Private Liability Insurance Germany

[Lifebeginsatforty]

Hi, does anyone out there living in Germany have private liability insurance? I believe it's called Privatrechtsschutz in German. We're moving to Frankfurt in August, and DH is trying to work out what our costs will be. I've never heard of this before (having lived in Germany 20 years ago), but he's been reading expat sites and is convinced it will be completely necessary. Can anyone give an opinion?

I think you are mixing up 2 things here. Private liability insurance is Private Haftpflichtversicherung and it covers you for things like accidentally breaking someone else's Ming vase or expensive aquarium. It gives you some peace of mind and is not expensive - we pay 80? a year for the whole family.

Rechtschutzversicherung is insurance for lawyers' costs if you get involved in legal proceedings, like you are sued or sue someone else. We don't have that so obviously we don't think it's essential! There are different types e.g. depending on whether or not you want cover for tenancy disputes, so I presume the costs vary.

Hope that helps a bit and alles Gute for your move.

Thank you CrispEater. That's really helpful. My DH is now under the impression that it is quite common to be taken to court in the case of the kind of accident that you mentioned above, or if you stand on someone's toe or something, so presumably if that is a real risk we would need cover for the legal costs? Does the Haftpflichtversicherung just cover the cost of buying new items.

I don't think you are likely to get sued here any more than anywhere else, especially as "no win, no fee" doesn't seem to have taken off here.

The beauty of private liability insurance is that the person doesn't have to take you to court, because if they have a genuine claim against you, your insurance will pay without the need for a court case and you won't have any additional legal expenses.

Private liability insurance protects you against what could be really major costs - e.g. if you leave the bathwater running and flood the flat below - as well as against the very unpleasant and awkward situations that can arise if you cause damage to a friend's property, the sort of thing you often read about on Mumsnet ("I broke my friend's laptop and I can't afford to replace it...").

A lot of people in Germany do have private liability insurance, so I suppose it's possible that people here do have a higher expectation that you (or rather your insurance) will pay for any damage you cause.

Should add here that I'm not an expert and have no connections with the insurance industry - but I wouldn't want to be without private liability insurance!

Thank you. That answer makes a lot of sense.