Existence-threatening risks should be insured. Whether this also includes household items is a matter of discretion. Everyone should consider for themselves what costs they could incur in the event of a fire, break-in or water damage and whether they can cope with them on their own. While residential building insurance insures damage to the house itself, i.e. to permanently built-in items, and is often made a condition for lending to the property by banks, household insurance is always voluntary and responsible for all movable property that could be taken with you when you move. Insurance experts estimate the value of normal household items at 650 euros per square meter of living space. With 100 square meters of living space, 65,000 euros come together, an amountwhich not everyone would have easily available in the event of damage.
Daniel Mohr
Editor in the economy of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
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Fortunately, in the event of damage, the entire household contents are not always destroyed or stolen.
A look at the statistics of the insurers' association GDV shows an average loss of 1422 euros for 2019, an amount that could be borne in most cases.
In the event of a break-in, the average damage is 3200 euros.
With insurance, however, a potentially worse case should always be considered.
Household contents insurance for a house with 170 square meters of living space currently costs around 120 euros a year on comparison portals on the Internet.
The flood disaster in the Eifel also showed how important additional protection against natural hazards such as flooding can be. Insurance should also be considered in the event of gross negligence such as a candle left alone. Photos and videos of the facility and retained sales receipts help with claims settlement.