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Unlimited liability, and the two policies sold in English
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Compare liability insurance in Germany
Advertising notice: provider links in this overview are affiliate links — we receive a commission from the provider for sign-ups made through them.
The policies side by side, with the monthly premium and sum insured taken from our product database. Getsafe and Feather run their applications and claims in English; hepster, MVK and Barmenia Direkt are German insurers whose websites and terms are in German only.
German law makes you liable for damage you cause to other people or their property, and it sets no upper limit: § 823 BGB puts your entire income and assets behind every careless moment, from a bicycle collision to a bathtub that overflows into the flat below. Personal liability insurance (Privathaftpflichtversicherung) takes that exposure off your shoulders for a few euros a month, and two providers sell it to newcomers entirely in English, with the application, the app and the claims process in English.
- Not compulsory, but close to universal: almost 90 per cent of households in Germany hold personal liability insurance (German Insurance Association, evaluation of the 2023 household survey of the Federal Statistical Office, as of 30 March 2026). Only motor and, in some states, dog liability insurance are required by law.
- What it does: the insurer checks whether you are liable, defends unjustified claims at its own cost and pays justified ones, including damage caused by gross negligence.
- What it costs: Getsafe starts at €2.90 and Feather at €4.94 a month, both with €50 million of cover (provider websites, as of 24 September 2026). The live cards above show current prices.
- Who sells it in English: Getsafe (a licensed intermediary; policies are underwritten by its partner insurers) and Feather (a licensed insurance agent). Getsafe insures anyone who lives in Germany, Feather sells to residents of Germany as well; neither asks for a German language certificate.
- What it leaves out: your own belongings, cars, dogs and horses, your job, fines, and damage you cause on purpose. Each of these needs its own cover or none at all.
The two English-language policies differ less in price than in the small print. This is what the providers publish about them:
| Criterion | Getsafe | Feather |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly premium from | €2.90 | €4.94 |
| Sum insured | €50 million, worldwide | €50 million |
| Waiting period | None; cover starts on the policy start date, losses that happened or were known before it are excluded | Not stated on the product page |
| Cancellation | Daily | Any time, cover ends at month-end |
| Partner and children | Optional family extension for partner and children in your household, can include a live-in au pair | Partner can be added to the policy |
| Named extras | Optional natural-hazards add-on | Best-coverage guarantee: matches any claim another German personal liability policy would have paid, subject to the terms |
| Named exclusions | Not listed on the product page | Glass, ceramic and induction hobs in your flat; your own belongings and items you lend to friends; a locksmith opening your own door; fines and penalties |
| Who you contract with | Getsafe Digital GmbH sells and manages the policy as a licensed intermediary; the risk carrier is the partner insurer named in your documents | Feather (Popsure Deutschland GmbH) is a licensed insurance agent; the risk carrier is named in the policy terms |
| Source: Getsafe and Feather product pages, read on 24 September 2026, and our product database. Prices are the providers’ starting prices for a single adult; your premium depends on the options you choose. | ||
Why the risk has no upper limit
The starting point is § 823 of the German Civil Code (BGB): anyone who intentionally or negligently injures another person or damages their property has to compensate the resulting loss. There is no cap. If a person you injure needs a lifetime of care or loses their income, the claim runs into the millions, and German law does not stop at your savings. It follows you for decades.
Three details matter for families. Under § 828 BGB a child under seven is not responsible for damage at all, and between seven and ten not for accidents involving cars, trains or trams unless the child acted on purpose. That does not make the damage disappear: the injured party turns to the parents, who are liable under § 832 BGB if they neglected their duty of supervision. A good policy therefore covers the whole household, and it should cover damage caused by children who cannot be held liable themselves. Not every tariff does, so check the terms before you sign.
The third detail is the size of the market: almost 90 per cent of households in Germany hold personal liability insurance, more than hold motor insurance (just over 81 per cent) or contents insurance (78 per cent), according to the German Insurance Association’s evaluation of the 2023 household survey. Landlords, sports clubs and even some employers expect you to have it, and the person you injure will assume you do.
What personal liability insurance pays for
The policy insures your statutory liability as a private person, in the wording of the industry model terms (GDV model conditions for personal liability insurance, May 2020): claims that a third party brings against you under the law, not obligations you took on in a contract. Within that scope the insurer has three jobs, in this order: it examines whether you are liable at all, it defends claims that are unjustified, and it pays the claims that are justified.
The second job is worth more than most people realise. If the other side sues, the insurer conducts the case in your name and at its own expense; under the model terms those legal costs are not even deducted from the sum insured. This passive legal protection is why a liability policy and a legal insurance policy do not replace each other: legal insurance pays when you want to enforce your rights, liability insurance defends you when someone claims against you.
Three kinds of loss are covered:
- Personal injury: medical costs, compensation for pain and suffering, loss of earnings and, in the worst case, a lifelong pension for the injured person.
- Property damage: repair or the current value of what you broke, from a friend’s laptop to a neighbour’s ceiling after a water leak.
- Financial loss: money someone loses because of your action without any injury or physical damage, usually with its own, lower limit.
