Status: 02.11.2022 2:45 p.m
Consumers are threatened with higher insurance premiums, for example for car or home insurance. In view of the high inflation, BaFin is urging the industry to raise prices and warns against holding discounts.
Many consumers are facing price increases from their insurers this autumn. “The insurance industry is still doing well at the moment,” said BaFin Executive Director Frank Grund, according to the text of the speech at the annual insurance supervision conference in Bonn today.
“Insurers need to make their business storm-proof”
However, due to rising inflation, property and casualty insurers would have to increase their provisions this year and factor in higher claims when calculating premiums for the future. Reason warned the industry against luring customers with discounts. They should “not compromise on prices to keep customers”. Instead, they should “stormproof” their business.
“From Bafin’s point of view, it is unacceptable to just bet that the high inflation rates will normalize and in the meantime to completely use up the existing buffer in the reserves,” said Germany’s top insurance supervisor. Only life insurers could breathe a sigh of relief, as the recent rise in interest rates after years of extremely low interest rates suits them.
Car owners face higher insurance premiums
In the opinion of Grund, on the other hand, drivers and homeowners should not be able to avoid higher insurance premiums: “In 2023, the increased inflation will therefore necessarily result in higher premiums in property and casualty insurance” – not only for new customers, but also for existing customers . Homeowners insurance and motor insurance are particularly affected, but other branches are also affected.
Car insurers in particular, including the market leader HUK-Coburg, have already indicated that they will increase prices in 2023. E+S Rück, which is part of the Hannover Re Group, believes that price increases in the motor vehicle segment should be at least in the double-digit range in order to offset the increased costs.
The main cause of the development is claims inflation. The car manufacturers increase their spare parts prices every year, and cars themselves have also become considerably more expensive. If the insurance companies do not want to slip into the red, they must also raise their prices.
Comparison portals predict price increases
According to estimates by the two broker portals CHECK24 and Verivox, the prices for motor vehicle insurance will increase significantly, especially for existing customers. Verivox also expects more expensive tariffs for new customers.
“We can confirm that the signals are pointing in the direction of price increases,” explains CHEK24 press spokesman Edgar Kirk when asked tagesschau.de. “In existing contracts, we are currently seeing strong increases in premiums of over ten percent on average, so changing insurance will be worthwhile in many cases,” says Michael Roloff, Managing Director of motor vehicle insurance at CHECK24.