Staying in Sweden for months or years? Then the question isn’t whether your things are worth insuring. It’s who pays when you crack the landlord’s sink or a leak ruins the flat below. Here is how the Swedish home policy works, from a source with nothing to sell.
When you need this
You have just signed a lease, a sublet (andrahandskontrakt) or a room as a lodger (inneboende). Or a landlord has asked for proof of home insurance. You may be a student wondering whether the university’s insurance is enough. Or you moved for work and aren’t registered yet, and neither is your partner. Maybe you are counting on a policy from home. Or something in the flat just broke, leaked or was stolen.
What every hemförsäkring contains
Almost everyone living in Sweden has a hemförsäkring (home insurance). Konsumenternas, the neutral consumer bureau for insurance, tells newcomers plainly that everyone needs one. It is not just contents insurance. Every Swedish policy is a package with the same five parts:
| Part | Swedish | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Belongings | lösöre | Pays for things you own, borrow or rent if stolen or destroyed, at home and away |
| Liability | ansvarsskydd | Pays a claim against you if you negligently damaged someone else’s property, and helps you reject it if you didn’t |
| Legal costs | rättsskydd | Pays lawyer’s costs in a civil dispute in the ordinary courts |
| Assault | överfallsskydd | A standard payment if you are assaulted |
| Travel | reseskydd | Emergency care and transport home on trips of up to 45 days |
Most policies also include help after ID theft, though not all. What basic cover does not include is accidental damage — sitting on your glasses, spilling coffee on your laptop, a pickpocket on the bus. That takes an all-risk add-on (allrisk, nicknamed drulleförsäkring, “klutz insurance”).
Why a tenant needs it: the damage rule
No statute we found makes home insurance compulsory. But Swedish law makes a tenant responsible for the home. In a rental flat, the Land Code (Jordabalken, chapter 12, section 24) says the tenant must take good care of the flat. They must compensate all damage caused by their own fault, or by the negligence of household members, guests or anyone they let in. For fire they didn’t cause, they are liable only if they failed in care and supervision.
Since 1 July 2026, private lets fall under the new Private Letting Act (Privatuthyrningslag). Its chapter 4 repeats the same duty almost word for word. Guides that still cite the old 2012 act for this are out of date.
That’s where the liability cover earns its keep. For a rented home, it typically pays for damage you negligently cause to:
- glass in windows and doors
- the fridge, freezer, cooker, dishwasher and washing machine
- sanitary fittings such as basins and toilets
- the home itself through fire or escaping water
The law also says you must tell the landlord at once about damage that needs urgent repair. Do it, because a delay can make you liable for the extra damage too.
Who is covered by whose policy
This is where newcomers get caught out. A policy covers a household, and in most policies that means people who are folkbokförda (entered in the population register) at the same address and share the household. Some insurers instead require every person to be named on the policy certificate (försäkringsbrev). You are only registered if you’re expected to live in Sweden for at least a year, so short stays and the first weeks after arrival are when gaps appear.
| Your situation | Covered by someone else’s policy? |
|---|---|
| First-hand tenant | No — always your own policy |
| Subletter or lodger | No — you don’t share the host’s household, so you need your own |
| Flatmates | One shared policy is possible only if you share a household and all are registered at the address |
| Partner moving in | Usually, if registered at the address and sharing the household; some insurers require names |
| Partner not yet registered | Depends on the insurer: one large insurer covers members who have applied for a residence permit if you tell it |
| Under 18 living elsewhere | Can stay on the parents’ policy; check with the insurer |
Konsumenternas adds a practical rule for long rentals: link the policy to the address where you actually live.
Students: what university insurance covers
Many Swedish universities insure international students for free through Kammarkollegiet, the state’s insurance agency. You can’t buy these policies yourself; the university orders them. They are not identical:
| Policy | Who | Liability and legal cover | Your belongings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student IN | Exchange students under a university agreement | Yes, including a landlord’s damage claim | Yes, while you are in Sweden |
| FAS | Fee-paying students | Yes | No |
| FASplus | Fee-paying students | Yes | Yes, only in Sweden |
So an exchange student on Student IN may need nothing more. A fee-paying student on plain FAS has no cover for a stolen laptop or a burnt-out room. Ask your university which policy it bought. If you need your own, insurers sell discounted student policies with lower sums insured, which can be enough if you own few valuable things.
Getting a policy, step by step
- Check what already covers you: university insurance, or a partner’s policy if you are registered at the same address.
- Read your contract for an insurance requirement. For a private let, get a written agreement that also covers damage, and do an inventory and inspection at move-in.
- Buy a policy for your rental address. As a subletter or lodger, buy your own.
- Make sure everyone in the household is in it. Tell the insurer about anyone not yet registered.
- Ask for the terms in English. By law the insurer informs you in Swedish, but may use another language if you ask.
