Glass break – glass insurance, broken windows and more

Updated:
09.10.2026

Glass in a home can be insured under several policies, and which one pays depends on whose glass it is and what broke it. A separate glass insurance (Glasversicherung) is not required by law, but with large windows, a glass shower or small children, I would take a look at it. Below are the four kinds of insurance in which glass can be covered: what each one pays for and where the gaps are.

Types of glass insurance

In glass insurance, it is important to distinguish a few points. Firstly, we will discuss several types of insurance in which glass can be covered:

Third-party liability insurance (Privathaftpflicht)
Home contents insurance (Hausrat)
Additional glass insurance option for Hausratversicherung (Glasbruch)
Buildings insurance (Wohngebäudeversicherung)

Secondly, we need to figure out what glass products (subject of insurance) are insured:

Personal belongings are your possessions that are in your use.
Rented or borrowed items are third-party items in your possession.
Third-party property means items belonging to third parties that are in their possession.
Building elements are an integral part of a building or are attached to it.

And, thirdly, it is necessary to clearly define what is the cause of the damage to the glass.

Breakage.
Fire, water damage, storm, heavy rain, hail, burglary.

1. Privathaftpflicht (PHV)

Third-party liability insurance covers damage you are legally liable for, subject to the exclusions in your policy terms. Under German law, anyone who causes damage to property or injury must pay for that damage. Furthermore, the maximum amount of liability is unlimited.

Subject of insurance:
Other people’s glass items: all items that you do not own and do not use yourself

Cause of damage:
It was you who broke it. So, the insurance will cover the damage if you:

broke a vase while visiting someone’s home,
smashed a glass table in your neighbour’s garden,
broke your friend’s phone,
during a ball game you or your child accidentally hit a neighbour’s window and broke it,
dropped something heavy on a table in a café and it cracked,
accidentally bumped into a shop display,
cracked a mirror in a fitting room.

Generally, rented or borrowed glass items are excluded from cover.

However, insurance companies can include this option in certain packages. For example, the “Einfach Komplett” tariff from “Die Haftpflichtkasse” includes the “glass damage in landlord-owned accommodation” option. If you use the landlord’s furniture with glass elements, such as a glass table or a cabinet with glass display cases, or a hob, the insurance will cover the damage if you accidentally break something.

PHV usually covers the doors and window frames of a rented flat as Mietsachschäden (damage to the rented property). Whether it covers the glass itself depends on the tariff: some exclude it or sell it as an optional extra, others include it.

If you break a door or a window in a hotel or guesthouse, for example while on holiday, the insurance will pay compensation.

2. Hausrat (HR)

Home contents insurance — glass is covered if damaged as a result of an insured event: wind, water, fire, burglary.

There is also a Glasbruch option (detailed below), which protects glass items and building elements from damage that you accidentally cause yourself.

Subject of insurance:
Personal glassware (your own items that are in your possession), for example:

Glass panes, panels and mirrors made of glass or transparent plastic, used for home decoration.
Glass aquariums and terrariums.
Plastic or glass shower enclosure screens.
Basins made of glass, perspex and acrylic.
Glass shelves in cupboards.
Oven and microwave window

Cause of damage:
Those stipulated in the contract, as a rule fire, water damage, storm, hail and burglary. Heavy rain is only covered with a separate natural hazards module (Elementarschäden).

Insurance will cover, for example:

If the glass in your cabinet shattered as a result of a fire,
Windows shatter during an explosion.
If hail smashed the window and the vase standing on the windowsill was damaged, the cost of the vase will be covered by the Hausrat insurance

3. Glasbruch

Additional glass breakage insurance option in Hausrat. It can only be concluded together with the main agreement. Valid only at the address specified in the contract.

Subject of insurance:
Your own glass items and glass building elements.

Cause of damage:
Any, including your own carelessness (intentional damage is not covered).

Insured items include:
glass, panes of glass or transparent plastic professionally installed and securely attached to the building or outbuildings at the insured property;
panes, panels and mirrors made of glass or transparent plastic, used in domestic furniture;
glass aquariums and terrariums;
glass blocks, profiled glass and skylight domes made of glass or transparent plastic;
glass-ceramic hobs, including their electricals/electronics.

Not covered by this type of insurance:
multi-layered thermal insulating glazing, the edge seals of which leak due to normal wear and tear, manufacturing defects or glazing defects;
leaks (condensation in the space between the panes);
photovoltaic/solar modules (can be included separately in some tariffs);
hollow glass, lighting equipment and optical glass;
buildings constructed mainly of glass, greenhouses, and pool enclosures and covers;
glass and glass plates forming part of electronic devices for the reproduction of data, sound, image and communication (for example, television and monitor screens, tablet and smartphone displays).

Examples:

Playing children smash an expensive glass table.
You live in a rented flat and accidentally break a glass door.

This option also covers the cases stipulated in the PHV under the GLAS option, so there is no point in taking them out simultaneously. The cost of Glasbruch depends on floor area, excess and tariff: according to comparisons from 2025 and 2026, it is usually €20 to €60 a year, and under €10 with a high excess.

