Overview
- Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil circulated Eckpunkte for a draft law on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, proposing that newly issued residential building policies include cover for elementar events such as floods, heavy rain and earthquakes.
- Under the paper, existing building policies could be expanded to include elementar cover and would be activated automatically after one year if owners do not respond to an offer from their insurer.
- The proposal sets a homeowner cost cap of €20,000 per claim and asks officials to study a cheaper minimum policy that could leave owners responsible for larger sums, reportedly up to €100,000 in some designs.
- The insurance industry’s GDV welcomed broader coverage but said mandatory rules must be paired with binding prevention measures and a state-backed reinsurance backstop to keep premiums affordable and insurers solvent.
- About 41 percent of German homes currently lack elementar protection, insured losses from such events average roughly €2 billion a year, and the Eckpunkte will now go through consultations, a comment period and conversion into a formal bill for parliamentary debate.