money
Bargain hunting in auto insurance has begun
The prices for motor insurance are falling – also due to fewer accidents in the Corona year 2020. Photo: Sebastian Gollnow / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Infidelity can pay off – at least in car insurance. Millions of drivers are looking for cheaper tariffs.
In car insurance, the annual bargain hunt for cheaper tariffs has begun.
According to figures from the online portals Check24 and Verivox, the prices for motor vehicle insurance have already fallen in recent weeks, and the two companies based in Munich and Heidelberg expect prices to continue falling in the coming weeks.
Motor vehicle contracts significantly cheaper
According to the Verivox insurance index, the prices for new motor vehicle contracts – liability, partially comprehensive and fully comprehensive – are in some cases significantly cheaper than a year ago – in the middle price segment, depending on the type of insurance, by three to four percent, in the lower segment by seven to eight percent. In cooperation with the statistician Wolfgang Bischof from the Technical University of Rosenheim, the company evaluated the prices for the first ten days of October. The annual changeover date for a timely termination at the turn of the year is November 30th.
According to the figures from Check24, the average motor vehicle liability premium is currently 279 euros. That would be 2.4 percent less than a year ago and 14 percent less than in July. A large number of insurance contracts are brokered online via the portals. The two companies are in competition and largely agree in their fundamental analysis.
Accordingly, one reason for the currently low prices is the corona pandemic. “There are many indications that we are now experiencing a delayed corona discharge that did not materialize last year,” said Wolfgang Schütz, managing director of Verivox insurance comparison.
Less accidents
Because 2020 was a year with low claims costs for insurers due to corona restrictions and two lockdowns, as there were fewer accidents than usual. In total, the 91 motor vehicle insurance companies paid out 13.3 billion euros to customers in liability insurance, which was a good ten percent less than in 2019. This can be found at the German Insurance Association (GDV).
“Last year, insurers had to regulate fewer accidents due to lower mileage in the corona pandemic and passed these savings on to their customers in part,” said Rainer Klipp, Managing Director of Motor Insurance at Check24.
“It is uncertain whether the trend will continue for the year-end business, since the damage caused by natural forces and thus also the costs for insurers have recently increased due to flood or hail, for example,” said the manager.
Cheaper new contracts do not mean that car insurance will become cheaper overall. Because existing contracts are often more expensive, and some car models move up into more expensive type classes in the course of their vehicle life. Used cars are often bought by younger drivers who, on average, cause more accidents. And apart from that, insurers have been complaining for years that the auto industry is continuously increasing its spare parts prices. According to GDV, the premium income of motor insurers in motor vehicle liability insurance rose by 1.2 percent to just under 17 billion euros in 2020.