Gross negligence is covered. Only damage you cause on purpose is excluded. If you leave the bath running while you answer the door, that is negligence, not intent, and the policy pays.
Damage to the flat you rent
For most newcomers the rented flat is the most likely claim. The model terms cover damage to rented rooms in buildings, with four exceptions that come up in almost every move-out dispute: wear and tear and excessive use; damage to heating, boiler and hot-water systems and to electrical and gas appliances; glass, where it can be insured separately; and damage caused by mould. Feather names glass and hobs as excluded on its product page for exactly this reason. Scratches from years of living in a flat are not an insured loss; a bookshelf that falls through a window is.
Cover abroad
Both English-language policies advertise worldwide cover, and Getsafe states that it applies to short trips and longer stays abroad. The model terms tie cover outside Germany to a risk that exists in Germany or to a temporary stay whose maximum length is written into the individual contract. If you plan to leave Germany for good, the policy is no longer designed for you; Getsafe asks to be told in that case.
Who is insured with you, and who is not
A single policy normally covers the policyholder alone. Family or partner options extend it to your spouse or registered partner, to children while they are in school or their first vocational training or degree, and to people who work in your household such as an au pair. Getsafe sells this as a family extension, Feather lets you add a partner.
Two rules from the model terms catch expats out. First, an unmarried partner is only insured if the policy says so and names them; sharing a flat does not include them automatically, and the cover ends when you stop living together. Second, claims between people insured under the same policy are excluded. If your partner trips over your suitcase and breaks an arm, the policy does not pay them, because they are not a third party. The same applies to relatives who live with you.
A six-year-old who scratches a parked car is not liable under the ordinary rules of § 828 BGB, and you are only liable if you neglected your duty of supervision. In that gap the neighbour is left with the damage and the goodwill of the family. Many tariffs pay in exactly this situation as a policy benefit; it is worth checking that yours does before a claim, not after.
What is not covered
Personal liability insurance covers you as a private individual. Everything that has its own compulsory or specialised policy is left out:
- Cars and other registered vehicles: motor liability insurance is compulsory for the keeper under the Compulsory Insurance Act and is sold with the car, not with you.
- Dogs and horses: the model terms cover tame pets, small animals and bees, but exclude dogs, cattle, horses and other riding and draught animals. A dog needs its own policy; in six federal states it is compulsory for every dog, and we compare the options in our guide to dog liability insurance in Germany. Cats are covered by your personal policy.
- Your job or business: damage you cause while working for an employer or in a self-employed activity is a matter for the employer’s or your professional liability insurance.
- Drones: some personal policies include small drones, others do not; the rules are on our page about drone insurance in Germany.
- Your own property and, at Feather explicitly, items you lend to friends: there is no third party, so there is no liability claim.
- Fines and penalties of any kind.
- Contractual obligations: the policy does not pay if you simply fail to deliver what you promised in a contract. It does pay if, in performing a contract, you injure someone or damage their property.
- Damage caused on purpose.
What liability insurance costs
The premium depends on the sum insured, on whether you insure one person or a household, on optional extras and, with some insurers, on a deductible. It does not depend on your nationality or on how long you have lived in Germany; Getsafe insures anyone who lives in Germany from the policy start date, and Feather sells to residents of Germany in the same way.
Getsafe’s single policy starts at €2.90 a month, Feather’s at €4.94, both with €50 million of cover (provider websites, as of 24 September 2026). Over a year that is roughly €35 to €60 for a single person, less than one month of most mobile phone contracts. A deductible makes little sense at these prices: it lowers a premium that is already small and turns every minor claim into an argument about who pays the first €150.
Do not judge a policy by its premium alone. Two policies at almost the same price can differ in whether they pay for damage caused by children who cannot be held liable, for a lost office key, for a borrowed camera or for a claim against a stranger who has no insurance and no money. Those clauses, not the last euro of premium, decide whether the policy helps when you need it.
Getsafe liability insurance
Getsafe is a Heidelberg-based insurance intermediary with an English app, English support and a fully digital claims process. Since the company returned its own insurer licence in October 2025, its policies are underwritten by partner insurers; the former Getsafe Insurance AG portfolio was transferred to andsafe AG on 10 November 2025 (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority notices of 11 November and 4 December 2025). For you as a customer that changes the name on the policy documents, not the app or the price.
The policy starts at €2.90 a month and insures your liability worldwide up to €50 million, including short trips and longer stays abroad. There is no general waiting period: cover starts on the policy start date, and only losses that happened or were known before that date are excluded. You can adjust the cover or cancel daily. The optional family extension insures your partner and children living in your household and can include an au pair who lives with you temporarily. Claims are reported in the app.
Feather liability insurance
Feather is the brand of Popsure Deutschland GmbH in Berlin, a licensed insurance agent under § 34d of the German Trade Regulation Act (register number D-E6HJ-UVL9S-62). It is not the insurer: the risk carrier for each product is named in that product’s terms, and Feather arranges and administers the policy and handles support in English.
