A severe storm tears off the roof, a burst pipe floods the house, a fire destroys parts of the building — in all these cases, a homeowners building insurance policy protects you.

Alongside personal liability insurance and household contents insurance, it is indispensable for homeowners. After a fire, or in the event of water, storm, or flood damage, the financial loss can quickly exceed your means.

You are only truly well protected in an emergency if you have building insurance included in your policy folder.

A homeowners building insurance policy primarily covers your building itself, as well as attached structures such as garages and other outbuildings like carports, garden sheds, or tool huts, provided they are listed in the insurance contract.
All parts permanently attached to the building, such as built-in kitchens or cupboards, are also covered.

Building Accessories Are Also Insured

The insurance protection generally includes accessories that serve residential purposes or the maintenance of the property — for example, tools, firewood, awnings, alarm systems, flower boxes, or radio antennas.

Whether the garden, swimming pool, or modern water treatment systems are covered depends on the specific terms and conditions of the policy — and in some cases, can even be negotiated individually with the insurer.

Your building and its accessories are protected under a building insurance policy against fire, water damage (such as burst pipes), storm, lightning, and hail — and, depending on the policy, also against natural disasters like floods, avalanches, or earthquakes.

The building insurance covers damage up to the agreed insured sum — for example, if a severe storm tears off the roof, rain penetrates the walls, or a fire causes significant destruction.

Additional benefits depending on the policy

Depending on the terms and conditions, additional services may also be included or optionally added to the coverage. These may include:

• Removal of graffiti

• Cleanup and demolition costs after a loss

• Transport and storage costs

• Hotel accommodation costs if the home becomes uninhabitable

• Loss of rental income for rented spaces

• Travel expenses for returning home early from vacation after a major claim

• Expert or appraisal fees incurred during damage assessment

Some insurers even cover the cost of removing pipe blockages.
Which of these extra benefits are included depends on the policy terms of the individual insurance company.

Every homeowner should protect themselves against the main risks with a building insurance policy. After a fire, or due to a burst pipe, storm, or hail, the damage can be so severe that it quickly exceeds the owner’s financial capacity. Banks usually require proof of fire insurance when financing a property.

Individual risks can also be insured

Since building insurance is a “combined” policy, where premiums for each risk (fire, water damage, storm and hail, natural hazards, etc.) are calculated separately, you can also choose to insure each risk individually.

Important note for property transfers

When a property changes ownership, the building insurance automatically transfers to the buyer, but it can be canceled by the new owner within four weeks.

As a buyer, you should not cancel an existing policy immediately, but wait until the end of the year, since the insurer is entitled to the full annual premium even if the policy is terminated partway through the year.

The sum insured in building insurance should correspond to the value of your property. If the sum insured is lower than the building’s value at the time of damage, underinsurance occurs.

This can be critical in an emergency: if it turns out that you are underinsured, the insurer may reduce the payout. For example, in the case of a fire or storm damage, only a portion of the loss would be covered. If the sum insured is €150,000 while the current total value of the building is €300,000, you are 50% underinsured. In the event of damage amounting to €30,000, the insurer would only pay half, i.e., €15,000.

Floating replacement value insurance protects against underinsurance

However, you can agree with your insurer on a waiver of underinsurance. In this case, damages are always reimbursed up to the full sum insured. This waiver typically requires a floating replacement value insurance, which adjusts premiums and coverage regularly to reflect the increased value of your property.

Recently, building insurance policies with an underinsurance waiver are also offered based on the living area model. Here, the house is classified according to type and features, and the premium is determined per square meter.

Region-based risk surcharges

The basic coverage of building insurance includes fire, water damage, lightning, storm, hail, and explosion.

Depending on the regional location, your property may also be at risk from other hazards, particularly natural events such as floods, storm surges, earthquakes, landslides, avalanches, or snow pressure.

These natural hazards, referred to as “elementary risks”, can be covered individually or as part of a package within the building insurance. However, an additional premium is required, which varies depending on the region and local risk situation.