Home and Living Protection Plan: Immediate assistance and cost savings in emergencies
18.04.25
3
Minutes
Katrin Straub
Managing Director at nextsure
A dripping tap on a Sunday or a lost key late at night – emergencies in your own home are frustrating and often expensive. A home and living protection policy provides fast assistance and covers costs that your standard insurance may not include. Find out how you can save up to €1,500 or more a year with this optional add-on.
The topic in brief and concise terms
A Home and Living assistance policy complements your household contents or buildings insurance and covers emergency services such as locksmith services or drain cleaning, often up to 500 euros per claim.
The annual cost of a roadside assistance policy is low, at around €20 to €60, with an annual overall benefit often of €1,500 or more.
The protection cover is useful for tenants and owners and usually comes with no excess.
Quick Facts: Home and Living Protection at a Glance
< p>A House and Home protection policy is supplementary insurance. It extends the cover of your household contents or buildings insurance. Typical annual costs often range between twenty and sixty euros. Many providers cover costs of up to five hundred euros per claim. The annual maximum benefit can, for example, amount to 1,500 euros.
Practical examples: when a home and living protection plan can help in practice
Imagine coming home after a long day at work to find yourself locked out – the key is gone. A locksmith can quickly cost over one hundred euros. Or the heating fails on a cold public holiday; emergency call-outs here often come with significant surcharges. A home and household protection cover takes care of arranging the tradesperson and covering the costs in such cases, often up to a sum of five hundred euros per call-out. Another example is a blocked drain pipe that requires professional help; here too, the protection cover steps in and spares you unexpected costs of several hundred euros. The prompt help provided by the home protection cover is a real added value.
The following situations are typically covered by a protection cover policy:
Door opening by a locksmith in the event of lost or defective keys (costs often covered for up to two hours' labour).
Drain cleaning service for blockages (call-out charges and emergency repairs up to two hours).
Emergency plumbing, electrical and heating installation services (repair costs up to a certain amount, e.g. five hundred euros).
Pest control (costs covered up to, for example, five hundred euros).
Removal of wasp, hornet and bee nests (cover up to five hundred euros).
Emergency heating in the event of heating failure (provision of loan equipment, costs covered up to five hundred euros).
Childcare or accommodation for pets in an emergency (costs covered up to five hundred euros).
Document storage for important paperwork (costs covered for replacement up to five hundred euros).
These examples show how varied the support can be and how quickly the modest annual premium of often less than sixty euros can pay for itself. The protection cover is therefore a useful addition for tenants and property owners to protect themselves against the financial consequences of minor and major household emergencies.
Scope of cover in detail: What is typically insured?
The exact scope of cover of a home and household assistance policy varies depending on the provider. It is common for emergency tradesperson services to be covered up to five hundred euros per claim. The annual total benefit is often limited to 1,500 euros or 3,000 euros. It is important that the service provider is usually instructed via the insurance company in order to obtain the full entitlement to benefits. A natural hazard insurance policy covers other risks.
Core benefits often include:
Arranging and covering the cost of a locksmith, if you have locked yourself out (up to two hours' work).
Deployment of a drain cleaning service for blocked drains (up to two hours' work).
Emergency repairs to plumbing, electrical and heating systems by specialist companies (up to five hundred euros).
Pest control for pests such as wasps or rats by exterminators (up to five hundred euros).
Provision of an emergency heater if your heating system completely fails (up to five hundred euros).
In some policies, childcare or pet boarding in an emergency as well (up to five hundred euros).
Document service for lost papers (up to five hundred euros).
< p>Many assistance policies come without an excess, which means direct financial relief in the event of a claim. You should always refer to your contract documents for the exact terms and coverage limits, as there can be significant differences between providers. A comparison of contents and buildings insurance is therefore advisable.
Expert depth: Legal aspects and current notes
Legally speaking, the Home and Living protection cover is an additional benefit to an existing insurance contract, usually household contents or residential building insurance. As a rule, it cannot be taken out separately. The exact conditions, in particular exclusions and benefit limits (often five hundred euros per claim, 1,500 euros per year), are set out in the insurance policy documents. For tenants, it is relevant that the landlord has to cover certain damage, such as a faulty heating system; however, the protection cover may apply to minor repairs or loss of keys, for which the tenant is often responsible themselves (up to three hundred euros according to many tenancy agreements). A look at the tenancy agreement is revealing here. The building insurance obligation is a separate topic.
