Todtmoos Municipality Takes Out Private Liability Insurance for Refugees in Communal Accommodation

The municipality of Todtmoos will take out private liability insurance for the refugees who are accommodated in the two communal accommodations in the former hotels Löwen and Fünf Jahreszeiten. This was decided by the municipal council on Tuesday with two dissenting votes. With the number of refugees currently being accommodated, the municipality will have to face costs of almost 3,800 euros a year.

Some time ago, the municipality took out liability insurance for refugees. However, only persons in subsequent accommodation are insured, but not refugees who are housed in communal accommodation. The municipality now has the option of taking out private liability insurance for these refugees with the Badischer Gemeinde-Versicherungs-Verband (BGV) with an annual insurance premium of EUR 36.47 per person or family. The bottom line is that for the 73 individuals and 14 families currently accommodated in the community accommodation, this means costs for the community of almost 3800 euros including insurance tax per year. The basis of calculation is adjusted annually on January 1st. In the event of very large changes in the number of people, these can also be reported to the BGV in the course of the year, Mayor Marcel Schneider informed.

He described the situation as obscure, neither the federal nor the state paid for private liability insurance for refugees. Once again something will be passed on to the municipalities. The head of the town hall asked that the amount of possible damage be taken into account when making the decision. Jörg Oehler (free voters) described the insurance contribution as manageable and spoke out in favor of taking out the insurance. His parliamentary colleague Dirk Haselwander saw things differently. The district office must be held accountable, not the municipalities. The district office is not responsible for the situation, the federal government has a duty, a corresponding law is necessary, countered Wolfgang Jehle (free voters). He also considered it sensible to protect against possible damage in the interests of the injured party. When asked by Jehle, Mayor Scheider explained that when it comes to private liability insurance for refugees in communal accommodation, the district is almost a pioneer, only one other municipality has currently taken out such insurance. The refugees should be informed about the conclusion of the insurance, he continued when asked by Christian Zumkeller (CDU). The decision to take out personal liability insurance was made with two dissenting votes.