Note
This article gives a general overview of data recovery clauses in German home contents insurance. It is neither insurance advice nor legal advice and does not replace an assessment of your individual case. Only your policy, the modules agreed and the conditions belonging to the contract are binding. We specialise in data recovery and neither advise on nor broker insurance.
After water damage in the study, a lightning strike or a fire, it is often not only the hardware that stops working. The damaged hard drive, SSD or NAS holds photos, documents and records that cannot be replaced. A professional data recovery costs money, and this is exactly where the question of home contents insurance comes up.
Many tariffs list data recovery costs as an insured item. The expectation that every data loss is therefore covered is misleading.
The key restriction first: what decides is not the size of the compensation limit, but whether the cause of the data loss is insured at all.
Does Home Contents Insurance Pay for Data Recovery?
Yes, numerous home contents tariffs cover the cost of a professional data recovery. The condition, however, is usually that the data loss occurred as a result of an insured event and that the storage device was damaged in the process.
Depending on the scope agreed, the following count as insured events:
- fire
- lightning strike and covered power surge
- escaping water
- burglary and vandalism
- storm and hail as well as further natural hazards, where included
The assessment always runs in the same order. First the cause, then the condition of the storage device, then the type of use, and finally the question of an available backup.
Covered and Uncovered Causes of Damage
The overview below classifies the most common cases. It does not replace an assessment of the individual case, but it shows the pattern the conditions follow.
| Cause of the data loss | Typical classification |
|---|---|
| Hard drive failed due to age | usually not a classic insured event |
| SSD controller defective without external cause | usually not covered |
| Files accidentally deleted | often not covered by the classic data recovery clause |
| Storage device accidentally formatted | often not covered |
| Data overwritten | usually not covered |
| Software or operating system error | often not covered |
| Wear | usually not covered |
| Fire damages a hard drive or NAS | can be covered |
| Escaping water damages the storage device | can be covered |
| Covered power surge damages the electronics | covered depending on tariff |
| Burglary or vandalism damages the storage device | can be covered |
| Ransomware or malicious software | only with corresponding cyber or additional cover |
Data Recovery Costs Compared Across Tariffs
The following figures come from the original conditions of each tariff, not from comparison portals.
| Insurer | Tariff | maximum data recovery costs | damage required | attempted recovery | use of the data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AXA | Online M | €1,000 | indemnifiable physical damage | included | exclusively private |
| allstern | 4 Sterne | €1,000 | indemnifiable physical damage | included | exclusively private |
| allstern | 5 Sterne | €10,000 | indemnifiable physical damage | included | exclusively private |
| InterRisk | XXL | €3,000 | in connection with the insured event | included | at least also private |
| VHV | Klassik-Garant | €2,500 | data loss on the device following an insured event | included | exclusively private |
| VHV | Klassik-Garant Exklusiv | up to the sum insured | as Klassik-Garant | included | exclusively private |
| HÄGER | Top 2.2 | up to the sum insured | physical damage | included | at least also private |
| Ammerländer | Excellent | no separate limit in the clause, governed by the sum insured | indemnifiable physical damage | not highlighted in the clause examined | exclusively private |
| agencio | natura fair | no separate limit in the clause, governed by the sum insured | indemnifiable physical damage | not stated in the clause examined | exclusively private |
Note on the table
The table shows selected tariffs examined on the basis of the available policy conditions. It is not a complete market comparison and contains no ranking. What matters is always the individual tariff taken out, the agreed sum insured, any additional modules and the specific course of events. Status of this review: September 2026. Sets of conditions are revised regularly.
The spread is striking. Between €1,000 and cover up to the agreed sum insured lies the difference between a partial reimbursement and full cost coverage, for instance in a RAID or NAS case with several affected drives.
Compensation Limit, Sum Insured and the €100,000
Comparison calculators display the figure of €100,000 for individual tariffs, occasionally also the wording "unlimited". Both need explaining.
In several of the sets of conditions examined there is no separate data recovery limit at all. Instead, the general home contents sum insured acts as the ceiling. If a sum insured of €100,000 is chosen in the quote, that figure then also appears for data recovery.
From this follows a point that regularly causes disappointment in practice:
- A high sum does not widen the range of insured causes of damage.
- An ordinary hard drive defect does not become an insured event just because the tariff names high limits.
- Conversely, a tariff with a €1,000 limit can pay in a matching case, while a tariff with a high sum declines in the same case because the cause is not covered.
Possible insured event: escaping water damages a NAS in the study. The data is no longer available and has to be reconstructed professionally.
Regularly problematic: an older hard drive fails through an internal mechanical defect, without fire, water, a power surge or any other insured event being involved.
How the claim is settled in a specific case is decided by the insurer on the basis of the contract and the course of events.
Storage Devices Concerned
As a rule the conditions do not distinguish by device type. They refer to electronically stored data and programs and to the damaged storage device. That brings the following into scope:
- internal and external hard drives
- SSDs
- USB sticks and memory cards
- notebooks and PCs
- NAS systems and private RAID arrays
- smartphones, provided the conditions and the insured location are met
Privately and Professionally Used Data
Here the conditions differ noticeably, and the difference matters for the self-employed and for anyone working from home:
- Exclusively private data is required by the clauses examined from AXA, allstern, VHV, Ammerländer and agencio.
