Hausrat: insuring your stuff in Germany

Hausratversicherung from €3-8/month covers your possessions against fire, water, burglary and storms - plus Fahrrad add-ons, Elementar upgrades and claims reality.

Last updated: July 13, 2026

Do renters need home insurance in Germany?

The building is the landlord's problem; everything INSIDE your flat is yours - Hausratversicherung covers possessions against fire, tap-water damage, burglary and storm at €3-8/month for typical flats. It pays replacement-as-new value. Pair it with the liability policy (Haftpflicht) as the standard German two-policy starter kit.

What it covers (and the add-ons that matter)

Core perils: fire, Leitungswasser (the burst-pipe classic - THE German claim), burglary (including robbery outside the home partially), storm/hail. Payout basis: Neuwert - today's replacement price, not depreciated value. Sum insured: the lazy-correct €650/m² flat rate avoids underinsurance clauses; itemize upward for electronics/instrument-heavy homes.

The add-ons with real hit rates:

Fahrraddiebstahl: bike theft outside the home - in German cities this is the add-on that PAYS (€20-60/year per insured-value tier, night-clause checks!) - e-bike owners: non-negotiable (cycling guide)
Elementarschäden: flood/backwater - basement flats and flood-mapped streets ⚠️ increasingly relevant, check the ZÜRS zone
Glass: ceramic hobs + aquarium people
Grobe Fahrlässigkeit waiver: pays even when you left the window tilted - the clause that decides real claims

Claims reality

Document possessions NOW (video walk-through + receipts folder = 10 minutes that decide thousands), report burglaries to police before insurer, water damage: mitigate-then-photograph, and expect the Neuwert system to actually work - German household claims settle undramatically when the paper trail exists.

Frequently asked questions

My landlord demands I have it?

Common ask, not law (unlike the near-mandatory-in-practice Haftpflicht) - it protects YOU anyway; the bundle price.

WG rooms?

One policy can cover the flat's shared household OR each room separately - name the setup honestly at signup.

Laptop stolen from the café?

Outside-the-home theft (simple theft) is NOT covered (robbery is) - that's gadget-insurance territory, usually skippable math.

Moving flats?

Policy migrates with address notification; double-coverage bridges the moving month automatically in decent tariffs.

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