Verivox: Highest price increase in car insurance

Car insurance is more expensive than ever during the annual renewal season at the end of autumn. According to the motor vehicle insurance index of comparison portal and broker Verivox, new contracts are currently costing almost a quarter (24 per cent) more than a year ago. This is the cut for the three types of car insurance: liability and partial and comprehensive insurance. According to Verivox, the reason is the sharp increase in spare parts prices and workshop costs.

All-inclusive tariffs are particularly expensive

The prices for comprehensive tariffs rose the most, with an increase of 25 percent. So car liability insurance is 23 percent more expensive than it was in October 2023, and partial insurance is 22 percent more expensive. Liability as a basic option required by law only pays for damage caused by car owners to other people’s property. “Kasko” – which comes from the Italian word for “helmet” – also covers damage to your own vehicle. The evaluation period was October 1 to 25. In a two-year comparison, according to Verivox, vehicle insurance contracts are even 40 percent more expensive than in the fall of 2022.

Bargain hunting focus: Not cheaper, but more expensive

The company calculates the index together with statistician Wolfgang Bischof from the Augsburg University of Technology. The figures refer only to the conclusion of new policies, not to existing contracts, which are also becoming more expensive. Every year in November and December, millions of car owners in Germany change their car insurance in search of cheaper rates. Last year, the annual bargain hunt was less about finding cheaper insurance than it was about mitigating price increases.

A price increase is also likely in 2026

“The end of inflation is still not in sight and prices will continue to rise in the coming year,” said Wolfgang Schütz. “Insurers are expected to adjust their prices by 2026 to get back to the profit zone. ” The data is based on offers from the 40 insurers who sell their contracts on Verivox.

Insurers write billions in losses on motor vehicle policies

According to forecasts by the General Association of the German Insurance Industry (GDV), the industry will make a deficit of up to two billion euros with vehicle policies this year. According to the GDV projection from September, vehicle price income will rise to approximately 33.6 billion euros, but costs will rise to an even higher amount between 34.9 and 35.6 billion euros. According to GDV, motor vehicle insurers had already suffered a loss of more than three billion euros on motor vehicle policies in 2023. The GDV has been complaining for years that the increase in costs for car repairs is significantly higher than the general rate of inflation. A major factor here is the increasingly expensive spare parts, and the second factor is workshop costs.