Residential building insurance in comparison
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Free, non-binding comparison
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Save up to €1,168
Location: 22175 Hamburg
Type of house: Detached house
Year of construction: 2026
Further building details: 220 m², living area 200 m² ground floor + upper floor, 20 m² attic, with underfloor heating
Fire, escape of water, storm/hail: included
Natural hazards: excluded
Policy term: 1 year
Excess: yes, up to €1,000
Payment frequency: annual
Lowest-priced tariff: WGV Basis, €173.01 per year
Highest-priced tariff: K&M allsafe case prime, €1,341.73 per yearCalculated in January 2026
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Peace of mind through price guarantee
With Verivox’s Best Price Guarantee, you can be confident you’re getting the right deal. If the same tariff you purchased through Verivox is offered elsewhere at a lower price, we will cover the difference.
Who is Verivox?
At Verivox, we help our customers to check and cancel their existing policies and contracts and take out new ones. With our price and tariff comparisons, we offer a fast, simple and free service for insurance and other areas.
HOTLINE: If you have any further questions or need some personal advice, simply give our experts a call.
Residential building insurance: +49 (0) 6221 777 00 50 (Mon-Fri 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.)
- What is protected?
- Covered damage
- Who needs residential building insurance?
- Regional risks
- Tariff comparison in 3 steps
- Key requirements
- Costs of residential building insurance
- Switch or cancel contract
- FAQ
The essentials in a nutshell
- Residential building insurance (Wohngebäudeversicherung) pays for damage to your house caused by fire, storm, hail or domestic water.
- Protection against heavy rain, flooding, high water or earthquakes is offered by the natural hazards insurance (Elementarversicherung) add-on.
- Building insurance reimburses you for the cost of repairs, maintenance or even the reconstruction of your property after a total loss.
What does residential building insurance protect?
Residential building insurance protects you as a homeowner financially against damage caused by fire, escape of water, storm or hail. If permanently installed components of the house are damaged, the insurance pays the necessary repair costs – from damaged roofs to the rebuilding of the property. Even outbuildings, such as your garage, your summer house or fences on the property, are included in the building insurance protection.
You receive additional protection against extreme weather events with the natural hazards insurance add-on component. If you include natural hazard protection when taking out the policy, the service package extends to financial security in the event of extreme natural events, such as flooding, high water and landslides.
What damage does building insurance cover?
- Fire and lightning: Building insurance protects you against fire damage. This can be caused by fire spreading, short circuits or lightning. You are also covered if a tree struck by lightning falls and damages your roof. Surge damage and damage caused by explosions or implosions are also covered.
- Water damage and frost: Damage caused by leaking or burst pipes is insured. Frost damage to heating systems and sanitary facilities, and damage caused by water from aquariums or waterbeds, is also covered.
- Storm and hail: Storm and hail damage are also insured. Depending on the insurer, storm damage is often covered from wind force 8. Cover applies to both direct storm and hail damage and consequential damage, for example, if a tree damages your roof during a storm and rainwater penetrates.
What does residential building insurance pay for?
Building insurance primarily covers the cost of repairing and maintaining your property following insured damage. The insurer will cover the costs up to the sum insured as set out in the policy. This includes reconstruction of the house at its current market value in the event of total loss. In addition to repair and maintenance costs, building insurance policies also cover additional expenses. These include, for example:
- Hotel costs, if your house is not habitable after damage.
- Protection and removal costs, if your furnishings have to be stored temporarily outside the property.
- Clean-up costs, if, for example, fallen trees have to be removed.
- Damage mitigation and prevention costs, if, for example, provisional immediate measures reduce the damage.
Key difference to contents and liability insurance
Residential building insurance covers damage to the house itself, such as to a fitted kitchen. If furniture or other household items, such as televisions or jewellery, are damaged, it falls under the responsibility of contents insurance (Hausratversicherung). If you spill red wine on a friend's expensive white leather sofa while visiting, your private liability insurance will cover the cost of cleaning or replacing it.
Who needs residential building insurance?
Residential building insurance is not compulsory. Therefore, you can own a house without purchasing a policy. However, as damage to the property can amount to six figures, it is recommended for the following people:
- Homeowners: Your home is often one of the most expensive investments you will make in your lifetime. This makes it all the more important to protect yourself against damage to your building and the financial consequences of such damage.
- Landlords: The same applies to landlords: anyone who fails to insure the building must pay for all damage that would otherwise have been covered by the insurance.
- House builders: By purchasing a plot of land, you are taking the first step towards building your own home. Ideally, you should secure your plot and future home from this point onwards. One option is to take out fire shell insurance (Feuerrohbauversicherung), which automatically converts into residential building insurance once construction is complete.
Residential building insurance as loan security
If you take out a loan to buy or renovate a house, the lending bank will usually require the property to be covered by residential building insurance. This gives the bank the assurance that, even in the event of building damage requiring repairs, you will still be able to repay the loan.
Regional risks
Some regions of Germany are more frequently affected by floods, storms and heavy rain. According to the German Insurance Association, there was a particularly high amount of hail- and other natural hazard-related damage in the federal states of Bavaria and Hesse in 2023. Flood damage has increased significantly in recent years. Severe flooding in June 2024 caused significant damage, particularly in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.
Compare building insurance policies for free: In just 3 steps
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In order to find the best insurance tariff for you, we require some information about the property, such as its size and fittings.
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The basic tariff covers damage caused by fire, tap water, storms and hail. Extended benefits include protection against natural hazards and insurance against gross negligence.
3
Select your preferred tariff and conveniently take out your new building insurance policy via the online application process.
What needs to be considered when comparing tariffs?
