On average eight percent more
Car insurance is becoming significantly more expensive
7/23/2023 8:26 am
If there is a bang on the road, it can quickly become expensive for drivers. It’s good if you have adequate insurance. But car owners also have to dig deep into their pockets for liability, partial and comprehensive insurance.
Car insurance has become significantly more expensive. According to the car insurance index of the comparison and broker portal Verivox, car 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 changeover 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: the compulsory liability for all car owners, as well as partial and comprehensive insurance. Verivox calculates the index together with the statistician Wolfgang Bischof from the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences. The previous price increase of 8.8 percent relates to all of these types of insurance.
This obviously happened what was prophesied in the insurance industry last autumn. 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 General Association of the German Insurance Industry, the average motor vehicle liability policy cost 87 euros in 2019 and 83 euros in 2021. In the meantime, the number of accidents has risen sharply again. In addition, car manufacturers have sharply increased their spare parts prices, which makes repairs more expensive. Reinsurers such as Munich Re and E+S Rück had therefore predicted sharp price increases in autumn 2022.
Strongly fluctuating prices
The prices of many car insurance companies fluctuate regardless of the accident risk, 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 customers, the portal said. This shows “that, in addition to the adequate risk prices, there is also a selling price that can fluctuate greatly,” says the “Finanztip” insurance expert Kathrin Gotthold.
For the study, the financial experts repeatedly asked 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 extreme cases, the annual premium for liability and fully comprehensive insurance for a model customer went from 496 euros to 661 euros from one day to the next. “Finanztip” advises customers who want to change their insurance to regularly compare tariffs over a longer period of time.