Does car insurance pay for an aquaplaning accident?
In short
Usually yes. After an aquaplaning accident your motor liability insurance always pays for damage to others. Car insurance only pays for your own car through comprehensive cover (Vollkasko), not partial cover. If you were too fast or your tread was below 1.6 mm, Vollkasko may reduce the payout, but only if exactly that caused the accident and your policy has no waiver.
Fines for too little tread and costs that may stay with you after an aquaplaning accident.
Example
Typical range
Tread below 1.6 mm at a roadside check
EUR 60 and one point
Tread below 1.6 mm, endangering others
EUR 75 and one point
Tread below 1.6 mm with an accident
EUR 90, about EUR 120 including fees
Vollkasko deductible
usually EUR 300 to 1,000
Fines under the German federal catalogue, as of October 2026.
The deductible range is a guide value from our quoting practice.
Whether your policy waives the gross negligence defence is something we check for you.
Worked example
Aquaplaning on the Autobahn, car hits the crash barrier
Vollkasko with a EUR 500 deductible, damage to your own car EUR 8,000. The reduction is an assumption for illustration.
Crash barrier
paid by your motor liability insurance
Your car, normal settlement
EUR 8,000 minus 500 = EUR 7,500
Assumed reduction by half for gross negligence
EUR 3,750
With a waiver of the gross negligence defence
EUR 7,500
Without a waiver you may be several thousand euros short; on top comes the downgrade in liability and Vollkasko.
Who pays for what
Aquaplaning happens when a film of water builds up between tyre and road and the car no longer steers or brakes. Legally it is an accident like any other: what matters is whose damage it is and which cover you have.
Motor liability insurance pays for damage to the other car, the crash barrier or injured people. Under the German Insurance Contract Act it is only free from liability for intentional acts; gross negligence is not enough.
Result of the aquaplaning
Who pays
Your share
You slide into another car
your motor liability insurer
no-claims downgrade in liability
You slide into the crash barrier
liability for the barrier, Vollkasko for your car
deductible and downgrade
Another driver slides into your car
the other driver's liability insurer
usually nothing
Only Teilkasko or only liability
nobody pays for your own car
the whole damage to your car
Vollkasko, tread below 1.6 mm caused it
Vollkasko, but reduced
depending on the degree of fault
Why partial cover does not help
Teilkasko only pays for specific events such as fire, theft, storm, hail, flooding or hitting a wild animal. An aquaplaning accident is not one of them.
Flooding does not help either: the German model terms exclude damage caused by the driver's reaction to natural forces. If you drive through a flooded road and lose control, it is not a Teilkasko claim.
When Vollkasko may reduce the payout
If you cause the damage through gross negligence, Vollkasko may reduce its payment in proportion to your degree of fault, under section 81(2) of the Insurance Contract Act (VVG) and the model terms. With aquaplaning it is usually about two things: speed and tread depth.
German traffic rules (section 3(1) StVO) say you may only drive fast enough to stay in control at all times and must adapt your speed to the weather. Section 36(3) StVZO requires a main tread depth of at least 1.6 mm.
The insurer has to show that exactly this caused the accident. The Higher Regional Court of Koblenz made a Kasko insurer pay in full despite badly worn tyres, because an expert found that with about 25 cm of water even new tyres would not have prevented the accident (case 10 U 253/08).
Waiver of the gross negligence defence
Many policies waive the right to reduce payments for gross negligence. Vollkasko then also pays if you were too fast in heavy rain. How far the waiver goes is set out in your terms.
If you drive a lot on the Autobahn, look out for this. After a claim the waiver can easily be worth several thousand euros, as the example below shows.
What tread depth makes a difference
In a test by a German automobile club, a winter tyre with 4 mm of tread started aquaplaning at 63 km/h, a new tyre only at 87 km/h. The recommendation is at least 3 mm for summer tyres and 4 mm for winter and all-season tyres, even though the law only requires 1.6 mm.
Driving with less than 1.6 mm costs EUR 60 and one point in Flensburg, EUR 75 if you endanger others and EUR 90 if there is an accident.
Step by step
Switch on hazard lights, put on a high-visibility vest and secure the scene.
Call the police if anyone is hurt or the crash barrier or road is damaged.
Photograph the water on the road, the weather and your tyres, and measure the tread.
Report the claim to your insurer within one week.
If the insurer reduces the payout, ask for an independent assessment of the cause.
Checklist
Vollkasko for new, financed or expensive cars
Waiver of the gross negligence defence in your policy
Summer tyres with at least 3 mm of tread
Winter and all-season tyres with at least 4 mm of tread
Photos of the road and tyres right after the accident
Common mistakes
Relying on Teilkasko to pay for a skid
Driving to your summer holiday on 1.6 mm of tread
Keeping dry-road speed in heavy rain
Accepting a reduction without checking whether the tread actually caused the accident
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Is aquaplaning force majeure?
Usually not.
German traffic rules require you to adapt your speed to the weather.
Your liability insurance pays for damage to others in any case.
Will I be downgraded after an aquaplaning accident?
Yes, if liability or Vollkasko pays.
How much depends on your no-claims class (Schadenfreiheitsklasse).
Does Vollkasko pay if I had not changed my tyres?
In principle yes.
It may only reduce the payout if too little tread was grossly negligent and caused the accident.
How fast may I drive in heavy rain?
There is no fixed limit.
You must drive so that you stay in control.
In a test, a tyre with 4 mm of tread started aquaplaning at 63 km/h.
