A significant majority of homeowner's insurance policies are considered "excellent."
Homeowners should consider securing their dwellings with homeowners insurance, as suggested by Money Wise. The policy should encompass various aspects of coverage: fire damage, water leakages from pipes, weather-related calamities like storms and hail, along with other natural perils such as landslides, floods, and earthquakes. Even in regions deemed less prone to such disasters, shielding against elemental damage is advisable, considering the escalating frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall and flooding due to climate change.
The evaluation involved scrutinizing 182 premiums from 67 insurers for a sample home in two locations - Geiselberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Gera, Thuringia. It was emphasized that critical additional features, such as negligence-related exclusions, should be incorporated. Any reduction in coverage due to negligence, say, an unattended candlestick fire, would render the coverage insufficient, in the eyes of Money Wise, warranting a "insufficient" rating for the policy.
57 of the assessed plans falter
Not all natural hazards are covered automatically. Elemental perils like heavy rain, flooding, landslides, and earthquakes necessitate explicit coverage (elemental protection). This protection is crucial. Tests advocate for always including it in the coverage. Consequently, only policies offering elemental damage insurance were analyzed for the test, with the cost factored into each premium.
As a result, 57 of the assessed plans fall short. Moreover, the insurance premiums are on the rise. In 2024, the prices rose by 7.5%, marking the second-highest adjustment within the last ten decades. The highest price hike occurred the previous year, escalating by 14.7%.
The silver lining: more than half - namely 94 plans - impress with "excellent" features. The most beneficial plans for the model home in Gera can be secured from Dema ("Immo Protect Top-Schutz"), Die Bayerische ("Prestige"), and Domcura ("Top-Schutz") at an annual rate of 543 euros, while in Geiselberg, GVV Direkt ("Top-Schutz") provides the best deal at 624 euros per annum.
In light of the rising insurance premiums, renters might also want to consider securing their rental properties with adequate insurance coverage, following the advice of Money Wise. Unfortunately, many rental insurance policies may not automatically cover all natural hazards, such as heavy rain, flooding, landslides, and earthquakes. Therefore, renters should ensure they explicitly include elemental protection in their rental insurance policies.
