat as essential: what Privathaftpflicht and Hausrat cover, why liability cover is near-universal, and what each one costs.
Key Takeaways
- Privathaftpflicht (personal liability) is the near-essential policy, covering damage you cause to others for around €5 a month.
- Hausrat (home contents) insures your own belongings against fire, water, burglary and storms, typically €5-15 a month depending on flat size.
- Prioritise liability first, add contents once furnished, and compare cover limits and deductibles — not just price — leaving other policies for later.
Germans are famously thorough about insurance, and while you do not need every policy on offer, two stand out as near-essential for newcomers. Personal liability and home-contents cover protect you against the small disasters of everyday life for only a few euros a month, and the first in particular is something most residents simply would not be without. Here is what they do, what they cost, and how to choose, so you are sensibly covered without over-insuring.
Why Haftpflicht matters so much
Privathaftpflicht (personal liability insurance) is the one nearly every German household holds, and for good reason: it covers damage you accidentally cause to other people or their property, for which you can otherwise be personally liable without limit. Spill water that ruins a neighbour's ceiling, break a friend's expensive camera, or injure someone by accident, and the costs can be enormous. For around €5 a month, this policy stands between an everyday mishap and a financial catastrophe.
What Haftpflicht covers
The cover is broad and the value lies in its scope. A good policy handles accidental damage to others' property, personal injury you cause, and the resulting claims, often worldwide and including family members on a joint tariff. It does not cover your own belongings, and it excludes deliberate damage and most work-related liability. Read the cover limits and look for generous ones, since the whole point is protection against the rare but ruinous large claim.
Home contents: Hausrat
Hausrat (home-contents insurance) protects your own possessions — furniture, electronics, clothing and the like — against fire, water damage, burglary and storms. It is optional rather than near-universal, but sensible once you have furnished a flat, since replacing everything after a fire or break-in is costly. The premium depends on your flat's size and the insured sum, typically landing somewhere around €5 to €15 a month for a normal household.
What Hausrat covers and excludes
Match the policy to your belongings. Hausrat reimburses the cost of replacing covered contents up to an insured sum based on your flat's area, so set that sum realistically rather than too low. Check the treatment of bikes (often capped or needing an add-on), valuables, and items taken outside the home. Crucially, it does not cover the building itself — that is the landlord's insurance — nor damage from your own negligence in the way liability cover handles third parties.
What they cost and how to pay
These are inexpensive policies. Privathaftpflicht commonly runs about €5 a month, and Hausrat a little more depending on cover, so together they are a small line in the monthly budget. Paying annually rather than monthly, and bundling policies with one insurer, usually shaves the price. Compare on a portal rather than taking the first offer, and weigh the cover and the Selbstbeteiligung (deductible) rather than just the headline premium.
How to choose a policy
Look past price to the terms. For liability, prioritise a high cover limit and family inclusion if relevant; for contents, an adequate insured sum and sensible treatment of bikes and valuables. Single and family tariffs differ, and a modest deductible can lower the premium if you are comfortable carrying small claims yourself. English-speaking and expat-focused insurers exist if the German policy wording is a barrier, which can be worth a little extra for clarity.
The other insurances, briefly
Germany offers many more policies — Rechtsschutz (legal expenses), Berufsunfähigkeit (occupational disability), and others — and some are genuinely worth considering as you settle, particularly disability cover for long-term income protection. But do not let the full menu overwhelm you on arrival. Start with Privathaftpflicht as the clear priority, add Hausrat once your flat is furnished, and revisit the rest later with proper advice rather than signing up for everything at once.
Insurance in Germany can feel like a culture of its own, but for a newcomer the essentials are refreshingly simple and cheap. Take out personal liability cover first — it is the policy Germans would never skip — add home contents once you have something worth protecting, and leave the longer menu for when you are settled. For a handful of euros a month, you turn the everyday risks of a new life abroad into someone else's problem.