Autoversicherung (car Insurance) Guide for Expats:

September 7, 2008

In the world of Autoversicherung, like everywhere else, you get what you pay for. Monthly payments relate directly to the history of the vehicle in question and German insurers pay particular attention to the following criteria:

Type and use of vehicle: The full index of vehicles types and their attendant insurance classification can easily be found online by searching under “Typklassenverzeichnis”. An additional consideration regarding contributions to be paid is whether or not the car is driven privately or destined for commercial use (i.e as aTaxi).

No claims bonus: Years accrued with a no claims bonus are subdivided according to mandatory third party cover (Haftpflicht) or fully comprehensive cover (Vollkasko). If you want to switch motor insurance in Germany this discount is transferable. In this case the new insurer will look at the total numbers of years accrued with no claims submitted from the point at which the policy was taken out. On this basis they calculate the new no claims bonus in accordance with their own tariffs. In the event of a claim a number of these “accident free years” are “used up” and as a result new premiums will be calculated for the beginning of the new calendar year. The German expression for this is Ruckstufung, which means to be put back and drivers can certainly be put out of pocket if this happens to them. The rule of thumb is: if damages resulting from an accident amount to less than 1000 Euro it is probably best to pay directly – the Ruckstufung penalty would certainly be heavier.

Regional classification: The area in which the vehicle is registered is also figured into premium calculations. These reflect statistical information gathered for the local area relating to the risks drivers would face there i.e road traffic accidents, theft etc. In Germany this data is reviewed vigorously on an annual basis so that premiums generally do better reflect the reality of a local area rather than it’s negative reputation.

Other factors: German insurers penalise vehicle owners heavily who park on the street (of course in many of the cities this is hard to avoid). Otherwise new drivers pay more unless they can get a shared deal driving their parents cars. German online insurance forums are full of older drivers complaining about discriminatingly high premiums. If an older driver feels he is being treated unfairly in this respect he is free to cite the Allgemeine Gleichbehandlungs Gesetz (AGG – Equal Rights Legislation) or alternatively it might be ratsam (advisable) to look at other Autoversicherungproviders.

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