Motor Insurance

German Net, BFG-, NATO-, Canadian- & SHAPE personnel

Welcome to your specialist on motor insurance in Germany.

Motor insurance, whether for BFG / military personnel or any other customer, is a constantly changing insurance product (benefit and premium wise) and should be reviewed on a yearly basis! Whilst other agents like to advertise their car insurance products with the words experience, cheap and at all times comprehensive we at ERICON broker let actions speak louder than words.

Experience... is very important but how much experience should your broker really need for a simpler insurance product like car insurance? 10, 20 or even 50 years... Well to answer this question one just needs to look at the constantly changing Terms & Conditions for car insurance, with providers always out on the prowl for new customers. Insurers are frequently improving their tariffs by introducing even higher insured sums or extra (often pointless) benefits. Reading just these few examples you will have already worked out where we are heading... ... an up-to-date broker will unquestionably be able to give more precise and professional advice on benefits and exclusions than, let us call a spade a spade, the broker with bags of experience but its staff lacking compulsory qualifications or real knowledge on the product they are selling.

Cheap... is also good and we all like the best deal. However cheap has its pitfalls, especially with insurance!
There are only 3 real reasons why an insurance company will offer motor insurance cheaper than the competition:

  1. They can afford to attract customers for a short period, hoping to cross-sell other, more lucrative products.
    These offers never last very long and are normally followed by a premium increase on renewal.
  2. The costs are cut by keeping administration and staff to a bare minimum, hence the low premiums are reflected in poor service and customer-unfriendly claim regulation. If you never need assistance then you will cut yourself a very good deal but should you not be familiar with the way German insurance works or you need to provide foreign certificates for accident-free driving (No Claims Discount) then hands off!!!
    Direct insurance companies are the best example and apart from a few exceptions are all running at a loss.
  3. The insurance company is well established with a big car insurance customer base. In addition it must know the market with its customers and be able to perform a very precise risk management. Experience and flexibility are the keywords here and only a handful of companies have these qualities for the constantly shrinking BFG / NATO market - Axa Versicherung with their special and long-established NATO department must be mentioned at this point.

Comprehensive... this wording of "overall coverage" has various interpretations amongst the numerous companies but should include the following benefits to meet the requirements of real comprehensive car insurance:

The 3 pillars of motor insurance & optional add-ons

Liability (mandatory)

  • Minimum insured sums by German law:
    • 1.22 million Euros for property damages
    • 7.50 million Euros for personal injury
    • 50,000 Euros for financial loss
       
  • Standard insured sums across the German insurance industry:
    • 50 million Euros lump-sum, incl.:
      • 12 million Euros for personal injury, per person
         
  • Recommended insured sum
    • 100 million Euros lump-sum, incl.:
      • 15 million Euros for personal injury, per person
      •   5 million Euros for environmental damages per claim, max. 10 million Euros per insurance year
         
  • Additional risks that should be, yet are not included in every policy:
    • Gross negligence
    • Environmental damages
    • "Mallorca-Police"
         increases insured-sums on rented vehicles abroad to German minimum standard
    • Own property damages
         at least damage caused to other owned vehicles, better even with own-property damages (e.g., garage, house)

Partial Casco

  • Animal-bite with consequential damage
  • Animal-collision
  • Fire, Explosion or Short-Circuit caused by faulty or brittle wiring
  • Theft or Misappropriation, including lock-replacement
  • Glass & Glazing
  • Gross negligence
  • Natural Hazards
    • Avalanche
    • Earthquake
    • Explosion
    • Flooding
    • Hail
    • Lightning
    • Storm
    • Volcanic eruption
  • "New for Old" up to 12 months

Full Casco

  • Self-induced Collision Damages
  • Vandalism
  • Cyber- / Hacker-attack
     
  • Includes risks of Partial Casco!