With so many tariff offers available, it can be difficult to keep track of everything. Therefore, when comparing residential building insurance policies, consider not only the price, but also the benefits included. Tariffs with an unlimited sum insured, coverage of gross negligence and tariffs including glass insurance and natural hazard protection are highly recommended.
At Verivox, we are fully committed to the protection of consumers. We check all residential building insurance tariffs thoroughly and evaluate them using a comprehensive catalogue of criteria. In the comparison, we award a grade to each tariff, enabling you to recognise high service quality at first glance.
The most important requirements for your building insurance cover
- Natural hazards insurance: Natural hazards insurance (Elementarversicherung) protects you against extreme weather events such as floods, heavy rainfall, high winds, landslides and snow pressure. Due to an increase in extreme weather events as a result of climate change, natural hazards insurance is one of the most important additional component for ensuring your financial security.
- Gross negligence: If damage is caused by gross negligence, building insurance policies usually refuse to pay out. This includes damage caused by deliberately ignited materials, such as consequential damage from chimney fires, as well as damage caused by open or leaking windows. Therefore, it is sensible to insure against gross negligence.
- Glass breakage: This additional protection covers building glazing against all kinds of breakage damage. This includes all permanently installed glass parts, such as window and door panes, as well as glass blocks and domes.
- Supply and disposal pipes: Ensure that all supply and disposal pipes on your property, and ideally outside it, are insured. With standard tariffs, this is not always the case, especially with disposal pipes.
- Excess: Having an excess on your residential building insurance policy can help keep your insurance premium low. However, you will need to cover any damage up to the amount of the agreed excess yourself. We recommend a maximum excess of €600.
- Annual payment method: People who pay their insurance premium annually usually save money compared to those who pay monthly.
Good residential building insurance covers all the key risks. Whether it's a summer house, disposal pipes or general natural hazard protection, homeowners can choose from basic, comfort or premium tariffs that cover various risks at different levels. Our policyholders benefit from a transparent price-performance ratio when comparing insurance policies, and our insurance experts are on hand to offer advice and assistance.
How much does residential building insurance cost?
Building insurance costs are primarily based on the estimated value of your property. This depends on the following factors:
- Size
- Fittings
- Location
- Year of construction
The price for residential building insurance can be 98 euro or more per year, depending on the size of your house and the desired level of cover. For policies with an increased range or for very large properties, prices can be significantly higher.
In our calculation example, you can get basic protection against fire, tap water and storm/hail starting from €8.17 per month. If you extend this protection with the important natural hazards add-on, the annual cost rises to €142.
The following cost examples illustrate how premiums for residential building insurance can vary depending on the city, building type, and level of cover.
Detached house (1980, 140 m²)
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City
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Tariff excluding natural hazard protection
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Tariff including natural hazard protection
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|---|---|---|
| Stuttgart | €422.59 | €542.89 |
| Hamburg | €489.36 | €585.43 |
| Duisburg | €502.16 | €625.62 |
| Berlin | €367.18 | €456.06 |
Semi-detached house (2010, 160 m²)
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City
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Tariff excluding natural hazard protection
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Tariff including natural hazard protection
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|---|---|---|
| Stuttgart | €386.37 | €488.42 |
| Hamburg | €427.10 | €519.06 |
| Duisburg | €454.91 | €567.81 |
| Berlin | €301.61 | €390.13 |
Terraced house (2020, 120 m²)
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City
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Tariff excluding natural hazard protection
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Tariff including natural hazard protection
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|---|---|---|
| Stuttgart | €227.35 | €323.48 |
| Hamburg | €248.64 | €333.94 |
| Duisburg | €264.60 | €362.97 |
| Berlin | €175.82 | €260.71 |
Calculation (Date: 11/2025): Ground floor + first floor; cellar without living space; extent of benefits: fire, storm including hail, tap water, with and without natural hazards insurance; excess: max. 600 euro; annual payment; previous insurance exists; no previous claims; start of insurance: 01/01/2026 – average of the five cheapest tariffs
Switch or cancel contract
When buying a house, for example, you automatically take over the existing residential building insurance policy. Initially, this makes sense to ensure that insurance cover remains in place and no dangerous insurance gap arises. However, you should promptly check whether the insurance contract meets current standards and provides sufficient protection in all the areas you wish to secure. You can use Verivox's comparison tool to perform this check, in which you can compare several tariffs from different insurers and select and sign up for the residential building insurance that suits you directly – clearly, simply and free of charge.
Pay close attention to the notice period
If you want to switch to a different residential building insurance policy, it is important that you cancel your current policy correctly. Many annual policies renew automatically if not cancelled. The notice period is usually three months before the end of the term.
In the event of a premium increase or a claim, a special cancellation right exists for residential building insurance policies. Your new insurance provider will also often deal with the cancellation process on your behalf with your current insurer. Policyholders should ensure that insurance cover does not stop at any point. Why not try out our residential building insurance price comparison tool today to find the cheapest offer.
Frequently asked questions
The basic tariff insures damage to the building itself and all permanently installed building components caused by storm and hail, fire and escaping domestic water.
As a general rule, insurance does not cover damage caused by wear and tear, lack of maintenance or vandalism. However, you can insure against vandalism by adding an additional clause.
The insurance covers the cost of repairs after damage, maintenance costs, or rebuilding costs if the property is completely destroyed.
Costs can range from 100 to 1,000 euro per year, depending on the property size and fittings, the desired extent of insurance and the location of the risk.
No, there is no difference. The term 'residential building insurance' (Wohngebäudeversicherung) is often used by private homeowners, while 'building insurance' (Gebäudeversicherung) also applies to commercial property owners.