Haftpflichtversicherung a.k.a. Liability Insurance – a must have in Germany
Last update: 14 June 2020
Have you ever come across the word “Haftpflichtversicherung” since you’re living in Germany? I hope you have! Because the “Haftpflichtversicherung”, in English “liability insurance” is definitely one of the most important insurances in Germany and an absolute must-have. Let’s first of all clarify what this insurance is about and why you should have one.
What is “Haftpflichtversicherung” or Liability insurance?
Per definition a liability insurance protects you from the risks of liabilities imposed by lawsuits and similar claims. Sounds complicated? Simply put, a liability insurance covers you in case you are held legally responsible for a negligent bodily injury or property damage. Here are some examples:
- You’re bumping into someone at a bus stop and the person’s mobile drops to the ground, breaking the screen of the phone. You would be obligated to offset the damage. Fixing the damage or a new phone can easily cost you 500 EUR or more.
- You’re cooking at a friends house and by accident you’re dropping a heavy mug on the ceramic glass cooktop damaging the cooktop. This can also easily cost 500 to 1,000 EUR….
- You run over a pedestrian with your bike and the person breaks his/her leg. The treatment costs can easily run into thousands of Euros and you would have to pay for it! Not to mention permanent injuries and the financial obligations for that…
So as you can see, the liability insurance is an important, if not the most important, insurance in Germany. It is important to mention, that a liability insurance does not cover liabilities from injuries/damages caused while you are driving a car. For that you need a car insurance which is obligatory in Germany when you register a car.
At a glance – Liability Insurance Germany Overview
Below you will find a summary of liability insurance providers in Germany that offer good value for money and are easy to deal with.
27 Comments. Leave new
Hi Dominik, is the wooden floor damage in a rented house comes under liability insurance? I am staying in the house but dont have insurnace till now and few marks have come in the wooden floor.
Dear Ranu,
yes, this would be an example that would be covered by a liability insurance. However if it’s only a few marks, then this could be considered as normal tear and you would not have to pay for it. Just check with your landlord.
But anyways, it’s definitely recommendable to have a liability insurance as it protects you from potentially huge financial risks.
Best Regards,
Dominik
Disclaimer: This is no legal advice.
Hi there I’m looking for a company that provides private and professional liability insurance in one premium so I don’t have to pay two separate amounts.
Do you have any recommendations?
Dear Ryan,
to my knowledge there is no such insurance. It would always be two separate insurance policies.
Best Regards,
Dominik
Do I need to buy an liability insurance for my kids ? If not, shall I add them explicitly to my insurance (or my husband’s one) ?
Thank you
Dear Mirela,
if you have kids it definitely makes sense to include them in your liability insurance policy so that they are also covered.
Most insurances offer the option to add your partner or kids to the insurance policy or they offer a family policy that covers all family members living in the same household.
All insurances described in this article offer the possibility to add family members to the policy. Just compare the policies and find the one that fits to your needs.
Best Regards,
Dominik
I have liability insurance . I went my friend room and unfortunately i sat on her laptop and laptop display had cracked so now can i claim for insurance ?
Dear Saygin,
Yes, this would be a typical scenario for a liability insurance. In this case my recommendation would be to get in touch with your insurance company to clarify the details.
Best Regards,
Dominik
Hello, I’m getting offer from the ‘Rydes App’ to have a one-year free subscription to ‘Travel Health Insurance’. So before I redeem that, I wanted to confirm that it’s the same as Liability Insurance, or both are different??
Dear Parin,
these are two different things: The travel health insurance covers you against health-related risks while you are traveling abroad (e.g. you become sick while traveling -> the health insurance covers the treatment costs).
A liability insurance covers you in case you are held legally responsible for a negligent bodily injury or property damage (e.g. you break something -> the liability insurance covers the costs for the reimbursement).
Regards,
Dominik
There was a gush of wind and the glass in the window broke. Would the insurance covered on the window glass as my house owner has asked me to get it replaced asap.
Dear Sphatika,
in my eyes this should be covered by the house owner or his building insurance as it seems that the damage was caused by a natural event and not by you. I would therefore check with the house owner.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Dominik
Hello, Greetings!
Does Coya cover an accident caused by my bicycle?
Regards,
Nithin
Dear Nithin,
Yes, liability insurances usually cover damages caused by your bike. The only exception are E-Bikes/Pedelecs with a maximum speed higher than 25 km/h. For these kind of bikes you need a separate insurance.
Regards,
Dominik
Hi
My previous landlord did not pay us our security though we returned the flat in a very good condition. Is there any insurance for this, because now we have paid even higher and want to make sure that we are not surprised by the landlord in the end?
Dear Aditi,
well there is something similar to an insurance… You could get a so-called “Mietkautionsversicherung” (security deposit insurance).
Instead of paying the landlord the deposit upfront, you pay a yearly fee of approx. 5% of the security deposit to the insurance company. They then act as a guarantor for you towards the landlord. Should the landlord claim the deposit, the insurance company will verify with the land lord if the claim is justified.
An insurance company offering this service is for example kautionsfrei.de
Hope this helps!
Best Regards,
Dominik
I upload videos on YouTube is that consider commercial? I don’t make any money yet on youtube, and I have 2 dji drones how much per month?
Dear Mario,
the drone insurance from getsafe costs an additional 1.32 EUR/month on top of the 4.70 EUR/month for the liability insurance (so in total 6.02 EUR/month). It covers your drones up to 5kg for non-commercial private use. If you do not generate any income from your videos I would not consider it as commercial use. However this is my personal opinion. To be on the safe side I recommend to check this directly with getsafe.
Best Regards,
Dominik
Hey,
Is damaging my own laptop or other electronics covered in the in the insurance?
Thanks
Dear Bhavya,
no, a liability insurance only covers damages you have done to others.
Regards,
Dominik
Hello
Greetings
Does liability insurance cover the replacement of locks in the building in case of lost key/keys? For e.g single key used in Keller, main door and your house. Now the key has been lost in Berlin. The landlord is asking to replacing the all locks. Does this insurance includes replacing the lock policy?
Hi Wolf,
yes, most liability insurances cover key loss. From the insurances presented in this article the coverage for replacing keys/locks is currently as follows:
coya: up to 15,000 EUR
getsafe: up to 50,000 EUR
helden.de: up to 50,000,000 EUR
Hope this helps!
Best Regards,
Dominik
Hello I am traveling from new Zealand and am looking for liability insurance that will cover paragliding in all countries, is there a policy that will cover this?
Thankyou.
Hi Cody,
although the liability insurances presented in this post give you worldwide protection, they can only be concluded by German residents. I therefore recommend that you get in touch with an insurance provider in New Zealand.
Best Regards,
Dominik
Very useful information – many thanks
Hi,
There are some small cockroaches in my apartment. And my landlord is saying that they have to redo the whole room to kill the eggs. So I have to bear the whole cost of flooring and reconstruction of kitchen. Does this would be covered by liability insurance?
Dear David,
well… in my eyes your landlord needs to prove first of all that it’s your fault that there are cockroaches in the apartment.
If that’s not the case, he has the bear the costs. If it’s your fault, then you would have to check with your liability insurance if it’s covered by them.
Please note, this is no legal consultation but merely reflects my opinion on this topic.
Best Regards,
Dominik