- At least also private use is sufficient under the clauses examined from InterRisk and HÄGER. Mixed use is therefore not ruled out from the outset there.
Reimbursement After an Unsuccessful Data Recovery
One question comes up in almost every conversation: what happens if the data cannot be recovered in the end?
Several of the sets of conditions examined expressly also cover the cost of an attempted technical recovery. This is confirmed for:
- AXA Online M
- allstern 4 Sterne and 5 Sterne
- InterRisk XXL
- VHV Klassik-Garant and Klassik-Garant Exklusiv
- HÄGER Top 2.2
Backups and Their Effect on the Reimbursement
Several sets of conditions expressly exclude data and programs that are held on an available backup or installation medium. The reasoning is understandable: what can be restored does not need to be reconstructed.
That does not mean an existing backup rules out any payment. What matters is the wording of the clause and whether the data you need is genuinely available in full. A three-month-old partial backup does not replace the current data set.
A backup does not become superfluous because of insurance cover either. Insurance reimburses costs, not data. And an array of several drives is not itself a backup, as the article RAID is not a backup shows in detail. Which backup strategy holds up in everyday use is described in our overview on preventing data loss.
How to Proceed After an Insured Loss
The order of the first steps often decides how much can be recovered in the end and how smoothly the process with the insurer runs.
1. Take the storage device out of service. Do not start it again, do not format it, do not run chkdsk and do not run repair software on the original device. A NAS or RAID should be neither reinitialised nor rebuilt. Why a check run on a damaged drive is risky is explained in our article on chkdsk. Further immediate measures are summarised in our first aid overview.
2. Document the damage. Photos of the storage device and the site, the time and suspected cause, a list of the affected devices as well as any records from the fire brigade, the police or a plumber.
3. Contact the insurer. Useful questions for that conversation:
- Are data recovery costs included in my specific tariff?
- Does the benefit apply to this course of events?
- Is approval required before placing the order?
- Are a cost estimate or a technical diagnosis required?
- Is there a deductible or a maximum limit?
- Can the data recovery provider be chosen freely?
5. Document the approval. Wait for written confirmation of cover where required, note the claim or case number, and keep the diagnosis, the offer and the invoice.
Storage device failed after an insured loss?
We examine hard drives, SSDs, memory cards as well as RAID and NAS systems, and after the analysis we produce a comprehensible technical assessment with a fixed-price offer. That gives you a concrete basis for the discussion with your insurer. You can reach us on 0800-881 12 25 or through the contact form.
In a possible insured event, please clarify before placing a paid order whether your insurer requires approval or a cost estimate.
Conclusion
Data recovery costs are expressly insured in several home contents tariffs. The benefits examined range from €1,000 per insured event up to the agreed sum insured. The highest limit is not automatically the best protection.
What matters instead are six points: the insured cause of damage, the damage to the storage device, the private or mixed use of the data, the exclusions for existing backup copies, a possible deductible and the insurer's approval process.
Anyone who can no longer access their data after fire, water, a power surge or another potentially insured event should stop operating the storage device, document the damage and agree the cost cover with their insurer before the data recovery.
For that discussion the insurer needs a solid technical basis, meaning a diagnosis with a fixed-price offer. How we proceed is described under the data recovery process; an overview of the services is available on our pricing page.
Frequently Asked Questions About Data Recovery and Home Contents Insurance
Does home contents insurance pay for a broken hard drive?
Only if the data loss goes back to an event covered by the specific contract and the further conditions of the data recovery clause are met. A purely technical defect or wear is usually not sufficient. If a drive fails without an external cause, there is generally no insured event, even if the tariff includes data recovery costs in principle.
Does home contents insurance pay for accidentally deleted data?
The classic data recovery clauses examined require damage to the storage device or an insured event. Purely accidental deletion is therefore often not covered. In that situation what matters most is not to write to the storage device any further, because otherwise the technical chances of recovery drop.
Are SSDs, NAS systems and USB sticks included?
The conditions usually refer in general terms to electronically stored data and programs. What is decisive is therefore not the type of storage, but the cause of the damage, the way the data is used, the insured location and the wording of the respective clause.
Does the data recovery have to be approved in advance?
That depends on the contract and on how the claim is handled. Especially with higher costs, written confirmation of cover or of the costs should be obtained before placing the order. A technical diagnosis with a fixed-price offer is usually the basis for that.
Are the costs also covered if no data can be recovered?
Several of the tariffs examined expressly include the cost of an attempted technical recovery. Whether and at what level payment is made still depends on all the contractual conditions.
Is business data insured through home contents insurance?
Purely business data is not covered by many private home contents tariffs. Individual tariffs accept at least also private use. The specific wording of the conditions is decisive.
Does the insurance pay after a ransomware attack?
Not automatically through the classic home contents or data recovery clause. Special cyber modules or a separate cyber insurance policy may be required for that.
How high are the insured data recovery costs?
In the tariffs examined the fixed limits range from €1,000 to €10,000 per insured event. Other tariffs pay up to the agreed sum insured. The amount alone, however, says nothing about whether the specific loss is insured.
Lars Müller