- Decide on all-risk if accidental damage to laptops or phones worries you.
- Document what you own: photos, receipts or bank statements, serial numbers. In a claim, you must prove ownership, value and age.
- Report damage to the landlord immediately.
- Cancel when you leave Sweden. The Insurance Contracts Act lets you end a consumer policy early when you no longer need it.
Traps for newcomers
- A foreign policy may have no liability cover here. Konsumenternas notes that liability cover comes with every Swedish home policy but may be an add-on in foreign home or travel policies. Without it, a landlord’s claim lands on you.
- The host’s insurance protects the host. If a fire or leak destroys your things in a sublet, only your own policy pays.
- Legal cover won’t help at the rent tribunal. Rättsskydd usually needs two years of continuous home insurance, and it excludes the rent tribunal (hyresnämnden). For a sublet rent dispute, use the tribunal itself, which charges no fees. Our guide to long-stay rentals explains how.
- Shared keys weaken a burglary claim. Theft at home normally needs signs of a break-in. If the thief had a key, it is hard to prove.
- Storerooms are for boxes, not laptops. Theft-attractive items stolen from a basement or attic storeroom aren’t paid.
- Travel cover ends at 45 days. A long trip home needs separate travel insurance.
- Wear and tear is never insured. Normal wear at move-out is settled by the contract and the deposit, not by any policy.
Practical information
| Item | What it costs | Where to check |
|---|---|---|
| Home insurance premium | Not published here; varies by insurer, address, sum insured and tier | Konsumenternas’ neutral comparison |
| Excess (självrisk) on a claim | Set in your policy | Your policy certificate |
| Excess on legal-expenses cover | Normally 20 or 25 % of lawyer’s costs | Your policy terms |
| Student IN / FAS / FASplus | Free to the student; paid by the university | Your university’s international office |
| Konsumenternas guidance | Free | konsumenternas.se |
| Rent tribunal | No fees | Sveriges Domstolar |
FAQ
Is home insurance mandatory in Sweden?
No statute we found makes it compulsory for tenants, but the neutral bureau Konsumenternas says everyone needs one, and a landlord can make it part of the rental agreement. The practical reason is liability: Swedish law makes a tenant pay for damage caused through negligence by them, their household or guests, and the liability part of a home policy is what pays that claim.
Do I need my own home insurance if I rent second-hand?
Yes. A subletter or lodger is normally not covered by the host’s home insurance because they do not share a household. Your belongings, your liability for damage to the flat and your travel cover all depend on your own policy. Konsumenternas also advises that a long-term renter’s policy should be linked to the address where you actually live.
Can I get Swedish home insurance without a personnummer?
Sometimes. The Insurance Contracts Act stops an insurer refusing a consumer without special reasons, but insurers set their own identification requirements, so ask before buying. Household cover usually follows registration in the population register, and at least one large insurer covers unregistered household members who have applied for a residence permit, if you tell it.
What does a Swedish hemförsäkring cover?
Every policy has five parts: your belongings at home and away, liability if you damage someone else’s property, legal costs in civil disputes, a fixed payment after assault, and travel cover for trips of up to 45 days. Most include help after ID theft. Accidents such as dropping a laptop need an all-risk add-on, which basic cover does not include.
Does my university insurance replace home insurance?
Partly. Kammarkollegiet’s Student IN, which universities order for exchange students, includes liability, legal-expenses cover and your belongings while in Sweden. The FAS policy for fee-paying students has liability and legal cover but no property cover unless the university bought FASplus. Ask your university which policy applies, then decide whether you need more.
Does home insurance cover damage I cause in a rented flat?
Usually, if you were negligent. The liability cover pays the landlord for damage such as broken window glass, appliances, sanitary fittings, or fire and water damage you caused, minus your excess. If you were not negligent, the insurer helps you reject the claim. Ordinary wear and neglect are never covered; the contract and deposit handle those.
Related guides
- Renting long-term in Sweden: sublets, the rent cap and the free rent tribunal your legal cover won’t reach.
- Renting in Stockholm and the housing queue: why newcomers almost always start second-hand.
- Folkbokföring and the personnummer: the registration your household cover usually follows.
- Exchange students’ first weeks: Student IN, housing and the rest of the arrival list.
- Do you need travel insurance for Sweden?: for trips beyond your home policy’s 45 days, and for health cover.
Facts verified 2026-10-06. Sources: Konsumenternas (Konsumenternas Försäkringsbyrå), Sveriges Riksdag (Insurance Contracts Act, Land Code, Private Letting Act, Population Registration Act), Kammarkollegiet, ARN decisions via Konsumenternas and Sveriges Domstolar — full register in this topic’s source file. We publish no premiums, excess amounts or insurer names: they vary by policy, and this page sells nothing. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.