Homeowners or Renters Insurance or an Emergency Insurance? What makes more sense?

An emergency homeowners and renters insurance is your insurance option in case of damage and breakdowns within your own four walls. In addition to the standard homeowners insurance, the costs for a locksmith, emergency handyman and even alternative accommodation are covered.

The advantages of Livy Plus: You are not bound to a major homeowners insurance contract and can manage everything comfortably via the app.

Something can always go wrong at home - whether you accidentally lock yourself out when taking out the household garbage or your heating system refuses to work on a cold winter weekend. This is annoying, but not the end of the world. The worst thing about it, is the costs you have to pay after the short-term tradesmen's job, which can tear a decent hole in your wallet, especially on weekends and in the evening hours.

With the emergency homeowners and renters insurance from Livy Plus, you no longer have to worry about this. The insurance covers the full costs of (professional) emergency services up to an annual maximum amount depending on the scope of services.

Let's found out how it all works, and which different insurance packages are available to you.

What is an emergency homeowners and renters insurance and what distinguishes it from a normal homeowners insurance?

An emergency homeowners and renters insurance is usually taken out as a supplement to one's normal homeowners insurance. This is because although the homeowners or renters insurance covers all valuables in an apartment or house against damage through no fault of one's own, the costs for repairing the damage are often not covered.

For example: in the event of water damage, your homeowners insurance will normally reimburse the replacement value of the damaged furnishings or electrical appliances; however, you will have to pay for the costs of employing craftsmen to remedy the cause yourself.

This is where the emergency homeowners and renters insurance comes into play. With this additional insurance, you protect yourself against paying the possible high costs that could come from calling an emergency service provider. This pays off especially when you need to call them outside of regular working hours, e.g. on weekends, holidays or at night, which usually involves particularly high extra costs.

The different packages from Livy Plus Home Cover are designed to suit your individual needs and living conditions. According to whether you are a homeowner or a renter, you can take out the appropriate insurance for you. And unlike most other providers, you can also take out the Livy Plus Home Cover completely independent of a typical homeowners or renters insurance.

Click here to learn more about our emergency homeowners and renters insurance.

When is an emergency homeowners and renters insurance worthwhile?

As we all know, one cannot predict whether taking out insurance will ever pay off for the insured or not. In the best possible case, you manage to live completely without accidents and never have to send in a claim. However, if due to carelessness you find yourself standing in front of a closed door, it can be very reassuring to know that you do not have to pay the costs of the locksmith out of your own pocket.

You can choose between basic and premium protection, which differ in some service details and the annual coverage amount. The prices of Livy Plus Home Cover are designed to keep the costs for you as low as possible. They range from 15 Euro (basic coverage for tenants) to 25 Euro (premium coverage for homeowners) per year.

But with the basic protection up to 3 times per year costs up to 300 euro and with the Premium protection up to 3 times per year up to 500 euro are taken over - and completely without self participation. So you should have already made up a multiple of the annual premiums if you take out insurance coverage even once.

In return, costs of up to 300 euros and up to 3 times per year for basic cover and up to 500 euros and up to 3 times per year for premium cover are covered - and all this without any deductible. You will already have made up a multiple of annual premiums if you take out insurance cover even once.

What does the Livy Plus Emergency Homeowners and Renters Insurance offer?

First of all, a note: there are no significant differences between a home protection letter and a home protection certificate (a "Hauschutzbrief" and a "Wohnungsschutzbrief"). The distinction is only made because some cases of damage are much more likely to occur in houses than in apartments. These possible damages are accordingly covered by a home protection certificate for owner-occupied homes, which also explains the slight price differences in the premiums.

The emergency homeowners and renters insurance from Livy Plus Home Cover offers you the following services as standard: 

• 24-hour emergency service by telephone and in the Livy App
• Locksmith (door opening and temporary lock)
• Cleaning of clogged pipes
• Repair and spare parts costs for problems with the electrical installation in the apartment or house 
• Temporary security after attempted or successful break-ins 
• Covering return travel costs if a holiday has to be prematurely terminated due to a case of damage

In addition, the following services are covered:

• Replacement of plumbing parts that cause problems with the water supply
• Costs of repair and spare parts for defective heating systems
  

If you choose the premium version of Livy Plus Home Cover, you can also take advantage of the following additional services:

• Leakage location in case of water damage
• Cost coverage for an emergency heating system in case of damage to the main heating system
• Guard service after attempted or successful burglaries, if necessary
• Pest control (although normally the responsibility of the landlord)
• Emergency housing, hotel, childcare, pet care and cleaning service, if the apartment is initially uninhabitable after damage

What is not covered by the Livy Plus Emergency Home Owners and Renters Insurance?

In order to be able to make an informed decision as to whether an emergency home owners and renters insurance is something for you, you should also know which costs are not covered:

• Plumbing: Replacement of defective seals, worn accessories of fittings or boilers, proper maintenance and servicing of the installation
• Heating: Electricity costs for emergency heating
• Electrical: Repair of electrical appliances (washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, etc.)
• Costs exceeding the compensation limits of 300 euros (or 500 euros in the Premium Package) per insured event and 900 euros (or 1,500 euros in the Premium Package) in the entire insurance year

Is an emergency homeowners and renters insurance useful?

In most cases, the rental contract stipulates that tenants must pay for minor repair costs of up to 300 euros (sometimes up to 500 euros) themselves. In practice, this often concerns so-called minor repairs in the sanitary area, such as pipe cleaning or the replacement of decrepit fittings. If you find such a clause in your tenancy agreement, it makes sense to have a home protection certificate, as it covers exactly this range and the repair costs are reimbursed in case of an emergency.

For homeowners, an emergency insurance offers even more security, as they are almost always on their own. Here it is important to look carefully at the scope of benefits of an existing homeowners insurance in order to avoid double protection.

In view of the fact that you also benefit from 24-hour emergency service, which in the event of a claim will put you in touch with competent specialist companies in your area and ensure that any restrictions for you and your family are kept to a minimum, an emergency homeowners and renters insurance is a worthwhile additional insurance.