Ask About Insurance at the German Post Office

Asking whether a package can be insured

At the counter, you first greet the staff member and say what you want to do. The line «Guten Tag, ich möchte dieses Paket nach Hamburg schicken. Kann ich es versichern?» means that you would like to send a package to Hamburg and asks whether you can insure it. The staff member answers with «Ja, natürlich. Standardmäßig ist es bis 500 Euro versichert. Möchten Sie eine höhere Versicherung?»: yes, of course, and by default the package is insured up to 500 euros. The same reply also asks whether you would like higher insurance. Notice that the question about insurance comes before the answer, and the offer of higher insurance comes at the end. When you speak, keep that order: request first, then reply, then the follow-up question about higher insurance.

Asking what is covered and understanding the answer

After the first answer, you can ask what the insurance includes. The line «Was ist in der Versicherung enthalten? Ist auch Diebstahl abgedeckt?» asks what is included in the insurance and whether theft is covered too. The staff member replies with «Verlust und Beschädigung sind abgedeckt, Diebstahl nur bei der höheren Versicherung. Die kostet fünf Euro mehr.»: loss and damage are covered, theft only with the higher insurance, and that costs five euros more. This means the basic insurance does not cover theft, but the higher insurance does. The price difference is five euros. When you hear this answer, you can decide whether to accept the higher insurance or stay with the basic one. The question about theft comes before the answer about coverage, so keep that order when you practise.

Short questions you can use at the counter

You can also use shorter questions if you do not need the full greeting. The line «Kann ich dieses Paket versichern?» asks whether you can insure the package. The line «Ist das Paket automatisch versichert?» asks whether the package is automatically insured. The line «Was ist in der Versicherung enthalten?» asks what is included in the insurance. The line «Bis zu welchem Betrag ist das Paket versichert?» asks up to what amount the package is insured. These four questions are useful when you already know you want insurance and only need one detail. Use them after the greeting, not before it. Each question expects a specific answer: «Kann ich dieses Paket versichern?» and «Ist das Paket automatisch versichert?» expect a yes or no about insurance, «Was ist in der Versicherung enthalten?» expects a list of what is covered, and «Bis zu welchem Betrag ist das Paket versichert?» expects an amount.

Listen once, then say the phrase yourself. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.

Checking available voices…

Read one side aloud, then answer in your own words. The goal is to make the exchange yours.

Common questions