The liability policy costs €4.94 a month for €50 million of cover and comes with a best-coverage guarantee: if another personal liability policy in Germany would have paid a claim, Feather covers it too, subject to the terms. You can add your partner, and you can cancel at any time, with cover ending at the end of the month. Feather is unusually clear about what it does not pay for: broken windows and glass, ceramic and induction hobs in your flat; damage to your own belongings and to items you lend to friends; a locksmith opening your own door after you lose the key, where only the key itself is covered; and fines and penalties.
Advertising notice: provider links in this overview are affiliate links — we receive a commission from the provider for sign-ups made through them.
How to choose: what to check before you sign
Both English-language policies write €50 million, so the sum insured will rarely be the deciding factor. These points are:
- Is your partner named in the policy? Unmarried partners are not included automatically.
- Does the tariff pay for damage caused by children who cannot be held liable?
- Does it cover a lost key to your flat or office, including the replacement of the locking system?
- Does it include bad-debt cover (Forderungsausfall), which pays your own loss when an uninsured person injures you and cannot pay? The model terms make this a separate section with its own conditions: a court judgment, proof that the other party cannot pay, and a minimum claim amount.
- Can you cancel monthly or daily, and is the claims process in English?
- Damage to your own things, or to things you borrowed.
- Claims between people insured on the same policy.
- Wear and tear, mould and glass in a rented flat.
- Anything involving your car, your dog, your job or a fine.
How to apply
Both providers sell the policy online in a few minutes. You need a German address; a German bank account is convenient for the direct debit but not always required. Choose the start date, decide whether to add a partner or family, and check your existing cover first: many newcomers already hold a policy through a partner’s family tariff, and a second policy does not pay twice.
If you had a liability policy in your home country, it usually ends when you move; check whether it covers a temporary stay abroad and for how long, and let the German policy start on the day you arrive. Losses that happen before the start date are never covered.
Frequently asked questions
No. Personal liability insurance is voluntary, which is why the sums insured and the small print differ so much between tariffs. Compulsory by law are motor liability insurance for the keeper of a car (Pflichtversicherungsgesetz) and, in six federal states, liability insurance for every dog; several professions also need professional liability cover. Landlords, universities and sports clubs may nevertheless ask for proof of a personal policy, and almost nine in ten households hold one.
Personal liability insurance normally has no waiting period: cover starts on the date agreed in the policy. Getsafe states this explicitly on its product page. What is never covered is damage that happened, or that you already knew about, before the start date, so let the policy begin on the day you arrive in Germany rather than after the first accident.
Only if the policy says so. A single tariff covers the policyholder alone; a family or partner option extends it to your spouse or registered partner, to children in school or first training, and usually to people who work in your household. An unmarried partner has to be named in the policy, sharing a flat is not enough. And claims between people insured on the same policy are excluded: if your partner is hurt by your carelessness, the policy does not pay them, because they are not a third party.
Report the claim to the insurer promptly, in the app or by e-mail, and let the insurer examine it. Do not pay the other person yourself or sign anything before the insurer has answered. Admitting the facts of what happened does not cost you your cover: under § 105 of the Insurance Contract Act a clause that would release the insurer just because you acknowledged the claim without its consent is invalid. Paying out of your own pocket first, however, can leave you arguing about reimbursement afterwards.
That depends on the contract. Getsafe lets you cancel daily, Feather at any time with cover ending at the end of the month; traditional annual contracts run for a year and renew unless you give notice by the date in the policy. Two special rights apply to every German policy: after a premium increase without an increase in cover you may cancel under § 40 of the Insurance Contract Act, and after a claim both you and the insurer may cancel under § 92. Cancel the old policy only once the new one has started, so that there is no gap.
Getsafe and Feather both advertise worldwide cover, and Getsafe states that it includes short trips and longer stays abroad. Under the industry model terms cover outside Germany is tied to a temporary stay whose maximum length is written into your policy; if you move away for good, the policy is no longer designed for you and the insurer should be told. Cats, small animals and bees are included in personal liability insurance; dogs, horses and other riding and draught animals are not and need a policy of their own.
Sources and legal basis (as of 24 September 2026)
Statutes (Federal Ministry of Justice, gesetze-im-internet.de): § 823 BGB (liability for damages), § 828 BGB (minors), § 832 BGB (duty of supervision), § 833 BGB (animal keepers), § 1 PflVG (compulsory motor insurance), § 105 VVG (acknowledgement of claims), §§ 40 and 92 VVG (special termination rights).
Industry model terms and statistics: GDV model conditions for personal liability insurance (AVB PHV), May 2020; GDV Insurance Flash 2026/01, insurance cover in Germany (evaluation of the 2023 household survey of the Federal Statistical Office, editorial deadline 30 March 2026).
Providers (read on 24 September 2026): Getsafe, personal liability insurance; Feather, personal liability insurance; Feather, licensing information 2026.
Supervisory notices (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, BaFin): transfer of the Getsafe Insurance AG portfolio to andsafe AG, effective 10 November 2025; withdrawal of the Getsafe Insurance AG licence, order of 29 October 2025.
Prices and card details in the comparison come from our own product database and are refreshed automatically; the text states the providers’ starting prices as published on the date given.