New ERGO homeowners insurance: comprehensive benefits, tailored and sustainable cover

ERGO is now offering a robust and easy-to-understand new homeowners insurance product. With a wide range of benefits and complementary modules, it provides highly individualised coverage. Its main focus is natural hazards and climate-friendly energy. The homeowners insurance is also easy to conclude and extremely competitive; the claims handling process is entirely digital.

ERGO’s new homeowners insurance features the affordable “Smart” and the premium “Best” rates. Both rates cover the most important elements. “When we were developing these products, we focused on what our customers wanted. In order for them to be properly covered when damage occurs, we included a wide range of extended benefits”, explained Dr. Feriha Zingal-Krpanic, the Member of the Board of Management responsible for rates at ERGO Versicherung AG.

All natural hazards covered together

The comprehensive insurance against fire, water and glass damage rounds out the all-in-one coverage: all natural hazards and storm/hail are covered together. Customers therefore have optimal coverage against natural hazards – with no deductible in most postal-code areas. “We included all natural hazards together in order to achieve higher coverage against weather events. Even in high-risk areas“, explained Dr. Janna Nguyen, Head of Property and Liability at ERGO Versicherung AG.

Sustainable coverage

Even the basic “Smart” module includes additional costs for rebuilding in an ecologically sustainable and age-appropriate manner, up to €50,000. The “Best” rate also includes theft of parts of the property (e.g. heat pumps). ERGO supports environmentally-friendly modernisation and also includes additional costs: if a renewable-energy source fails due to an insured event, the homeowners insurance will cover the electricity bill, as well as the lost feed-in fees to the grid. Customers can tailor their insurance to their individual needs by selecting from among a small number of intuitive modules. “We consciously limited ourselves to only a few modules, but they are very customer-centric. They are all freely combinable and intuitive, so that every customer gets the cover that they want”, said Dr. Janna Nguyen.

“Energy and household technology” module

ERGO supports renewable energy by insuring environmentally- and climate-friendly building technology, in the house and on the property. The product covers one’s own power-generation facilities as well as heating apparatus that uses renewable energy – even against unforeseen damage. Coverage includes photovoltaic systems with power-storage units, solar- and geothermal systems, heat pumps, and wallboxes and/or charging points.

Discount for prevention and modernisation

ERGO rewards investment by providing discounts on modernisation and preventative measures. A ten-percent modernisation discount will be applied to timely renovations of older buildings (e.g. water pipes, electrical wiring, or roof cladding). And customers receive discounts for preventative measures undertaken on their buildings (e.g. installation of backwater valves, overflow prevention systems or storm-proof roof tiling).

Digital claims handling

Customers can file their claims online easily, simply and around-the-clock: the file will be opened and coverage checked by a completely automated process. The automation also allows claims to paid out soon afterwards in many cases. Zingal-Krpanic sums up by saying: “Remaining focussed on the customer was our goal when designing the product and our processes.”

You will find the new homeowners insurance product online at: www.ergo.de/wohngebaeude.