Insurance on Contents - FAQs
Some questions and answers about contents insurance
What should I do in the event of damage or loss?
Your insurer should be notified immediately in the event of any damage or loss, and if it arose as the result of a burglary it should be reported to the police too. Ensure that your savings accounts, as well as credit and cash cards are blocked with immediate effect. Write down an inventory of destroyed or missing items, and forward this to your insurance company. You should also speak to your insurer before embarking on repair work and making replacement purchases. This said, however, broken windowpanes and external doors should be repaired immediately.
How are burglary, petty theft, and robbery specifically defined?
Burglary is deemed to have occurred if the perpetrator breaks into the insured premises:
- by forcing or breaking open doors, windows, or other parts of a building
- by overcoming obstacles and entering through openings that do not serve as entrances
- by slipping into premises and removing items from locked or otherwise secure storage
- by entering premises after opening locks using tools or unlawfully reproduced keys
- by entering premises using the proper keys, which have been obtained unlawfully by breaking into premises other than the insured one, or through the use of force, threat or physical coercion against other persons.
Petty theft is deemed to have occurred if a perpetrator enters premises unhindered, or without resorting to force, and removes valuables.
Robbery is deemed to have occurred if items are taken away, or if their surrender is obtained by force, menaces or threat of physical violence against the policyholder, or persons living with the policyholder in a common household, or other persons authorized to be on the insured premises.
Are my bicycles covered under the contents insurance when keeping them in a storeroom?
Insurance on contents not only covers the insured premises but also losses incurred from separate storerooms. If you keep a bicycle in a locked storeroom, any damage or theft is covered under your insurance on contents. Cover also extends to, for example, travel utensils, deep freezers and washing machines. However, valuable items such as jewelry must not be kept in storerooms.
We are about to move, how does this affect my insurance on contents?
Your contents insurance is transferable in the context of any relocation within Austria, so there shouldn’t be any problem. Simply inform your insurance company, in writing, about the change of address, and your home contents will then be automatically insured during the move.
Does contents insurance also cover damage by tap water?
As a matter of principle, any damage caused by tap water (also from washing machines or dish washers) is covered by the insurance policy. Insurance on contents covers damage caused by the overflow or leakage of water or water vapor, as well as from frost damage to water pipe-work systems. However, the insurer will only compensate the cost of damage if the house or premises are visited on a regular basis. Someone should therefore check your home every 72 hours during any prolonged period of absence.
Useful advice: Close the water main stopcock before going on a holiday. This will spare you the possibility of a very nasty surprise when you return!
Is there anything I should specifically consider before embarking on construction or refurbishment work to my home?
Ask your insurance agent for detailed advice before commencing any major refurbishment or construction work. For example, your insurance may not cover a loss if burglars have easy access to the house because of the construction work. Moreover, the surface area to be insured may also increase in size, which might in turn lead to the contract having to be amended.
What is off-premises cover?
Insurance on contents may also have an "off-premises effect". Household contents are also temporarily insured - for six months at the most - when kept at another premises. This does not include weekend houses or houses in garden colonies (allotments), nor does it encompass bath houses, hunting lodges or ski huts, or any other buildings that are not permanently occupied. Off-premises cover, as part of a contents policy, covers neither petty theft nor glass breakage. However, it does extend to occurring outside insured premises. The insured sum, applicable to off-premises cover, varies from one insurer to another. Ask your insurance company for the exact amounts of any cover.
Does my insurance on contents also cover my holiday home in another European country?
Yes. Your household contents insurer merely has to inform the supervisory authority of its cross-border activities. In practice, however, insurance cover will only apply if the risks can be assessed, which is not always the case in other countries. Disparate tax laws, contractual norms and the differing requirements of coverage are just some of the challenges in providing insurance in other territories. However, it is anticipated that it shall become easier to both offer and take out insurance trans-nationally in the future, as the harmonization of previously incongruous provisions continues and a growing number of people acquire property in other EU states.
Here you will find more questions and answers regarding international matters.
After a burglary, money was taken from my bank account. Will my insurance cover this?Household insurance does in principle cover claims from theft due to burglary, and for money, securities, savings books, or other property items such as jewellery, maximum limits can be agreed. Cash machine cards count as documents, because they do not themselves have any direct value. This means that in your case the household insurance will meet the bank charges for providing a new card, but not the costs of the money taken from the account.
My handbag was torn out of my hand in the middle of the street. Will the insurance cover the loss?Yes, your household insurance will cover the losses incurred, since you were robbed (see theft).
What does the term “actual or current value” mean?In matters of household insurance, a distinction is made between replacement value and actual or current value. With replacement value insurance, you will be reimbursed for the price of reacquiring your insured items. Preconditions for this is that the items are still in use and were worth at least 40 % of the price of procuring them as new. Otherwise, your insurance company will provide the actual or current value. This the value which the insured items had on the day of the incident, specifically taking into account a reduction in value for age and wear and tear.
At a crossing my handbag was stolen from the passenger seat of my car through the open window. Will the insurance cover the loss?No. While it is true that the household insurance will cover losses due to theft from breaking and entering and burglary, in your case this is what is referred to as simple theft, with which no violence or force was used. This is not covered by the household insurance.
My apartment was broken into. The intruder did not steal anything, but the place was completely wrecked. Will the damage be covered by the insurance?“Traditional” household insurance does not cover vandalism, but there is the possibility of concluding appropriate additional coverage. You will find this referred to in the terms and conditions of your contract. If you have concluded additional cover for vandalism, the household insurance will cover the claim.
Am I automatically covered against flooding?Cover against flooding is in most cases only available as an additional package to homeowner or household insurance, and the amounts covered differ considerably. Ask your insurance consultant about the best solution for you. For an individual assessment of flood risk, you can also refer to the HORA Website.
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