What types of accident and liability insurance can I claim?

Deductible liability insurance includes:

• Personal liability insurance
• Motor vehicle liability insurance
• Dog liability insurance
• Land liability insurance
• Property owner liability insurance

Accident insurance includes not only the actual accident insurance but also passenger insurance, child accident insurance, and travel accident insurance. It does not matter who is covered by the accident insurance. What is important is that you are the policyholder and pay the premiums. The tax office also requires proof of payments. Contributions to accident insurance can be claimed if these insurances only cover private risks. Insurances that cover both private and professional risks can be declared half as special expenses and half as income-related expenses or business expenses.

Term life insurance can also be declared, as well as contributions to widow's/orphan's pensions and funeral expenses. The contributions are considered as special expenses in the tax return. However, these contributions are only recognised if the deductible maximum amount of 1.900 Euro for employees and pensioners and 2.800 Euro for self-employed persons has not yet been exhausted with contributions to basic health and nursing care insurance.

Be sure to include these insurance contributions in your tax return. Lohnsteuer kompakt automatically checks for you whether you have already reached the maximum amount or if additional contributions can still be claimed.

Legal protection and household insurance are not considered special expenses.

What types of accident and liability insurance can I claim?

Can I claim my liability insurance through the tax return?

The legislator recognises liability insurance as a precautionary expense in the tax return. This supports citizens in insuring themselves against life's risks. In addition to liability insurance, you can also declare other insurance as precautionary measures in the tax return.

Contributions to private liability insurance can be deducted as other precautionary expenses. The contributions you enter in Lohnsteuer kompakt are transferred to line 48 of the "Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand".

You can also enter all other contributions for other precautionary expenses here, such as contributions to your motor vehicle liability insurance. In addition to private liability insurance, you can claim the following other liability insurance as precautionary expenses in your income tax return:

• Animal owner liability for dogs and horses
• Home and landowner liability
• Building owner liability
• Hunting liability
• Boat liability
• Water damage liability

It may be worthwhile for taxpayers to check whether their liability insurance is deductible. However, there is no guarantee that every citizen with liability insurance can benefit from tax advantages. Many already reach the maximum limit for precautionary expenses by declaring contributions to health insurance.

Even if it is not worthwhile or not possible to claim liability insurance for tax reasons due to exceeding maximum limits, this insurance cover should not be waived. The risk is too great that a moment of carelessness in everyday life could cause such significant damage that, without liability insurance, one would have to pay for it for a lifetime.

Can I claim my liability insurance through the tax return?

Why everyone should have personal liability insurance!

"Anyone who intentionally or negligently infringes the life, body, health, freedom, property or any other right of another person is obliged to compensate the other person for the resulting damage." (§ 823 BGB)

To prevent a small mishap from becoming a financial disaster, every household should have liability insurance. If someone causes damage to another person, they are liable with their entire private assets - until the financial damage is fully paid. In the worst case, this can cost millions and financially ruin the perpetrator.

Personal liability insurance is primarily intended to protect against existential threats from claims that may be made against the person responsible for damage - for example, through injury to a person or fire and water damage. Liability insurance does not cover intentional damage, but gross negligence is insured.

Personal liability insurance also fends off unjustified claims by third parties for the insured person. The insurance company checks whether and to what extent you are obliged to pay compensation. If a legal dispute arises, the insurer not only covers the legal and settlement costs but also represents the defendant in court.

But what if you yourself are harmed by someone who is not insured? After all, about one-third of German households do not have liability insurance. For a small additional fee, you can insure the so-called default cover. Your insurance will then step in if the other party is not insured and is also unable to pay. However, as the injured party, you must have exhausted all legal options against the perpetrator beforehand.

Why everyone should have personal liability insurance!

What protection does liability insurance offer?

Private liability insurance only covers damages that typically occur in everyday life. However, there are several other types of liability insurance: motor vehicle liability, pet owner liability, professional liability, house and landowner liability, water damage liability, building owner liability, sports boat liability, hunting liability, and other specialised liability insurances.

In principle, liability protection with all insurers applies to damages caused by the insured or co-insured persons negligently in the private sector. You are also protected as a supervisor, employer of domestic staff, builder of small construction projects, and as a tenant or owner of a flat.

In road traffic, only damages caused as a cyclist or pedestrian are covered. As a motorist, you also need motor vehicle liability insurance. A small exception: vehicles up to six km/h and work machines up to 20 km/h maximum speed are included in private liability insurance.

The insured risks even include most sports and the permitted private use of firearms, except for hunting. Also included are damages caused by the keeping of tame pets, small animals, or bees.

