Whether due to carelessness, mishap or forgetfulness - if you cause damage, you have to answer for it.

The injured party has a legal right to appropriate financial compensation. This includes the costs of restoring or replacing damaged objects, as well as consequential costs such as loss of use.

If people are injured, they will incur treatment costs and loss of earnings. Often the injured person is entitled to compensation for pain and suffering, and in the case of permanent damage to health, even to a lifelong pension.

You are liable with all your assets
Not all cases of private liability are as harmless as a window smashed at a football match or a stain of red wine on a neighbour's carpet. The damage caused can be so high that it endangers your economic existence.

As the person who caused the damage, you are liable with all your assets, your house and real estate, bank deposits, wages and salary. Even a later inheritance can be accessed in case of emergency.

Liability insurance protects you and your family against potentially ruinous claims for damages. The insurer first checks whether you are liable to pay damages and, if so, how much. If the claim is justified, it pays the damages, i.e. the compensation in money.

By the way: private liability also protects you as a property owner against damage caused by your house as long as you occupy it yourself. Spouses and children are also insured, of course. In addition, private liability insurance also covers you during temporary stays abroad.

Defence against unfounded claims
If necessary, the insurer will defend you against unfounded claims for damages. If a legal dispute arises with the party making the claim, your liability insurer will conduct the proceedings and bear the costs. Liability insurance thus also offers a kind of legal protection in the event of unjustified liability claims. Fines are not insured.

However, personal liability insurance does not pay for damage caused to each other by those insured under the same policy. Also excluded are damage caused intentionally, fines and penalties, purely contractual obligations such as the repayment of loans or damage caused by the use of motor vehicles - for this there is motor vehicle liability insurance, which every owner of a motor vehicle must take out.

First of all, liability insurance protects the policyholder himself - he is the contractual partner with all rights and obligations. The policyholder's family members, spouse and children, are also protected by private liability insurance.

Even if no marriage has been contracted, the insurance cover can be extended to the life partner. To do so, the name of the partner must be included in the contract.

Complete protection
Liability cover even extends to household and garden help and babysitters. If, for example, a neighbour is injured due to negligence on the part of your babysitter, your liability insurance will usually pay.

If the policyholder dies, the liability cover for the dependants continues until the next premium due date. If the surviving partner pays the next premium, he or she automatically becomes a contractual partner and the insurance cover then continues without interruption.

Insurance costs money - but anyone who does without personal liability insurance is taking a high risk. Because mishaps or accidents can neither be foreseen nor avoided.

If you don't want to be left sitting on your liability for damages in such cases, you need good liability protection. A private liability insurance policy for you and your family with the usual range of benefits is already available for an annual premium of less than one hundred euros.

The private liability risk is often underestimated - a little inattention is often enough to cause a lot of damage. And a serious accident can happen quickly: who hasn't crossed the road in a hurry despite a red light in order to catch the bus? If an accident occurs as a result, the liability insurance pays for the damage.

Personal injuries are not uncommon either: if you are a cyclist and collide with another cyclist and injure the other person, you will have to pay for the damage out of your own pocket if you do not have liability insurance.

Children often cause damage
Damage caused by children is particularly frequent, because children cannot yet assess the consequences of their actions as well as adults. Carelessly playing with a lighter can cause the entire apartment building to burn down, and the building owner's insurance company will then take recourse against the parents of the child who set fire to the building.

But the damage doesn't have to be that great - when playing football in the street, many a ball doesn't end up in the net, but in the window of the shop next door.

What liability cover do I need?
The comprehensive protection of a private liability insurance is usually sufficient for the vicissitudes of everyday life. By the way, you are also insured as a cyclist, skater and while practising typical recreational sports. 

However, certain cases must be insured separately: motor vehicle liability insurance is required by law for cars, motorbikes, mopeds and the like. If you own a sailboat or motorboat, you need sports boat liability insurance. Owners of horses, dogs and other larger animals take out special pet owner liability insurance.

Special liability for landlords and building owners
As the owner of an apartment building, landlord of a single-family home or owner of an undeveloped plot of land, you need separate homeowners' and builders' liability insurance.

For smaller construction projects up to an estimated sum of usually 50,000 euros, damages arising in connection with the construction activity are covered by the builder's personal liability. For larger construction projects, it is necessary to take out a separate builder's liability insurance policy.