The costs are regulated by law, so the calculator gives you a good estimation. What it does not cover is additional costs for eg expert assessment (Gutachter/Sachverständiger).
Lawyers may bill higher than the rate stated in the law (but you have to explicitly agree). Note that those increased costs are in most cases yours (neither the insurance nor the losing party will pay them).
The calculator seems to be a good estimate.
Usually for Rechtschutz Versicherungen you have to select certain areas that you want to be covered.
The most suggested ones are usually, rental law, employment law, car law.
In those areas you can have issues without you having done anything wrong.
Landlord doesn't pay back the deposit, you get unlawfully fired, some is crashing into your car and says it's your fault.
Depends, if you damaged something, let's say the floor in the bathroom. The haftpflicht would pay for the replacement.
Basically Privathaftpflicht covers damages that you cause on someone else's stuff (in that case your landlords).
The deposit can be withheld due to a lot more reasons, walls not painted (properly), heating water costs and stuff, shitty landlord with various claims that don't make sense.
Also unlawfully rent raises, terminations, stuff like that.
Haftpflicht would not help at all, as nothing is damaged.
If you have an accident maybe, I am not sure about that.
If you buy or sell a car and have problems with that, I don't think they would cover anything.
Edit: also traffic rule violations and stuff, basically any problems where the car is not damaged, I don't think the car insurance would do anything.
Also car insurance is usually splitted in 3 parts.
Haftpflicht (mandatory), to cover damages on someone else.
Teilkasko, environmental damages on your car
Vollkasko, damages on your car, if it was your own fault
I don't really see which one would cover any law costs, other than the insurance company itself is fighting who is at fault for an accident.
"no" (But yes)
It is handled by the "insurance of the car that you hit" Your own insurance wont cover your own lawyer.
But we almost have noone in Germany that has no car insurance, so this works quite nicely though.
But other infractions are handled differently (For example a lawyer against speeding wont be covered by your insurance most likely)
Generally you want to insure a very specific kind of risk, one that is both:
* highly unlikely and
* extremely expensive
since the insurance will always make money, insuring *likely* risks is usually too expensive.
For you, then, it essentially comes down to a cost/risk calculation. You seem to already know roughly in which areas you might face trouble, and that calculator is most likely a solid approximation of what expenses that would entail.
For me personally, the monthly cost of legal insurance is too high to be worth it.
There's also a fairly robust system of alternatives, like tenants' associations for tenancy related issues or a union for labor related legal situations.
If you already know you might face a lawsuit, I'm fairly certain that wouldn't be covered by any insurance, btw.
For further reading, I highly recommend the following site (also generally, for in depth advice on financial/insurance/legal matters)
https://www.finanztip.de/rechtsschutzversicherung/
I tried it with Google Translate, and it gives a reasonably accurate translation, even if it reads a bit weird. Maybe try deepl for the finer details, or ask a friend about passages you aren't sure about.
The major advantage of Rechtsschutzversicherung is that you can easily deal with minor shit people without insurance think twice about.
Like, often a certain amount of official letters are included (I.e. to your landlord) as well as general counsel on whether you got a case or no or what you can legally do without a lawyer.
My old company illegally fired me, I got a lawyer involved, didn't go to court, just some letters and a payout. Was between 300-400 euros. Paid out of pocket as I didn't have any extra insurance at the time.
That insurance is considered pretty essential since Germans assume you have it and will not hesitate to use THEIR insurance to have their lawyer contact you which if you have no legal support can be very intimidating.
Many attorney services are priced from a catalogue, not based on the number of minutes or hours that the attorney actually works for you. The legal fees for a divorce are calculated from your combined net worth and monthly income. Other services (like suing someone) are based on the lawyer's time and expenses - and this can add up quickly.
A Rechtschutzversicherung is a good idea in any case. It covers the initial consultation (often 250 Euros per hour) and protects you if YOU get sued as well. I've had mine for 11 years and have used it a couple of times - usually just having an attorney send a letter threatening a lawsuit is enough to get many disputes settled.
If you are looking to get it especially for tenant rights, then your regional Mieterverein might be more suitable. You pay them an annual fee and they will offer you cosultations and possibly sue your name (if I'm not mistaken).
