Car insurance : which is the best insurance for my car??

On 30. November is the deadline: drivers have until then to change their car insurance. So you can save hundreds of euros again this year.

Comparing can save money: It's worth it for a good quarter of policyholders. Anyone who wants to change their car insurance must have given notice by November 30

The 30. November is an important deadline for car drivers. Because until then, most customers can cancel their car insurance for the coming year and switch to a new provider. Because nearly three million of the approximately 60 million people with car insurance change providers every year, insurers are wooing drivers with discounts, price comparisons and bargains these days. According to stiftung warentest, it is not uncommon to save a few hundred euros per year by switching insurers. In one particularly drastic case, the consumer protectors found a price difference of around 1,000 euros between the cheapest and the most expensive provider for comprehensive and liability insurance. But how do you find the right rate in the jungle of rates, conditions and insurers??

Check on the Internet

It is important first to obtain different offers. A whole series of comparison portals on the Internet, such as check24 or verivox, provide an initial overview. After entering vehicle, location and driver data as well as various other information, the calculator spits out the offers, ranked by price. The service is free of charge for the customer. However, it is important to know that the portals receive a commission for each customer who takes out a policy via the website, which also varies depending on the insurer.

A car insurance comparison on the Internet is worthwhile for most drivers

car insurance comparison (publisher’s offer)

You can save a lot of money by changing your car insurance provider. Anyone who wants to keep track of the abundance of offers should make a free rate comparison.

Compare tariffs now

rates

the model to be insured and the place of residence are always decisive for the tariff. The most important criteria, such as the no-claims class and the comprehensive insurance classifications, are based on this. But then there are numerous other risk characteristics, such as the type of car, the year of construction, the number of drivers contracted, where the car is parked at night, the number of accident-free years and a possible deductible. Hardly any other insurance policy is as complex as motor vehicle insurance.

Not all policies offer the same level of protection. The Bund der versicherten recommends taking a close look at the terms and conditions. Certain conditions should be met. Thus, the coverage amount should be at least 100.The insurance should also cover vehicles rented abroad.

What to look out for?

In the case of comprehensive insurance, the association advises the insured to take out a policy that also settles a claim if the consumer can be accused of gross negligence. In addition, damage caused by wildlife accidents or collisions with animals of any kind should be insured. Drivers should weigh up individually whether they really benefit from discounts when agreeing to have their vehicle serviced at a repair shop. We expressly advise against passenger accident insurance, because justified claims are already covered by motor vehicle liability insurance.

674 or 1008 euros

The price differences that the search engines spit out in the end are considerable. For example, a fictitious 50-year-old test customer with a VW Passat, first registered in may 2014 in Berlin, and wanting liability plus partial cover with a 150 euro deductible in no-claims bonus class 2 receives offers between 674 and 1008 euros and in no-claims bonus class 8 between 521 and 991 euros per year. The portals never cover the entire market: check24, for example, does not include the market leader HUK with the products of HUK-coburg and HUK24. Only the HUK subsidiary bruderhilfe is represented. The name allianz does not appear either; the insurance company is only represented online under the name allsecure. It is similar with verivox. These large providers shy away from comparisons or do not want to market their products via comparison portals, preferring instead to market them via their own sales network, criticizes check24 spokesman daniel friedheim.

A car insurance comparison on the Internet is worthwhile for most motorists

car insurance comparison (publisher’s offer)

Changing your car insurance can save you a lot of money. If you want to keep track of all the offers, you should compare rates free of charge.

Compare rates now

representative or not?

If you want to change, you can also talk directly to an agent or a fee-based advisor without a market check. However, agents usually only market one or a few insurances. Consumer advocates criticize the fact that the policy sold here is often not the best and cheapest, but the one that brings the agent high commissions. Fee-based advisors, on the other hand, provide neutral and commission-free advice, but charge an hourly fee.

Who else helps

The Bund der versicherten (BDV) recommends that those wishing to change insurers first check out the market with the help of the nafi gmbh search engine, which it also links to on its homepage. "the advantage is that nafi does not earn any commissions from the brokerage, but only filters the 15 best providers from the market for the customer, who then has to contact them himself," says bdv spokeswoman bianca boss.

However, customers will not find all insurers here either, because the bdv excludes providers with insurance conditions that are "disadvantageous for the customer" in advance. This includes, for example, companies that do not offer coverage of 100 million euros in liability insurance as standard. According to the bdv, it is also very important that the "objection of gross negligence" is completely waived in comprehensive insurance. For example, some insurers will only partially cover (fully comprehensive) damage to your own car if the driver ran a red light on a wet road and caused an accident through carelessness. Attention: the consumption of drugs and alcohol does not count as negligence, the insurers do not assume any costs.

Workshop commitment

A fair offer should also cover optional extras such as a navigation system at no extra cost, says boss. The bdv also believes that it rarely makes sense to tie the insured to a specific repair shop, even if some insurers are offering discounts at the moment. Because some car manufacturers link the warranty to checks and repairs in contract workshops.

Don’t save at the wrong end

If the insurers’ offers are on the table, it is essential to check and compare the small print, says boss: "It is no use to the consumer if he saves 50 euros a year with a new tariff, but then receives a poorer service in an emergency. The devil is in the details."

Often particularly favorable tariffs contain slimmed-down services and restrictions, where they are not noticeable at first glance. Caution is also advised with special discounts: they are tied to a specific company and can usually not be carried over to the new insurer.

Pitfalls when switching

There are also pitfalls if the insured changes insurers immediately after a claim, because not all insurers sanction a claim with the same downgrading of the no-claims bonus class. The new insurer will not simply take over a previously agreed discount protection (no higher rating after a claim). The drivers who can save a lot, says check24 spokesman friedheim, are those who are often charged particularly high premiums on the basis of their age, i.e. mainly very young and rather older drivers.

Service

Those who find it too tedious to examine such detailed questions can get help in making a decision from the consumer advice centers or – as a member – from the Bund der versicherten (Association of insured persons). Experience has shown that it can also be worthwhile to call the previous provider and ask for better conditions.

How to cancel?

Once the insurer has been selected, there are deadlines for changing insurers and organizational obstacles to consider: the notice of cancellation must be received by the insurer one month before the end of the insurance year – usually on the 30th of the month following the end of the insurance year. November.
An email is not enough here. "you are on the safe side if you send a fax or a registered letter with advice of receipt," advises timo vob, a consultant at the association of insured persons (bdv).

Sometimes, however, it is enough to threaten the provider: many insurers are willing to compromise when customers call to complain. This can make a difference of up to 160 euros per year compared to tacitly accepting an increase.

You can also cancel if you sell your car or have an accident.

Do not terminate hastily

However, consumer advocates emphasize that notice should only be given when an alternative has already been found. Because at least the comprehensive insurance, which covers damage caused by theft, hail, fire or marten bites (partial cover) and self-inflicted damage to the customer’s own car (fully comprehensive), can also reject a customer’s claim. In the case of liability insurance, on the other hand, which covers all damage to other people’s cars or medical expenses for injured people, the insurer has to accept everyone. Insurers usually confirm the contract on the same day by e-mail or text message using the insurance confirmation number. It counts as proof of insurance.