Personal liability insurance in Germany

Personal liability insurance can cover claims when you accidentally injure someone, damage another person’s property or cause certain financial losses.

Depending on the plan, cover can also include situations such as damage to rented property, lost third-party keys and other everyday liability risks.

Personal liability insurance is usually one of the more affordable types of insurance in Germany. Your price depends on the plan and whether you need cover for yourself, a couple, a single-parent household or a family.

Our Exklusiv and Premium options start at only a few euros per month, with the exact price shown before you apply.

Liability claims, particularly those involving serious personal injury, can become very expensive. That is why a high sum insured is important even if the policy itself costs only a few euros per month.

Our recommended plans provide €30 million or €50 million of liability cover, depending on the option you choose.

It can. Many personal liability policies cover certain accidental damage to rented property (Mietsachschäden), such as damage to fixtures belonging to your landlord.

Normal wear and tear and damage to your own belongings are different and are generally not personal liability claims. The exact cover depends on your plan.

Lost third-party keys can be covered depending on your plan. This can be particularly important in Germany because losing a building or work key can sometimes require locks or an entire locking system to be replaced.

Private and professional keys can have different limits, so we show exactly what each plan covers.

Usually not. If you simply lock yourself out of your own home, the locksmith bill is normally your own expense because you have not caused liability damage to another person.

Losing a key belonging to your landlord, employer or another third party is a different situation and may be covered by your personal liability policy.

It depends on the policy variant you choose. Couple and family variants can cover multiple members of the household under one policy, while a single-person policy covers only the insured individual.

Choose the household option that matches who needs protection when you apply.

Family policies can cover liability claims involving children, but the exact situation matters. German liability rules also distinguish between children of different ages and whether the parents themselves have breached a duty of supervision.

Because children who are not legally liable can create a particular coverage gap, it is worth checking whether your chosen plan also covers damage caused by children who are considered incapable of liability (deliktunfähige Kinder).

Many German personal liability policies include protection during temporary stays abroad. This can therefore be relevant when travelling or visiting family in India.

The permitted duration and exact scope of international cover depend on the policy conditions, so these should be checked for your specific plan.

Personal liability insurance generally does not cover deliberate damage or damage to your own property. Motor vehicle liability and claims arising from professional or business activities also normally require different insurance.

Other exclusions and limits depend on the policy, which is why the conditions matter as much as the headline sum insured.

They protect different things. Personal liability insurance (Privathaftpflicht) protects you against covered claims from other people when you cause damage.

Household contents insurance (Hausratversicherung) protects your own belongings against insured risks such as fire, burglary or water damage. Many people therefore have both.

Both plans provide broad personal liability protection, but Premium offers higher or additional benefits in several areas.

Premium includes a €50 million cover sum and a best-performance guarantee, while Exklusiv provides €30 million of cover at a lower price. There are also differences in areas such as keys, workplace damage and rental-car deductibles, which you can see in our comparison.

Do not simply pay or accept responsibility before the claim has been reviewed. Contact us with the details and any relevant documents so the claim can be passed to the insurer and assessed.

Personal liability insurance does more than pay valid covered claims: it can also defend you against unjustified liability claims as part of its passive legal protection.

Yes. If you already have personal liability insurance, you can compare your existing protection with another plan before switching.

The important part is coordinating the end of the old policy and start of the new one so you do not unintentionally create a gap in cover.