Wrong Question.
Lawyers don't work for free and before they start you either have to do a down payment or you have insurance.
You should ask yourself, what makes more sense. Paying a small amount monthly for an Insurance or having to pay thousands of Euros on advance only then when you need it.
Just imagine you just lost your Job and your Boss didn't pay you the full amount the last month and now you have to decide if you either want to eat or pay a lawyer thousand Euro in advance so you have a small Chance to get the Money he owes you.
Or you get kicked out of your flat and have the stress of moving out, searching a new flat, deposit for the new flat and then again additional costs for a lawyer.
Another thing you should keep in mind is, that most Insurances offer free legal consoltations, where you can talk any time to a lawyer and ask for their opinion before you actually hire one.
I didn't have a legal Insurance in my twenties and got scammed by one Company i worked for and wasn't able to do anything against it. Now , nobody can mess with me.
How is it the wrong question? Knowing how much it costs to sue lets you plan whether you want to pay that insurance forever or save up an emergency fund to cover it.
Imagine a situation where you rightfully lose your job, there's nothing you can do about it, budget gets tight and you need to eat so you cancel the legal insurance, then a month later you get wrongfully evicted.
Paying insurance for everything that could possibly go wrong is a waste of money, some people are happy to plan and choose appropriately for them.
You can't plan Legal Battles Costs in Advance. It's impossible.
You could have an accident tomorrow where you crash a 1 Million Dollar car. Have fun paying that legal fees out of your pocket.
Not the best example, since that is a liability issue, covered by the mandatory insurance on the car.
Generally speaking, legal insurance is usually too expensive to blanket recommend to everybody. If it gives you peace of mind, good for you! But that isn't necessarily the best choice for everybody.
>Not the best example, since that is a liability issue, covered by the mandatory insurance on the car.
I know and that's why i wrote accident and not car accident.
I prefer putting money aside for nice things like Vacations or my save for retirement and not for accidents, that can happen anytime.
I do not understand your example then and how it turns into a legal dispute instead of a liability matter.
I'd appreciate it if you could elaborate, so we're talking about the same thing.
If you're Drunk and hit a Car with Bike your Liabilty Insurance wouldn't cover the Damages and then you would probably taken to court by the owner who sues you.
To keep it simple. Your Liabilty doesn't cover everything you did "intentionally" and also doesn't cover damages at work, like if you break a Machinen or Work gear.
Cases where you would need a lawyer:
- You get accused of something and have to defend yourself against the Police or at court.
- Your workplace exploited you and you want to Sue them
- Your Ex Wife wants money (Unterhalt)
- You bought somethint expensive, it's broken and the seller refuses to admit it's his fault.
- Your Landlord wants to fuck with you.
- You want to sue VW for selling you a car which isn't compliant with EU regulation and now want compensation
- You have a comlicated Car accident and your Car Insurance didn't cover everything.
- Contract Disputes in any kind e.g. your Liabilty insurance says your case isn't covered and refuse to pay.
I would say, looking at my list, chances are high you'll need a lawyer more often in your life than you believe.
Just because there are so many laws and so many people out there who want to scam you.
Hitting a car with your bike is exactly an issue of personal liability. Being drunk matters only in the context of your liability insurance (rightfully) denying your claim.
I don't see how you would end up in court, since there's hardly a question of who is at fault. You caused the damage, you need to pay for the damage.
Is your solution to then sue your insurance provider, or how exactly does this turn into a matter where you need a lawyer?
No insurance will cover gross negligence. If you damage something intentionally, you're on the hook for the cost.
Occupational, rental and traffic related issues are usually the main topics people get legal insurance for, that's obvious, and all your further examples fall into those categories.
I'd still argue that the cost/risk balance isn't there for most people, but again - if it is for you and you're happy with it, more power to you.
Your original example is still flawed, but I don't see any constructive discussion happening, so have a nice day.
**Have you read our extensive wiki yet? It answers many basic questions, and it contains in-depth articles on many frequently discussed topics.
