Contents and building insurance
- It´s very important that you take time to calculate the sum insured carefully. If the figure is too
low, you will be under-insured – meaning that any claims you make will not be paid in full. If it is
too high, you will be over-insured and pay too much for your contents insurance
What informations do you need to prepare a quote for contents insurance in Germany?
- the size of the different rooms to calculate the sum insured
- is it your house or is it a holiday home?
- is it a commune?
- they have to tell us their living space (suqare meters)
- a sepa debit (payment method)
- all the basic informations/personal data
- the year the building/house was built
- location (living area) → permanent?
- members/inhabitants (=Bewohner)
- personal possesions → valuables
How do German insurers calculate the sum insured for contents insurance?
m² (square meters) * Multiply per m² 650€ (Mindestversicherungssumme) = Versicherungssumme
auf 100€ gerundet
Email and webstite adresses
@ = at
. = dot
/ = slash
= backslash
- = dash
_= underscore
Formal and informal emails
Businessmails can have a formal style or an informal style. The formal style is similar to a standard
business letter and is used in emails to somebody outside your company or whom you do not know
very well. The informal style can be used for emails within your company and to people whom you
know well. The style is much closer to spoken than written English.
Style Salutation Close
Formal - Dear Mrs/Mr/Ms Smith - Your sincerely (very formal in
- Dear Kathy (after you have emails)
had contact) - (Best) Regards/Best Wishes
(can be used in formal an
informal emails)
Informal - Hi/Hello Peter - Bye/All the best/Best regards
- Peter (recipients´s name only) - Anne (sender´s name only)
Contractions: When writing formal emails, do not use contractions, such as I´m, she hasn´t, you´ll,
the´ve, etc. Write them out in full (I am, she has not, you will, they have)
Abbreviations: Informal emails may contain abbreviations like pls (=please), rgds (=regards=,
cu(=see you). In a formal business email you should avoid too many abbreviations
, Emoticons: Emoticons, e.g. :) for I´m happy, are only used in informal emails. They are written
forms or body language or gestures.
Vocabulary: Informal emails sound more like spoken English than formal emails.
Formal Informal
Thank you Thanks
I am writing to inform you Just a quick note to tell you
I would like to apologize for Sorry for
I would appreciate it if you could Can you
I am looking forword to your reply Hope to hear from you soon
Email body: Keep messages short and to the point. Seperate the paragraphes with break.
Subject: Write a clear and concise title that describes the emails´s content
Signature: Your name, your company, your contact informations
Attachment: Any kind of file that you send with an email is called attachment
Example for an email:
Subject: … (+ number)
Dear …,
Thank you for your E-Mail/letter/enquiry(=Anfrage).
That we can change the adress in our data base we need your new adress.
Please write it down on the following paper.
Important: We need the square meters of your new flat to calculate the sum insured. Because you
need the ideal cover for your home, when the sum insured is to low, you are underinsured. Maybe in
a case of claim you won´t get enough money to cover all losses. If your sum insured is too high,
you will be over- insured and pay too much money for your contents insurance. That´s why we have
to adjust the premium. Please complete the enclosed application because we need a further details
of your new home and return it as soon as possible.
If you have any questions? Do not hestitate to contact us.
Best wishes
Meline Deisböck
Stuttgarter Versicherung
Rules for a business mail
- subject line must match the message, clear and direct
- keep it short and get to the point
- use a professional e-mail adress that contains your name
- signature block
- be cautious with humor
- never criticize via email
- politeness (we suggest(=zeigen) the highest level of courtesy(=Höflichkeit))
- Format, use short paragraphs, lists and buller points to allow the reader to skim the text
- condusion (what should the reader do next?)
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