What you need to know if you plan to move to Germany in 11 Steps: Step 6 The Insurances

It's a fact, Germans love insurances. Ask anyone, they have a just-in-case insurance for everything: laptop, smartphone, bike, extra-medical insurance, insurance in case you rent a car and you get stuck in the middle of nowhere... They feel saver, and they don't mind to pay; if something happens, it will be worth it!

In your germanization phase you must get at least two insurances (apart from the compulsary medical one, Krankenversicherung): Hausratversicherung and Haftpflichtversicherung. According to my bank advisor, you cannot walk around the city without them! I tried it the first day, and it somehow worked, but I contracted them on the next day because I couldn't sleep...

Hausratversicherung: in some cases, you will be forced to have one and give a copy of the extract once you get an apartment. It covers the damages you may cause in case your washing machine starts throwing water away like a sprinkler and the neighbour finds a pool where there used to be a bathroom... or your cooker gets on fire and you turn the paint in the common corridor into gray. Be sure you inform the insurance company if you move to a new apartment, since you will pay more or less depending on the square meters and the insurance must be related to a given address. I couldn't be more proud of my insurance last week, when my flatmate and I woke up and found two centimeters water on the floor of the whole apartment...

This is me wearing my pyjamas and gumboots on a Sunday at 9 am,
with my friend Fran, trying to get rid of the water...

Haftpflichtversicherung: this one will be useful if you go to a party at your friend's place and you unfortunately pour your beer on his laptop... you'd better have this insurance if you don't have the money to buy a new one... and if you don't want to loose a friend forever!


They cost between 50 and 100 euros per year each, depending on the conditions and the insurance company. Most banks have an affiliate insurance company, in case you want to save time by comparing insurances. In case it's money what you want to save, have a look at http://www.check24.de/versicherungen/.