Car insurance is more expensive than ever during the annual change season in late autumn. According to the motor vehicle insurance index of the comparison and broker portal Verivox, new contracts currently cost almost a quarter (24 percent) more than a year ago. This is the cut for all three types of car insurance: liability and partial and fully comprehensive insurance. According to Verivox, the reason is the sharp increase in spare parts prices and workshop costs.

Fully comprehensive tariffs are particularly expensive

The prices for fully comprehensive tariffs rose the most, with an increase of 25 percent. Car liability insurance is therefore 23 percent more expensive than in October 2023, and partial insurance is 22 percent more expensive. Liability as a legally required basic option only pays for damage that car owners cause to other people’s belongings. “Kasko” – derived from the Italian word for “helmet” – also covers damage to your own vehicle. The evaluation period was October 1st to 25th. In a two-year comparison, according to Verivox, vehicle insurance contracts are even 40 percent more expensive than in autumn 2022.

The focus of the bargain hunt: Not cheaper, but less expensive

The company calculates the index together with statistics expert Wolfgang Bischof from the Augsburg University of Technology. The figures refer exclusively to the conclusion of new policies, not to the existing contracts, which are also becoming more expensive. Every year in November and December, millions of car owners in Germany change their car insurance in search of cheaper rates. Last year, the annual bargain hunt was less about finding cheaper insurance than about mitigating the price increase.

Price increases also likely in 2026

“An end to inflation is not yet in sight and prices will continue to rise in the coming year,” said Wolfgang Schütz. “Insurers are expected to adjust their premiums by 2026 in order to return to profitability.” The data is based on the offers from the 40 insurers who sell their contracts on Verivox.

Insurers write billions in losses on motor vehicle policies

According to forecasts by the General Association of the German Insurance Industry (GDV), the industry will make a deficit of up to two billion euros with motor vehicle policies this year. According to a GDV projection from September, vehicle premium income will rise to around 33.6 billion euros, but costs will rise to an even higher sum of between 34.9 and 35.6 billion euros. According to GDV, motor vehicle insurers had already suffered a loss of more than three billion euros on motor vehicle policies in 2023. The GDV has been complaining for years that the cost increases for car repairs are well above the general inflation rate. A key factor here is the increasingly expensive spare parts, and a second factor is the workshop costs.