Skip to content

Insurance broker / Insurance questions / Car insurance

Does a garage make car insurance cheaper?

In short

Does a garage make car insurance cheaper? Yes, but usually only a little. In an analysis of about 400 comprehensive tariffs in Germany only about one in three took the garage into account, saving about 1 percent on average. Older figures say 2 to 7 percent. On a EUR 800 premium that is about EUR 8 to 56. You may only state a garage if the car is regularly parked there at night.

Does a garage make car insurance cheaper?

What it costs

Published figures on the effect of a garage and other factors on the premium.

ExampleTypical range
Garage, average of about 400 comprehensive tariffs, 45 year old driver, compact car, Berlinabout 1 percent, only in about one tariff in three
Garage, older press figure from 20192 to 7 percent
Partner garage tieabout 12 percent
5,000 instead of 10,000 kilometres a yearabout 12 percent
Annual instead of monthly paymentabout 9 percent

As of November 2026, from a tariff analysis from January 2026,

a press report from 2019 and a consumer study from 2026.

Annual premium and garage rent in the worked example are a guide value from quoting practice.

What a garage means in your case only a comparison with your details shows;

we obtain the exact quote.

Worked example

Is it worth renting a garage for the discount?

Assumed are a EUR 800 annual premium for liability and comprehensive cover and EUR 60 monthly rent for a garage. Both values are assumptions for illustration.

Discount at 1 percentEUR 8 a year
Discount at 7 percentEUR 56 a year
Tariff without a garage factorEUR 0
Garage rent (12 × EUR 60)EUR 720 a year

Even in the best case the discount does not cover one month's rent. If you already have the garage, state it. Renting one only makes sense for other reasons. Calculation with guide values.

How much a garage really saves

A garage is a classic money saving tip, but its weight is small. An analysis by a comparison portal from January 2026 calculated about 400 comprehensive tariffs from 70 insurers, for a 45 year old driver with a one year old compact car in Berlin. Result: only about one tariff in three takes the garage into account, and on average the premium falls by about 1 percent.

A press report from 2019 still named 2 to 7 percent. The range shows that it depends on the insurer. Some no longer ask about the parking place at all, others give a small discount.

Other factors have a much bigger effect. A consumer study from 2026 puts a partner garage tie (Werkstattbindung) at about 12 percent, 5,000 instead of 10,000 kilometres a year also at about 12 percent and paying annually instead of monthly at about 9 percent.

FactorEffect on the premiumAs of
Garage as night time parking placeabout 1 percent on average, in one tariff in threeJanuary 2026
Garage, older figure2 to 7 percent2019
Partner garage tieabout 12 percent2026
5,000 instead of 10,000 kilometres a yearabout 12 percent2026
Annual instead of monthly paymentabout 9 percent2026

What counts as a garage

The model conditions of German insurers list the parking place as a factor for calculating the premium. They ask for the regular night time parking place and name the lockable single garage, the lockable double garage, the multi space underground car park, the secured plot and the carport.

Which of these places your insurer actually distinguishes and how it rates them is set out in its tariff. What counts is where the car usually stands overnight. Where you park at work during the day plays no role for this factor.

What false details cost

If you state a garage the car does not use, you save a few euros and risk more. Under the model conditions the insurer may check the factors and ask for proof. If the detail is wrong, the premium matching the real situation applies retroactively from the start of the current insurance year.

With deliberately false details a contractual penalty is added. Each insurer sets its amount in its own conditions.

Cover usually remains: liability insurance pays the other side, and comprehensive cover as a rule too. The German insurers' association points out, however, that comprehensive cover may cut in individual cases, for example if the contract says the car stands in a garage at night and it is stolen from the street. The insurer may also terminate the contract.

Moving house, losing the garage, a new car

If a factor stated in your policy changes, the model conditions require you to report it without delay. This works both ways: if the garage goes, the premium is adjusted. If you gain one, you can ask for the discount if your tariff has it.

If the new car does not fit into the garage or you use it for storage, it no longer counts as the parking place. Report this before it comes up in a claim.

When a garage is not worth it for insurance

Renting a garage just for the premium does not pay off. The discount is usually a few euros a year, the rent many times that.

Its benefit lies elsewhere: the car is better protected against hail, storms, martens and thieves. Avoiding a comprehensive claim is worth more than the discount.

If you really want to save on the premium, look at mileage, the group of drivers, payment frequency, partner garage tie and deductible, and compare tariffs.

Step by step

  1. Work out where the car regularly stands overnight.
  2. Check which parking place is entered in your policy.
  3. Report any difference to the insurer, even if the premium goes up.
  4. When comparing, state the parking place truthfully and compare tariffs with the same cover.
  5. Look at bigger levers: mileage, group of drivers, payment frequency, partner garage tie, deductible.

Checklist

  • Parking place in the contract matches where the car really stands at night
  • Garage is really used for the car, not for storage
  • Proof available, such as a rental agreement or land register extract
  • Move or loss of the garage reported
  • Mileage and group of drivers also up to date

Common mistakes

  • Stating a garage the car does not stand in
  • Not changing the parking place after a move
  • Renting a garage just for the discount
  • Chasing the small garage discount and missing the big levers

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

How much does a garage save on car insurance?

In an analysis from January 2026 about 1 percent on average,

and only about one tariff in three counts it.

Older figures name 2 to 7 percent.

Is insurance also cheaper with a carport or a space on my own plot?

Besides garages, the model conditions also name the carport and the secured plot as parking places.

Whether and how your insurer rates them is set out in its tariff.

Does the car have to be in the garage every night?

The question is about the regular night time parking place.

If the car usually stands in the garage, the detail is correct.

If it is mostly on the street, it is wrong.

Do I lose cover if the car was parked outside after all?

As a rule no.

But the insurer charges the correct premium, with intent a contractual penalty,

and comprehensive cover may cut in individual cases.

Does the insurer check the garage?

It may.

Under the model conditions you must provide confirmations or proof on request.

What saves more than a garage?

According to a consumer study from 2026,

a partner garage tie and lower mileage at about 12 percent each,

and annual payment at about 9 percent.

Sources

NAMMERT insurance broker

Request a quote: Car insurance

We compare insurers and come back to you, in English.

Free; the insurer pays our fee.

1Who is it for?
2Which insurance?

Choose as many as you like. For each one, the details an insurer needs for a quote appear below.

Personal

Business

3Details

Car insurance in Germany (liability, partial and fully comprehensive)

Most precise with the HSN and TSN codes from the registration document

4Your current policy
5How can we reach you?

Free of charge and without obligation. A person will get back to you.

Related questions

Updated

Was this useful?