Mark Lauterwein is a UK based writer currently writing about the German Autoversicherung market.
From January 2008 drivers in Germany will have their vehicles reclassified by German insurers. This development will affect the mandatory third party cover (Haftversicherung) as this is determined by the vehicle class. According to research undertaken by the Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft (GDV) the insurance companies anticipate a better reflection of accident probability with their new classification and therefore argue that the customer will profit in terms of fairness.
Of course the German insurers have always previously amended their classifications on an annual basis. The difference in 2008 is that new variables, apart from the mechanical characteristics of the vehicle, will be factored into the equation. These include for example:
• the age of the driver,
• the details of other individuals who will drive the car,
• whether the driver is a home owner,
• the age of the driver when he purchased the vehicle.
The insurance company records this information initially anyway but it has never been used to determine Typklassen or class of vehicle before. Andrea Hoffman, an insurance expert at the independent Verbraucherzentrale Sachsen (a regional advisory body for consumers set up along the same lines as the British Citizens Advice Bureau), advises drivers to compare insurance prices regularly since it is probable not all insurers will react consistently to the new categories. This is bound to result in price variation across the board.
Various German sites offer Preisvergleiche or price comparison for financial products, including Autoversicherung (Car Insurance). However, because some work on a commission basis they may neglect to include the products of the direct insurers (who offer less to intermediaries for procurement of new business). Icero.de, in contrast, is an example of a comparison site that operates differently. The site compares 250 tariffs and there is also a help line offering personal advice.
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