Car insurance
Fully comprehensive or partially comprehensive – what are the differences?
Premium insurance is not worthwhile for every car.
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Only liability insurance for the car is required by law. It protects the other parties involved in the accident. But for whom are partial and fully comprehensive insurance worthwhile?
Motor vehicle liability insurance is compulsory in Germany. It covers damage to third-party vehicles (or people and goods); comprehensive insurance covers damage to your own vehicle. In the case of liability, the contract should contain a sum insured of 100 million euros, so that all claims for damages are really covered.
What is partially comprehensive insurance?
The partially comprehensive insurance covers the following damage to your own vehicle: fire or explosion damage, theft, partial theft, robbery of the vehicle. In addition, there is damage caused by game and damage caused by direct effects of storms, hail, lightning strikes or floods. Broken glass and damage caused by short circuits (including marten bites) are also covered.
What does fully comprehensive insurance offer?
Fully comprehensive insurance covers damage that occurs to one’s own motor vehicle; it usually includes the benefits of partial comprehensive insurance. It also protects against the consequences of vandalism. This is damage to the vehicle that is not related to theft or an accident. Typical cases are deliberately scratched paintwork or vehicle flaring. It also bears the cost of accidental damage. If another vehicle is the cause, the damage is borne by the opposing party.
Fully comprehensive insurance also bears your own damage if you caused the accident yourself. It also comes into force if the opponent escapes an accident. And it comes into effect if the other party involved in the accident is not insured or if he is to blame but not liable. This can happen in an accident with a child.
However, fully comprehensive insurance is not a car guarantee or an all-round carefree package. This insurance does not cover wear damage or engine defects.
Which cost factors play a role?
The contributions differ according to the so-called type class classification of the respective vehicle. With fully comprehensive insurance, on the other hand, there is a no-claims discount. In the case of insured persons with a high damage discount, it can happen that fully comprehensive insurance is hardly more expensive than partial comprehensive insurance. Of course, it’s not worth it. The place of registration (regional class) is also important. Depending on the insurance, factors such as the age of the driver, mileage of the car or garage space can be important for calculating the premium.
The differences in the scope of services
As with any insurance, there are differences in the fine print. In addition to the basic range of services, some insurers offer a significantly expanded catalog. Some insurers use the keyword “wildlife accident” to protect every accident with an animal, while others only insure an accident involving “hair game”. If you evade a dog and have an accident, you get everything replaced from one provider, nothing from the other. The differences in terms of goodwill and discretion are just as great. That means: It is not just the price that is decisive. The customer needs to know whether he needs premium services or whether basic services also do.
When is which comprehensive insurance worthwhile?
A fully comprehensive insurance is always worthwhile as long as the vehicle is new or only a few years old. Even for a car that is still being financed, you shouldn’t do without fully comprehensive insurance. In order to keep the contribution rate low, you can set your own contribution high.
This also applies to a limited extent to partially comprehensive insurance. But be careful: Many drivers switch to partial comprehensive insurance without thinking twice because fully comprehensive insurance is too expensive for them. One should think about whether it would be better to do without both types of insurance. To put it bluntly: If it is not worthwhile to insure a car against a self-inflicted total loss, why should this car be insured against theft? Who should want to steal it? With a high deductible of 500 euros, it is usually not worth making use of the insurance. Example glass breakage: It is usually cheaper to have a used pane installed than to pay the personal contribution.
The older, the less protection
When a fully comprehensive insurance is no longer worthwhile cannot be said in general terms. In addition to the value of the car, the individual damage discount plays an important role. Last but not least, your personal financial circumstances are decisive. Anyone who depends on their car but cannot bear the damage themselves simply cannot afford to save on fully comprehensive insurance. The decision is easier if you focus on the essentials and relate the annual cost of the insurance to the residual value of the car.
A look at the statistics shows that fully comprehensive insurance remains the first choice up to a vehicle age of five years. After that, vehicle owners tend to opt for a partially comprehensive option. Around two out of three car owners whose vehicle has eleven years or more under their belt are currently opting against comprehensive insurance and pure liability insurance.
Also read:
– How to avoid car insurance before paying customers
– The biggest discount mistakes in car insurance
– This is how cheap you can insure your bike
– Car insurance – do you need partial or fully comprehensive insurance?
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