< p>Our expert tip: pay close attention to the wording in the insurance conditions. Recent rulings, for example by Cologne Regional Court (case no. 24 O 313/23) of 19 September 2024, show that not every water damage claim is automatically covered by residential building insurance. Damage caused by leaking grout joints in a shower was classified as uninsured here, as it was a construction defect and not mains water within the meaning of the conditions. The breakage of a drainage pipe in the garden was also not recognised by Kassel Regional Court (case no. 5 O 1901/23) on 13 August 2024 as insured mains-water damage. Although these rulings do not directly concern protection covers, they illustrate the importance of clearly defined terms and the scope of benefits. A protection cover can fill gaps here by organising prompt assistance, even if the cause may not fall under the main insurance, but still constitutes an emergency. A home and property advice can provide additional clarity here.
Weighing up costs and benefits: Is a breakdown cover policy worth it for you?
The cost of home and living assistance cover is comparatively low and often lies between twenty and sixty euros per year. By contrast, the potential costs of emergency services can quickly run into several hundred euros. A single call-out from a locksmith or emergency plumber can already exceed the annual premium. The maximum annual reimbursement is often €1,500 or even €3,000, which illustrates the benefit. The cover is particularly worthwhile for people who value prompt, straightforward help and cost certainty in the event of unforeseen household emergencies. It is a useful addition to home and living insurance.
Consider how often you would have needed an emergency service in the past five years. Work out the average cost of such a call-out, which can easily be between one hundred and fifty and three hundred euros. Even one such incident every two to three years can make the cover worthwhile. Added to this is the convenience of having a central point of contact in an emergency, which takes care of the arrangements. This is particularly valuable when emergencies occur outside normal business hours or on public holidays, when finding an available and reputable tradesperson is additionally difficult and costs are often fifty per cent higher. The cover therefore offers valuable protection and a useful service.
The path to optimal protection: finding the right cover
As home and property emergency cover is usually an add-on to contents insurance or residential buildings insurance, it is often chosen as part of a package. Compare offers from different insurers not only in terms of price, often just two to five euros a month, but above all in terms of the scope of cover. Pay attention to the amount covered per claim (five hundred euros is usual) and the annual overall reimbursement limit (often 1,500 euros). Check which specific emergency services are covered and whether an excess applies (usually none). nextsure offers you comprehensive advice to help you find the home emergency cover that suits your needs.
You should bear the following points in mind when choosing:
Is the emergency cover tied to an existing contents or residential buildings insurance policy, or can it also be purchased separately (rare)?
Which specific services are included (e.g. removal of wasp nests, pet care)?
Are there waiting periods before benefits can be claimed?
How quickly does the insurer respond in an emergency (service level promise, e.g. tradespeople on site within two hours)?
Does the cover apply only to the main residence or also to holiday homes?
Are losses caused by gross negligence also covered up to a certain amount?
A careful review of these aspects will help you choose a policy that really helps in an emergency and does not just create additional costs. The investment of a few euros per month can quickly pay for itself.
A home and living protection policy offers valuable cover against everyday emergencies for a small annual premium, often under sixty euros. It covers the cost of tradespeople and service providers, which can quickly amount to several hundred euros, and usually with no excess. The insurer’s organisation of assistance in the event of a claim saves time and stress. Cover limits of up to five hundred euros per claim and 1,500 euros or more per year provide solid financial relief. This makes the protection policy a sensible addition for any household, helping to make your own four walls even safer. It closes an important gap between standard contents insurance and buildings insurance.
Request an individual risk analysis now: Have your insurance situation checked free of charge and receive specific suggestions for improvement.
More useful links
Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) provides statistical data on housing and living conditions in Germany.
Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) provides information on civil protection and disaster preparedness in Germany.
Federal Environment Agency provides information on mould in indoor spaces and its effects on health.
FAQ
What exactly is a home and living protection policy?
A home and living protection policy is an additional insurance that covers services in household emergencies that are often not covered by standard contents or buildings insurance. These include, for example, locksmith services, drain cleaning or the removal of wasp nests.
What costs are covered in the event of a claim?
Cover per claim is usually limited to a certain amount, often 500 euros. The annual maximum compensation is often 1,500 euros or more, depending on the tariff.
Can I take out a House and Home protection policy separately?
As a rule, a House and Home protection policy can only be taken out as an additional component of an existing household contents or residential building insurance policy and is not intended as a standalone solution.
What is the difference between a home contents protection policy and a residential buildings protection policy?
A household contents protection cover is usually linked to household contents insurance and covers emergencies relating to the contents of the home and the flat or house. A residential building protection cover is an add-on to residential building insurance. The term 'house and home protection cover' is often used for both variants.
What do I need to do in the event of a claim to receive benefits from the cover?
In the event of a claim, you should contact your insurance provider immediately. A prerequisite for entitlement to benefits is usually that the assistance is organised via the service provider named by the insurer.
Does the cover also include damage caused by construction defects?
No, typically building defects are not covered by the protection cover or standard home buildings insurance. The protection cover focuses on acute emergencies and organising immediate assistance.