Optional Benefits

  • Liability Add-ons
    • Abroad-Claim-Protection
    • Own property damages (insured sums vary, depending on insurer)
    • Protected No Claims Discount
       
  • Partial & Full Casco Add-ons
    • Depreciation in the event of a damage exceeding 1,000 Euros
    • Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) (advisable on lease/ finance)
      In the event of a total-loss on a financed or leased vehicle, the so-called GAP-Coverage bridges the difference between the vehicle's value on the day of its loss, and the contractual due amount owed to the creditor or leasing company.
    • "New for Old" extendable to 24 / 36 or even 60 months
    • Protected No Claims Discount
       
  • Driver Accident Cover
    in the event of an accident in which the driver suffers severe injury and due to one's own fault or should the culprit be unknown or penniless, the insurer will pay up to 15 million Euros for
    • Loss of earnings
    • Pain & Injury compensation
    • Survivor's Pension (for dependents)
       
    • Rehabilitation measures
    • Housekeeping
    • Reconstruction of housing to make it handicapped accessible
       
  • Emergency Call App
  • Legal Insurance
    The vehicle, regardless of the operator, is covered against accusations, offences or even criminal acts


Premium Safeguard
the premium will not increase on renewal should the regional- or type-classes increase or because of general claim- and cost-development inflation.


Roadside Assistance
Offers uncomplicated help in the event of sudden emergencies caused by breakdowns or accidents.

  • Breakdown & Accident Service
  • Towing
  • Rescue
  • Loss of Use
  • Vehicle pick-up service, in the event of driver-disability
  • Medical-Return-Transport
  • Repatriation of children
  • Expenses for hospital visitors

'Workshop Clause'

The insurer dictates the workshop where the car is to be repaired and in return discounts the casco-premium by a fixed percentage. Depending on insurer, discounts can be as much as 30% and the following conditions/ benefits are common in today's market.

  • Certified garages only (usually approved by TÜV and/or DEKRA)
  • Only original spare parts are used with 3-6 years guarantee
     
  • Pick-up and delivery service
  • Hire car during the time of repair
  • Vehicle cleaning (inside and outside)

Should the person decide to visit a garage of own choice the insurer will reduce reimbursement by a fixed percentage and before deducting a possibly agreed deductible.

Our tip:
When choosing a more-valuable product, glass repairs are usually exempted!
Hence, the customer can still visit well-known workshops such as Carglass, Euromaster, junited-Autoglas or Wintec without preauthorisation from the insurer.

 

 

What is not insured

Not even with fully comprehensive cover do German motor insurances insurer all imaginable cases.
Commonly excluded from insurance coverage are:

  • Damages caused intentionally
  • Damages while participating in approved races
  • Damages to the load
  • Wear and tear

Differences between German & e.g. UK insurance

  • German motor insurance is vehicle and not person related
  • The No Claims Discount scale does not finish at 10 but one needs at least 25 years to reach their maximum level of discount
  • No approved license plate - no motor insurance!
  • German car insurance cannot be cancelled without providing a legal documentation

How German motor insurers calculate the premiums

Apart from just assessing the human-risk using the following personal parameters

  • Age of policy holder
  • Number of drivers, their ages and relation to policy holder
  • Year of previous No Claims Discount (NCD) of the policy holder
  • Occupational status
    • Normal
    • Public Service
    • Agriculturist
  • Profession

 

The actual main risk German insurers are interested in is the actual vehicle. Therefore, the following factors play a more important role.

  • Date of initial registration
  • Age of vehicle at date of purchase
  • Make and model
    Each specific model has its statistically proven risk-ratio, called 'Type-Classes'. Latter are devided into:
    • Liability Type-Classes (10-25)
    • Partial Casco Type-Classes (10-33)
    • Full Casco Type-Classes (10-34)
    The higher the Type-Class, the more expensive the insurance is going to be!
  • Area of registration
    Some destricts are pron to be more dangerous than others, therefore the postcode under which the plates are registered plays an important role (Regional-Classes). Regional-Classis are devided into:
    • Liability Risk-Classes (01-12)
    • Partial Casco Risk-Classes (01-16)
    • Full Casco Risk-Classes (01-09)
    The higher the Regional-Class, the more expensive the insurance is going to be!
  • Annual mileage
  • Overnight parking

Rumours about German car insurance...

  • German car insurance is is more expensive than in other countries. False!
    This might seem the case to some customers because the premiums are fortunately not solely based on driving experience.
     
  • A German insurer can refuse coverage if the car is not roadworthy. False!
    German insurance law forbids denial of liability coverage, even in the event of intent or cancellation due to non-payment, insurance coverage will be kept sustained.
    This law is to guarantee that a Third Party will never have to worry about his/ her liability demands.

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