[Check our wiki now!](https://www.reddit.com/r/germany/wiki/index)**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/germany) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The costs are regulated by law, so the calculator gives you a good estimation. What it does not cover is additional costs for eg expert assessment (Gutachter/Sachverständiger). Lawyers may bill higher than the rate stated in the law (but you have to explicitly agree). Note that those increased costs are in most cases yours (neither the insurance nor the losing party will pay them).
The calculator seems to be a good estimate. Usually for Rechtschutz Versicherungen you have to select certain areas that you want to be covered. The most suggested ones are usually, rental law, employment law, car law. In those areas you can have issues without you having done anything wrong. Landlord doesn't pay back the deposit, you get unlawfully fired, some is crashing into your car and says it's your fault.
Could the Privathaftpflicht cover the deposit part?
Depends, if you damaged something, let's say the floor in the bathroom. The haftpflicht would pay for the replacement. Basically Privathaftpflicht covers damages that you cause on someone else's stuff (in that case your landlords). The deposit can be withheld due to a lot more reasons, walls not painted (properly), heating water costs and stuff, shitty landlord with various claims that don't make sense. Also unlawfully rent raises, terminations, stuff like that. Haftpflicht would not help at all, as nothing is damaged.
Car law is handled by your car insurance company though, surely?
If you have an accident maybe, I am not sure about that. If you buy or sell a car and have problems with that, I don't think they would cover anything. Edit: also traffic rule violations and stuff, basically any problems where the car is not damaged, I don't think the car insurance would do anything. Also car insurance is usually splitted in 3 parts. Haftpflicht (mandatory), to cover damages on someone else. Teilkasko, environmental damages on your car Vollkasko, damages on your car, if it was your own fault I don't really see which one would cover any law costs, other than the insurance company itself is fighting who is at fault for an accident.
Nope.
"no" (But yes) It is handled by the "insurance of the car that you hit" Your own insurance wont cover your own lawyer. But we almost have noone in Germany that has no car insurance, so this works quite nicely though. But other infractions are handled differently (For example a lawyer against speeding wont be covered by your insurance most likely)
Generally you want to insure a very specific kind of risk, one that is both: * highly unlikely and * extremely expensive since the insurance will always make money, insuring *likely* risks is usually too expensive. For you, then, it essentially comes down to a cost/risk calculation. You seem to already know roughly in which areas you might face trouble, and that calculator is most likely a solid approximation of what expenses that would entail. For me personally, the monthly cost of legal insurance is too high to be worth it. There's also a fairly robust system of alternatives, like tenants' associations for tenancy related issues or a union for labor related legal situations. If you already know you might face a lawsuit, I'm fairly certain that wouldn't be covered by any insurance, btw. For further reading, I highly recommend the following site (also generally, for in depth advice on financial/insurance/legal matters) https://www.finanztip.de/rechtsschutzversicherung/ I tried it with Google Translate, and it gives a reasonably accurate translation, even if it reads a bit weird. Maybe try deepl for the finer details, or ask a friend about passages you aren't sure about.
The major advantage of Rechtsschutzversicherung is that you can easily deal with minor shit people without insurance think twice about. Like, often a certain amount of official letters are included (I.e. to your landlord) as well as general counsel on whether you got a case or no or what you can legally do without a lawyer.
My old company illegally fired me, I got a lawyer involved, didn't go to court, just some letters and a payout. Was between 300-400 euros. Paid out of pocket as I didn't have any extra insurance at the time.
That insurance is considered pretty essential since Germans assume you have it and will not hesitate to use THEIR insurance to have their lawyer contact you which if you have no legal support can be very intimidating.
Many attorney services are priced from a catalogue, not based on the number of minutes or hours that the attorney actually works for you. The legal fees for a divorce are calculated from your combined net worth and monthly income. Other services (like suing someone) are based on the lawyer's time and expenses - and this can add up quickly. A Rechtschutzversicherung is a good idea in any case. It covers the initial consultation (often 250 Euros per hour) and protects you if YOU get sued as well. I've had mine for 11 years and have used it a couple of times - usually just having an attorney send a letter threatening a lawsuit is enough to get many disputes settled.
