Individuals: what are the mandatory insurances in Luxembourg?

Third-party liability insurance for cars and motorbikes is compulsory

In the Grand Duchy, the strict legal minimum is limited exclusively to car or motorcycle Third-Party Liability (TPL) insurance. This mandatory cover pays for material damage and bodily injury caused to third parties in the event of an accident. It is clearly distinct from optional cover (such as Casco or driver insurance) which protects against damage you suffer yourself. However, please note that the obligation may go beyond the legal framework: when taking out a car loan or leasing contract, the finance provider contractually requires full ‘comprehensive’ cover.

If you have dog, hunt or boat, then third-party liability insurance is mandatory

In Luxembourg, you are not required to take out insurance for all your activities. However, the law requires specific cover as soon as you take part in a leisure activity or own an animal that poses a risk to others.

This is the case if you own a guard dog or a breed considered potentially dangerous: the municipal administration will require a special insurance certificate to register your animal with the town hall. Similarly, you will not be able to obtain your hunting licence or operate a pleasure craft without proving that you are properly insured. Without this official certificate, you are simply not allowed to carry out these activities.

The boat third-party liability insurance is mandatory whether you have a boat, a windsurf, a motorboat or a small sailboat. It covers you if you accidentally hit a swimmer or another boat.

Hunting third-party liability insurance is a specific and compulsory insurance for hunters. In fact, in order to renew their hunting licence, licence holders must provide an insurance certificate each year.

In addition to these compulsory insurance policies, other insurance policies are strongly recommended to protect you as you go about your everyday life:

Civil liability insurance to cover all everyday claims

Contrary to popular belief, private third-party liability insurance ‘for everyday life’ (often known as family insurance) is not mandatory by default in Luxembourg. It remains entirely optional for everyday activities, except for the specific exceptions mentioned above (dogs, hunting). However, it offers broad protection because it covers all members of your household for damage caused to others. This is why it is universally recommended by professionals.

For example, your children break the neighbour's window during a boisterous game of football. You injure a passer-by while driving your electric scooter. Or you lose control of your drone, which cuts off a car and causes an accident.

If civil liability coverage is a mystery to you, then you need to take a closer look! Read our article to know everything about civil liability.

Home insurance to protect your property

From a strictly legal perspective, no law requires you to insure your home in Luxembourg. In practice, however, contractual obligations are widespread across the market. If you are a tenant, the landlord almost systematically includes a mandatory ‘rental risks’ insurance clause in the tenancy agreement. If you are a homeowner, the bank will make taking out fire insurance a mandatory condition for granting your mortgage loan. The requirement is therefore not statutory, but contractual and unavoidable.

Health insurance to cover costs not reimbursed by the National Health Fund

Luxembourg’s healthcare system is based on the compulsory cover provided by the National Health Fund (CNS), which covers most basic healthcare for insured persons. Mutual health insurance or private supplementary health insurance therefore provides an additional level of cover, which is entirely optional. It is not mandatory in any way, but helps optimise reimbursement of the co-payments remaining payable by the insured person (alternative medicine, hospitalisation in a private room, optical care).

Dental care, consultations or hospital treatment are often subject to extra charges. In the case of childbirth for example, hospitalisation costs quickly reach €2000 when mothers-to-be choose to stay in a single room. The same is true for spectacle wearers, as the amount reimbursed by the National Health Fund for lenses and frames are capped. You can find all our advice on how to avoid unpleasant surprises and enjoy the benefits of complementary health insurance in this article.

Individual accident insurance

To protect your family in the event of a serious accident when there is no third party responsible, we advise you to take out personal “accident” insurance.

 Entirely optional, personal accident insurance works on the opposite principle to Third-Party Liability. While TPL covers only damage you cause to third parties, personal accident insurance is designed to cover you personally. It pays out a lump sum or compensates you for your own bodily injury suffered in an accident in your private life, without any liable third party needing to be identified.

Which insurance policies are you legally required to take out in Luxembourg?