Personal liability insurance

Private liability insurance (Privathaftpflichtversicherung) is the most important insurance of all – it protects you against damage claims that could ruin you financially.

What is covered?

• Personal injury: you injure someone (bike accident, a fall on your property)
• Property damage: you damage someone else's property (dropping a laptop, red wine on a sofa)
• Financial loss: you cause financial damage to others

Why it is INDISPENSABLE:

• In Germany you are liable without limit with all your assets (§823 BGB, German Civil Code)
• A serious personal injury (paraplegia): lifelong care, compensation for pain and suffering, loss of earnings = several million euros
• Without liability insurance you would be in debt for life in such a case

Costs and cover:

• Premium: only €3–8 per month (from €36/year!)
• Recommended sum insured: at least 10 million euros (better 50 million)
• Family: partner and children are co-insured
• Lost keys: should be covered (can cost thousands of euros with a master key system)

Most consumer advocates say: liability insurance is the only insurance EVERYONE agrees on – every person over 18 needs it. And it's dirt cheap.