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Insured against almost everything
Germans hold more insurance policies than almost anyone else, and planning for what could go wrong is a respectable habit rather than a pessimistic one. Health insurance is compulsory, as is third-party cover for a car. Beyond that, roughly four households in five carry private liability insurance — Haftpflichtversicherung — which pays out if you break someone else's property or injure them accidentally, and which landlords, sports clubs and even some flatshares will ask about. Legal expenses insurance is widespread enough that disputes go to court more readily than in Britain. There is contents insurance, occupational disability insurance, and a supplementary policy for the dentistry the public system only part-covers. The Riester and Rürup schemes are state-subsidised private pensions with their own vocabulary. For a newcomer the practical point is that the Haftpflicht is cheap, genuinely useful and the first thing a German friend will tell you to get.