ROUTE
Switching Car Insurance
The 30 November deadline, the special-termination back doors, four criteria above price, and a switch without a single uncovered day. Savings: β¬100β300 a year.
β Checked: 15/08/2026
Car insurers live off customer inertia: new customers pay less, existing ones are quietly increased. Twenty minutes of comparison a year recovers β¬100β300 on average, and that is all the effort this route asks for. What matters is the window: for most policies the insurance year matches the calendar year, so your cancellation must reach the insurer by 30 November.
COSTS AND DEADLINES
Deadlines you cannot miss
- cancellation at the insurer by 30 NovemberThe 30 November Deadline β and Its Back Doorshard deadline
Amounts follow official fees as of each stepβs verification date. Your city may charge a different rate β check the step itself.
βΊ More about this route
There is more than one date in the year, though. Any premium increase β including the hidden kind, via revised regional classes β opens a one-month special right of cancellation. A second such window follows every settled claim. And when you buy a car you are free immediately: the calendar rule only applies to running contracts.
What you compare is not price but like-for-like cover: a cheap tariff with trimmed protection costs more than any accident. Four points outweigh the premium β β¬100 million cover, new-value compensation in the early years, a waiver of the gross negligence objection, and the Mallorca policy that lifts rental cars abroad to German cover levels.
WHERE PEOPLE MOST OFTEN LOSE MONEY AND TIME
- Cancelling the old policy before the new one is confirmed in writing. Between a cancellation with no follow-on contract and deregistering the car lies a single uncovered day. The order runs the other way: confirmed new policy first, cancellation second.
- Treating 30 November as a universal date. Not every insurance year is a calendar year: if yours ends in May, your window is in March. The date is in the policy itself.
- Understating annual mileage to lower the premium. After a claim it gets recalculated, and the saving becomes a surcharge. The honest figure with a couple of thousand kilometres of buffer serves you better.
- Not bringing proof of claim-free years from your previous country. Many German insurers credit three to seven years, which shifts your no-claims class and noticeably lowers the premium β but only if you request the certificate from your former insurer in good time.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ROUTE
How long does switching take and when should I start?βΎ
The comparison itself takes about twenty minutes, taking out the new policy online about as long again, and the electronic insurance confirmation arrives immediately. Start in mid-November: that leaves a buffer for written confirmation of the new contract before the 30 November deadline.
I am new to Germany and buying my first car β where do I start?βΎ
With two things. First, request a claim-free years certificate from your insurer back home: many German providers recognise it, and the price difference is dramatic. Second, when buying a car you are not bound by the calendar and can choose an insurer straight away without waiting for November.
Is it worth the effort β what does it realistically save?βΎ
On average β¬100β300 a year for twenty minutes once a year. The saving does not come from finding some exceptional tariff, but from the fact that new-customer rates sit below your running premium: no insurer will lower it for you.
What matters more than price in a policy?βΎ
Four points: β¬100 million of cover, new-value compensation in the first years of ownership, a waiver of the gross negligence objection, and the Mallorca policy, which raises cover for rental cars abroad to German levels. A tariff without them is cheaper right up to the first serious claim.