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What kind of insurance do I need for my little house in a garden?

Personal Finance & Money Asked by Lehue on April 8, 2021

There is a small house located in my orchard in Germany. The orchard contains mostly fruit trees and is situated in a landscape protection area. The house has two stories and is built of stone, but it does neither have access to water or electricity, nor does it contain sleeping facilities. Therefore, I am unsure how to insure it against fire and other damages caused by elements.
There are insurance options for huts on the same property as the living home, insurances for huts in allotment garden associations (Kleingartenverein) and for weekend homes that contain sleeping facilities. Neither of these options seems to fit. The official term in the building permit is shelter (Unterstand).

Could the house fall under one of the formerly mentioned insurances, or are there other options available?


Why I would consider insurance:

  • the way this house is built would not be permitted anymore. It is way to big and massive and nowadays it is only permitted to renovate old buildings (Bestandsschutz), but if I needed to build a new one, it would be a lot smaller.
  • These kind of houses are rare due to the reasons stated above, so the building makes up a significant part of the value of the property.
  • There are three huge beeches directly next to the building, so a storm could probably destroy the roof, if a big branch falls on top of it.

I am not sure, if those reasons are actually covered by insurance.

One Answer

Take out an insurance policy in the amount you believe the structure adds to the property

You can insure it, but your valuation and the insurance company's valuation are likely to be WAY different. You may get a small payout from your current insurance already since destroying it would likely count as property damage.

What to do

Get a supplemental policy just for that building. Talk to your agent about the best way to insure the structure. You may want to structure it as a cash payout since you won't be able to rebuild to the original specs. If/When it caves in, you can add to your existing house to make up for it, or just pocket the money.

If it's not in great shape, you'll likely pay quite a bit to cover it. They'll likely also want you to remove the branches/trees nearby to ward off immediate damage.

How much coverage to get

Decide how much the peace of mind is worth a month (which is really what you are buying) before talking to the agent.

When you talk to the agent, look at what payout you can get per monthly cost. Usually, there is an inflection point where the payouts start to drop-off, but the cost per month doesn't

Answered by sevensevens on April 8, 2021

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