However, if you own "large" or "dangerous" animals (e.g. dogs and horses), you should take out special pet owner liability insurance. For riding someone else's horse, private liability insurance is sufficient, but claims from the horse owner are excluded.

Liability protection generally also applies abroad for at least one year, and even longer within the EU. The insurance covers abroad to the same extent as in Germany.

Special case: Liability for damages caused by children under seven years old

Children under seven are not legally responsible, in road traffic even until the end of their tenth year. The insurance only pays for damages if the parents have breached their duty of supervision - and this is a matter of discretion.

If it is established that the children were properly supervised, parents cannot be held legally liable. However, they may feel morally obliged to pay compensation if, for example, their son damages the neighbour's car while skating. It is therefore advisable for parents to secure the general coverage of damages caused by legally irresponsible children through an additional clause.

What protection does liability insurance offer?

What is covered?

For members of the same household, one contract is usually sufficient. In family insurance, all unmarried children are generally co-insured if they are still in education or military/civil service.

Co-insurance is also possible if unemployment follows education. The same protection applies to unmarried couples, often including same-sex couples.

If a couple moves in together, both can be insured under one contract. The longest-standing contract is continued, and the "younger" policy can be cancelled without notice. However, there is no liability between joint contracts. So, if the new housemate damages the expensive stereo system, the insurance will not cover it. Such double insurance should be avoided.

There are special rates for singles, young people up to 25, and seniors over 60. However, no additional persons can be co-insured, as the coverage amounts are sometimes lower or include more exclusions.

What is covered?

What is NOT covered?

Claims arising from damage caused intentionally are generally not covered. The same applies to risks associated with a business, profession, service, office (including voluntary work), a responsible activity in associations of any kind, or an unusual or dangerous occupation. Private liability does not extend to builders, homeowners, or landowners.

Also excluded from liability cover are sports such as cycling, horse or carriage racing, boxing, or wrestling. Liability does not cover damage caused by the use of motor vehicles, own sailing boats, own or third-party motorboats, and aircraft.

Damage to items borrowed, rented, leased, or stolen by the insured is also not covered. The same applies to fines and penalties, hunting accidents, and glass damage. The insurance does not cover wear and tear.

Claims from co-insured persons and relatives from the same household are also excluded, as is the coverage of damage caused as a favour. An example of damage caused as a favour is if you help a friend move and drop their Ming vase.

For some of the uninsured risks, there are special insurance policies:

• Builders' liability insurance
• Construction performance liability insurance
• Professional liability insurance
• Business liability insurance
• Water damage liability insurance
• Home and landowners' liability insurance
• Hunting liability insurance
• Motor vehicle liability insurance
• Aviation liability insurance
• Pet owners' liability insurance
• Club liability insurance
• Water sports liability insurance

What is NOT covered?

You can also insure additional risks!

In addition to basic cover, certain risks can be included in the contract. This so-called extended cover is associated with extra costs.

With some providers, the extras are already included in the basic cover - ask if necessary. Additionally insurable risks:

• Loss of third-party keys or keys for central locking systems (except: office keys)
• Looking after someone else's dog
• Gradual damage (e.g. from smoke or moisture over time)
• Damaged heating oil tanks (up to 5,000 litres)
• Damage to rented property (e.g. broken washbasin)
• Pollution of groundwater and water bodies (e.g. from car washing, spilling a pot of paint, etc.)
• Renting a holiday flat abroad
• Use of a windsurf board
• Children under seven years old or under ten years old in road traffic who are not legally responsible
• Looking after other people's children (childminder)

When choosing an insurer, the premium as well as the additional cover for special risks should be compared.

You can also insure additional risks!

What should the coverage amount of private liability insurance be?

The agreed sum insured limits the insurer's liability. Therefore, a sum insured as high as possible should be agreed. This is especially true as the premiums for higher sums insured are hardly different from those for lower sums insured.

The sum insured should be at least 3 million, preferably 5 million euros for personal injury and property damage. Insurances today usually offer tariffs with sums insured of 5 or 10 million euros. However, there are also tariffs with no limit.

The sum insured should not be less than 3 million euros under any circumstances.

What should the coverage amount of private liability insurance be?

What options are there for extending coverage?

The main components are covered equally by all insurance companies. However, additional risks are treated differently. Some insurance policies cover these at no extra cost, while others do not.

Possible additional benefits include:

• Loss of third-party keys
• Gradual damage
• Looking after someone else's dogs
• Claims default cover

Claims default cover
If you suffer damage caused by a person who does not have personal liability insurance and is unable to pay due to their financial situation, claims default cover will step in.

However, the insurer usually pays only from a certain amount of damage and when all legal means have been exhausted to obtain compensation from the person responsible for the damage.

What options are there for extending coverage?