On average eight percent more
Car insurance is becoming significantly more expensive
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If there is a bang on the road, it can quickly become expensive for drivers. It’s good if you have enough insurance. But car owners now also have to dig deep into their pockets for liability, partial and fully comprehensive insurance.
Car insurance has become significantly more expensive. According to the vehicle insurance index of the comparison and broker portal Verivox, vehicle policies across all types of insurance currently cost an average of 8.8 percent more than a year ago, as the Heidelberg company announced. Verivox expects further noticeable price increases, especially for existing car insurance contracts, as well as a lively switching season in autumn. Towards the end of the year, numerous car owners look for cheaper tariffs every year.
Motor vehicle policies are offered in three forms: liability insurance, which is mandatory for all car owners, as well as partial and fully comprehensive insurance. Verivox calculates the index together with statistician Wolfgang Bischof from Augsburg University of Applied Sciences. The previous price increase of 8.8 percent applies to all of these types of insurance.
This means that what was already predicted in the insurance industry last autumn has obviously come to pass. During the Corona pandemic, car insurance initially became a little cheaper because people drove less and there were fewer accidents.
According to data from the German Insurance Industry Association, the average motor vehicle liability policy cost 87 euros in 2019 and 83 euros in 2021. The number of accidents has now risen sharply again. In addition, car manufacturers have sharply increased their spare parts prices, making repairs more expensive. Reinsurers such as Munich Re and E+S Rück had therefore predicted significant price increases in autumn 2022.
Highly fluctuating prices
The prices of many car insurance policies fluctuate regardless of the risk of an accident, sometimes even daily. This is the result of a study by the advice portal “Finanztip”. Within 24 hours, price drops and jumps of up to 160 euros per year can sometimes be observed for the same tariff and customer, the portal said. This shows “that in addition to the adequate risk prices, there is also a sales price that can fluctuate greatly,” says “Finanztip” insurance expert Kathrin Gotthold.
For the investigation, the financial experts repeatedly queried hundreds of tariffs on an insurance comparison portal between the end of October and mid-December. The result: “Consumers can sometimes find new conditions every day.” In an extreme case, the annual premium for liability and comprehensive insurance for a sample customer increased from one day to the next from 496 euros to 661 euros. “Finanztip” advises customers who want to change their insurance to compare tariffs regularly over a longer period of time.
