How do I insure my Jobrad company bike after the lease buyout in Germany?
In short
How do I insure my Jobrad company bike after the lease buyout in Germany? When you buy it out, usually after 36 months, the leasing policy ends. From that day you need your own cover: the bike add-on of your contents insurance or a stand-alone bike policy. Check which value is insured, not just the buyout price of often around 18 percent. An e-bike around EUR 3,000 costs about EUR 60 to 140 a year.
What cover for a bought-out company bike costs in Germany and what counts after a loss.
Example
Typical range
Buyout price after 36 months, common value
around 18 percent of the recommended retail price
Bike worth EUR 1,000, contents insurance with bike add-on
around EUR 50 a year
E-bike worth EUR 3,000, stand-alone policy
about EUR 60 to 140 a year
Age deduction in one published set of conditions, bike 37 to 48 months old
25 percent
Average payout per stolen bike 2025
around EUR 1,270
As of October 2026, from published information of a leasing provider,
a set of insurance conditions and tariff examples.
The worked example uses assumed figures; we obtain the exact quote for you.
Worked example
E-bike with a list price of EUR 3,500, bought out after 36 months
The commuter buys out his company bike and leaves it at the station every day. In month 44 it is stolen.
Buyout price, 18 percent
EUR 630
Contents insurance, sum EUR 50,000, bike limit 1 percent
at most EUR 500
Own policy for EUR 3,500, 25 percent deduction in month 44
EUR 2,625
Own policy only for the buyout price
at most EUR 630
The stand-alone policy based on the original new price pays around EUR 2,000 more than contents insurance. Insuring only the buyout price throws that advantage away.
What changes with the buyout
During the lease the company bike (Jobrad, Dienstrad) belongs to the leasing company, and the mandatory insurance protects its property. When you buy the bike out, usually after 36 months, the lease and its insurance end. If the bike is stolen the next day and you have taken out nothing new, nobody pays.
According to one leasing provider, the buyout price is often around 18 percent of the recommended retail price. It is not guaranteed and is only set at the end of the term. It says little about what your bike is actually worth.
Contents insurance or stand-alone bike insurance
For a bought-out company bike there are two routes. Which one fits depends on the bike's value, where you park it and whether you also want cover for accidents and the battery.
Question
Contents insurance with bike add-on
Stand-alone bike insurance
What is covered?
theft
theft, often also accidents, vandalism, battery
How much is paid?
new value up to the bike limit, often 1 percent of the sum insured
up to the sum insured, with age deductions
Suitable for expensive e-bikes?
rarely, the limit is usually too low
yes, if the sum matches the new price
Cost
around EUR 50 a year for a EUR 1,000 bike
about EUR 60 to 140 a year for a EUR 3,000 e-bike
Which value is insured
The key question for a bought-out bike is the sum insured. One published set of conditions expressly requires the original new price, usually the recommended retail price, to be stated as the purchase price for second-hand bikes. If you enter the buyout price instead, you are only insured for that amount.
The same conditions pay the new value without deduction only while the bike is no older than 36 months at the time of loss. A company bike is already that old at buyout. After that they deduct 25 percent, from month 49 30 percent, from month 61 40 percent. Ask how your policy calculates age before you sign.
Documents and avoiding gaps
The dealer invoice for a company bike is usually made out to the leasing company; at buyout you only get an invoice for the residual value. Some conditions exclude bikes without a dealer receipt. Clarify before signing whether the insurer accepts the buyout invoice together with a copy of the original invoice.
Start the new cover on the day of the buyout. Note the frame and battery numbers and photograph the bike.
Wear and battery after three years
If your lease included a service package, it ends at buyout. Stand-alone policies with wear cover often have age limits. In the published conditions, wear is covered only up to a bike age of five years, and for bikes older than six months at the start only after a six-month waiting period. For a three-year-old company bike that leaves at most eighteen months of wear cover.
When your own policy is not worth it
If the bike is inexpensive, kept indoors or in a locked room at night and you could absorb a theft yourself, contents insurance with a bike add-on or even basic cover may be enough. For an e-bike that cost several thousand euros new and stands outside every day, a stand-alone policy is usually the better choice.
Step by step
Check in the buyout offer on which day the lease and its insurance end.
Ask the leasing company for a copy of the original dealer invoice.
Record frame number, battery number and photos.
Check the bike limit in your contents policy.
For expensive bikes take out a stand-alone policy based on the original new price, starting on buyout day.
For an S-pedelec make sure the insurance plate is in your name.
Checklist
Cover starts on the day of the buyout
Sum insured is the original new price where the policy allows it
Age deductions in the policy known
Buyout invoice and copy of the dealer invoice at hand
Personal liability insurance includes pedelecs
Common mistakes
Assuming the leasing insurance continues after buyout
Stating only the buyout price as sum insured
Relying on the contents bike limit although the bike is worth far more
Not requesting the dealer invoice while the leasing company still has it
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Does the leasing insurance continue after buyout?
No, it ends with the lease.
From the day of the buyout you need your own cover.
Which value do I state as sum insured?
The original new price if the policy allows it.
One published set of conditions expressly requires this for second-hand bikes.
Is my contents insurance enough for the bought-out bike?
Only with a bike add-on and a limit that matches its value.
For expensive e-bikes the limit is usually too low.
Will I get the new price after a theft?
That depends on the policy.
Policies with an age scale deduct part of it from a certain age,
in the published conditions from month 37.
Do I need new liability cover?
For a pedelec up to 25 km/h your personal liability insurance is enough if it includes pedelecs.
