Liability insurance: It is better to pay for these damages yourself

Liability insurance

You should pay for this damage yourself

Even with insurance coverage, not every claim should be filed. In the worst case scenario, there is a risk of termination – with unpleasant consequences.

Once you’re not paying attention and the vase is in shards, your smartphone has fallen down or your glasses are flat. Mishaps happen. If other people’s property is damaged, private liability insurance will pay.

But not every damage should be reported to the insurance company. Sometimes it is worth bearing the costs of the accident yourself, despite insurance cover. The Association of Insured Persons (BdV) points this out.

Especially in the case of minor damage – i.e. damage in the double-digit or low three-digit range – insured people should think carefully about whether to report the damage to their insurance company. Because: Frequent claims reports can lead to the insurer terminating the contract.

Finding a new insurer can subsequently prove difficult. The new insurer usually asks whether and who previously had insurance coverage. If it turns out that the contract was terminated by the insurer, the insurer usually sees you as a high risk of damage and rejects you as a customer.

In addition, processing the damage by the insurer can be time-consuming, warns the BdV. This can also mean a lot of bureaucratic effort for the policyholder, so it is often easier and quicker to pay the damage yourself.

But at the same time, there are cases that you should definitely report to your insurance company. The BdV advises that personal injuries and cases in which there is a risk of significant costs should be reported to your private liability insurance. The same applies to cases in which there is a risk of legal dispute. This is precisely where an often unknown function of private liability insurance comes into play: it protects against claims for damages that someone wrongly makes against you. In these cases, private liability insurance acts as a type of legal protection insurance.

Even if you are not sure whether the damage is minor or whether it could result in greater damage due to possible subsequent damage, we recommend reporting it to the insurer. Anyone who reports the damage late risks benefit cuts.

If you have already submitted several claims reports to the insurer and the insurer has given notice of termination, it is worth speaking to them again. There are often options to continue the contract under different conditions. It would be conceivable here to agree on a higher deductible.

If the contract cannot be saved, the insured person also has the option of reversing the termination after extraordinary termination by the insurer. In this case, the insured person gives notice of termination themselves.

The policyholders benefit from the fact that they can cancel at any time. Insurers, however, must have one Notice period of one month.

If the insured person chooses a time for their termination to take effect that is before the insurer’s termination takes effect, their termination alone is decisive. When looking for a new insurer, you no longer have to state that you were canceled by your last provider.