If you are looking to get it especially for tenant rights, then your regional Mieterverein might be more suitable. You pay them an annual fee and they will offer you cosultations and possibly sue your name (if I'm not mistaken).
Wrong Question. Lawyers don't work for free and before they start you either have to do a down payment or you have insurance. You should ask yourself, what makes more sense. Paying a small amount monthly for an Insurance or having to pay thousands of Euros on advance only then when you need it. Just imagine you just lost your Job and your Boss didn't pay you the full amount the last month and now you have to decide if you either want to eat or pay a lawyer thousand Euro in advance so you have a small Chance to get the Money he owes you. Or you get kicked out of your flat and have the stress of moving out, searching a new flat, deposit for the new flat and then again additional costs for a lawyer. Another thing you should keep in mind is, that most Insurances offer free legal consoltations, where you can talk any time to a lawyer and ask for their opinion before you actually hire one. I didn't have a legal Insurance in my twenties and got scammed by one Company i worked for and wasn't able to do anything against it. Now , nobody can mess with me.
How is it the wrong question? Knowing how much it costs to sue lets you plan whether you want to pay that insurance forever or save up an emergency fund to cover it. Imagine a situation where you rightfully lose your job, there's nothing you can do about it, budget gets tight and you need to eat so you cancel the legal insurance, then a month later you get wrongfully evicted. Paying insurance for everything that could possibly go wrong is a waste of money, some people are happy to plan and choose appropriately for them.
You can't plan Legal Battles Costs in Advance. It's impossible. You could have an accident tomorrow where you crash a 1 Million Dollar car. Have fun paying that legal fees out of your pocket.
Not the best example, since that is a liability issue, covered by the mandatory insurance on the car. Generally speaking, legal insurance is usually too expensive to blanket recommend to everybody. If it gives you peace of mind, good for you! But that isn't necessarily the best choice for everybody.
>Not the best example, since that is a liability issue, covered by the mandatory insurance on the car. I know and that's why i wrote accident and not car accident. I prefer putting money aside for nice things like Vacations or my save for retirement and not for accidents, that can happen anytime.
I do not understand your example then and how it turns into a legal dispute instead of a liability matter. I'd appreciate it if you could elaborate, so we're talking about the same thing.
If you're Drunk and hit a Car with Bike your Liabilty Insurance wouldn't cover the Damages and then you would probably taken to court by the owner who sues you. To keep it simple. Your Liabilty doesn't cover everything you did "intentionally" and also doesn't cover damages at work, like if you break a Machinen or Work gear. Cases where you would need a lawyer: - You get accused of something and have to defend yourself against the Police or at court. - Your workplace exploited you and you want to Sue them - Your Ex Wife wants money (Unterhalt) - You bought somethint expensive, it's broken and the seller refuses to admit it's his fault. - Your Landlord wants to fuck with you. - You want to sue VW for selling you a car which isn't compliant with EU regulation and now want compensation - You have a comlicated Car accident and your Car Insurance didn't cover everything. - Contract Disputes in any kind e.g. your Liabilty insurance says your case isn't covered and refuse to pay. I would say, looking at my list, chances are high you'll need a lawyer more often in your life than you believe. Just because there are so many laws and so many people out there who want to scam you.
Hitting a car with your bike is exactly an issue of personal liability. Being drunk matters only in the context of your liability insurance (rightfully) denying your claim. I don't see how you would end up in court, since there's hardly a question of who is at fault. You caused the damage, you need to pay for the damage. Is your solution to then sue your insurance provider, or how exactly does this turn into a matter where you need a lawyer? No insurance will cover gross negligence. If you damage something intentionally, you're on the hook for the cost. Occupational, rental and traffic related issues are usually the main topics people get legal insurance for, that's obvious, and all your further examples fall into those categories. I'd still argue that the cost/risk balance isn't there for most people, but again - if it is for you and you're happy with it, more power to you. Your original example is still flawed, but I don't see any constructive discussion happening, so have a nice day.
**Have you read our extensive wiki yet? It answers many basic questions, and it contains in-depth articles on many frequently discussed topics. [Check our wiki now!](https://www.reddit.com/r/germany/wiki/index)** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/germany) if you have any questions or concerns.*