4. Wohngebäudeversicherung (WGV)

Property insurance for building owners.

Subject of insurance:
Buildings and fixtures and fittings: doors, windows, glazed terraces, shower cubicles, hobs.

Cause of damage:
Fire, water damage, storm and hail. Heavy rain is only covered with a separate natural hazards module (Elementarschäden).

This insurance policy will cover the insured event if:

The windows shattered as a result of the fire.
The satellite dish was torn off by the hurricane and thrown onto the conservatory, resulting in broken glazing and a damaged frame.
The storm destroyed the exterior glass patio roof in the courtyard.

If you break a window or a glass door yourself, Wohngebäudeversicherung (buildings insurance) does not pay: homeowners cover such accidental damage with an optional add-on for the glazing of the building (Gebäude-Glasversicherung).

Important to consider when taking out insurance

Glass is considered broken if there are large cracks, a spiderweb pattern or it has shattered into fragments. At the same time, scratches and wear and tear do not count as insured damage and are therefore not covered by the insurance.

Insurance is not paid out in cases where:

The glass damage existed prior to the contract,
if the glass is located in commercially used premises,
The damage was caused intentionally.

If the glass is broken:

Take a photo, it might be needed for insurance.
If you have broken the glass in your front door or a window, arrange for emergency glazing. (Temporary glass is secured until a new one is fitted)

Frequently asked questions about glass insurance (Glasbruch)

Is Glasbruch included in Hausrat (home contents insurance)?

As a rule, no. Standard Hausrat (home contents insurance) only pays for glass if an insured event named in the contract destroyed it: fire, Leitungswasser (water escaping from pipes), storm, hail or burglary. If a child breaks a glass table or you drop a pan on the Ceranfeld (glass-ceramic hob), that is accidental damage, and without the Glasbruch add-on (also called Glasversicherung, glass insurance) you pay yourself. What exactly is covered and what is excluded depends on the tariff, so read the list in the policy terms.

Do I need glass insurance, and what does it cost?

The law does not require it; it is a voluntary add-on. Some tenancy agreements do ask for it, though, so check your Mietvertrag (tenancy agreement). It usually costs €20 to €60 a year, less with a high excess, and the price depends on floor area, excess and tariff. I would take it out if the home has a lot of glass: large windows, glass doors, a shower enclosure, a Ceranfeld (glass-ceramic hob), children. First compare it with your Privathaftpflicht (private liability insurance): some panes in a rented flat may already be covered there. Send me your terms and I will check if you are paying twice for the same thing.

Does Privathaftpflicht pay for broken glass?

For other people’s glass, yes, if you damaged it through negligence: a ball through the neighbour’s window or a vase at a friend’s house. Intentional damage is not covered. For your own glass, no: your own window, glass table or glasses are not someone else’s property, so Privathaftpflicht (private liability insurance) does not pay. A rented flat is more complicated. The landlord’s doors and window frames fall under Mietsachschäden (damage to the rented property) if your tariff includes them; for broken glass, some tariffs exclude it or offer it as an optional extra, while others include it. The landlord’s furniture is usually not covered.

Which insurance pays for a broken window?

It depends on the cause and on whose window it is. After storm, hail, fire or Leitungswasser (water escaping from pipes) the window is part of the building, so the owner’s Wohngebäudeversicherung (buildings insurance) pays. If a ball hits the neighbour’s window, your Privathaftpflicht (private liability insurance) pays. If you break the window in your own house yourself, neither buildings insurance nor liability cover pays; only a glass insurance does. In a rented flat you are liable to the landlord: your Privathaftpflicht pays if the tariff includes Mietsachschäden (damage to the rented property) and does not exclude glass, or your Glasbruch add-on pays if it covers the windows of the rented flat.

Is a cracked Ceranfeld insured?

The Ceranfeld (glass-ceramic or induction hob) is part of the Glasbruch add-on (glass breakage cover) with most insurers, though some tariffs make you add it separately, and standard Hausrat (home contents insurance) does not include it. Hausrat only pays if an insured event such as a fire destroyed the hob. Scratches, small chips and wear are excluded by insurers. If the landlord fitted the hob, it is the landlord’s property, and what counts then are the terms of your Privathaftpflicht (private liability insurance) on Mietsachschäden (damage to the rented property). I advise looking for the line on Glaskeramik-Kochfelder (glass-ceramic hobs) in the terms before you sign, and checking for an upper limit.

Will insurance pay if my glasses or my phone screen break?

Glass insurance excludes these items: optical lenses (Brillengläser) and the displays of phones, tablets and televisions are not insured there. Standard Hausrat (home contents insurance) pays for them, as for any other item, only for an insured event named in the contract, such as a fire, not when they fall and crack. Your own Privathaftpflicht (private liability insurance) does not pay for your own belongings either. There are separate policies for glasses, for example through an optician, and device insurance for the phone. If someone else breaks your glasses or phone through negligence, that person’s Privathaftpflicht should pay.