Household insurance and the associated liability insurance is indispensable for every tenant or apartment owner – or at least it should be if you want to sleep soundly.
Admittedly, insurance is not a very “sexy” subject. But it is all the more important, particularly when it comes to taking out the right insurance policy for your apartment and household sooner rather than later.
There are two types of insurance: building and household insurance, which cover diverse types of damage and complement each other.
The good news: as a tenant or owner of an apartment in a BUWOG complex, you needn’t worry about building insurance, because every BUWOG housing complex has building insurance, of course.
What damages does building insurance cover?
- Causes of damage: fire, storm, hail, (pipeline) water, building liability insurance
- Insured objects / building parts: walls, pipes and floors
- The insurance covers these damage events in the common areas of the buildings as well as in the apartments
What damages does household insurance cover?
- Causes of damage: fire, storm, (pipeline) water, theft from break-in (incl. vandalism, broken glass and personal liability insurance)
- Insured objects
- All objects of the contents of the home such as furniture, clothing, carpets, curtains, electrical appliances, etc.
- Plate glass on door and windowpanes, glass cabinets, glass surfaces on crates/boxes, cupboard and picture glass, mirrors, shower cubicles.
- Prams / bicycles in the building (e.g. cellar)
- Valuables such as cash, savings books, jewellery, etc. (Caution: there are value limits)
Unless you specifically exclude it, household insurance nearly always comes with liability insurance as well – and it’s almost more important.
What damages does liability insurance cover?
Liability insurance pays for damages caused to others through carelessness, recklessness or simply bad luck. In addition to numerous types of damage ranging from bicycle accidents (e.g. you make a wrong turn as a cyclist and cause a traffic accident) to a red wine stain on a friend’s carpet, this extensive range of insurance also includes several items that are directly related to the subject of housing.
Examples of this include:
- Your flowerpot falls from the windowsill of your apartment and damages a car parked below.
- Your washing machine or dishwasher leaks and damages the rented flat as well as the parquet floor, the building or your neighbour’s apartment and its contents.
- The Christmas candles on the Christmas tree in your apartment cause a fire. Your apartment and that of the neighbour have been damaged. The household insurance covers the damage to the contents of your own apartment (except in cases of gross negligence). Damages to the neighbour’s apartment are covered by the personal liability insurance.
Liability insurance also covers spouses or partners as well as children living in the same household.
In such accidents, the damages sometimes even reach levels that threaten your livelihood – you should not bear this risk yourself.
Please note: This article constitutes neither legal advice nor binding legal information but is merely an indicative overview that cannot consider the specific circumstances of each individual case. Any binding details can be found in the respective insurance policy.
These articles might also be of interest to you:
70 years of BUWOG: Sustainable building and living in Germany and Austria
Circularity in development projects: sustainability from the first brick laid
Building sustainably: the BUWOG SPEICHERBALLETT residential neighbourhood in Berlin-Spandau
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