How long can I withdraw from an insurance contract in Germany?
In short
How long you can withdraw from an insurance contract in Germany depends on the type: usually 14 days, 30 days for life and pension insurance. The period only starts once the policy, the terms and a correct withdrawal notice are with you. The right ends at the latest after twelve months and 14 days, for life insurance after 24 months and 30 days, unless the notice was missing altogether.
Periods and limits from the German Insurance Contract Act and Civil Code, as of October 2026.
Example
Typical range
Withdrawal period for most insurance
14 days
Withdrawal period for life and pension insurance
30 days
Latest limit with correct notice, general
12 months and 14 days after signing
Latest limit with correct notice, life insurance
24 months and 30 days after signing
Refund by the insurer
within 30 days at the latest
All values are set by law.
Whether an old notice was faulty depends on the individual case.
Not legal advice.
Worked example
Pension insurance signed online
Contract concluded on 1 March, the withdrawal notice only arrived by email on 3 March.
Contract concluded
1 March
Last document with notice
3 March
Period
30 days from 3 March
Last day to send
2 April
A withdrawal sent via the button or by email by 2 April is in time, even if it is read later.
When the withdrawal period starts
In German law this right is called Widerruf. The period starts when the contract is concluded, but not before you have received in text form the policy (Versicherungsschein), the terms including the general conditions, the required information and a notice of your withdrawal right. For savings products, the key information document is part of it.
The insurer has to prove you received everything, not you. Write down the date the last documents arrived.
Insurance
Withdrawal period
Latest limit with correct notice
Liability, contents, car, accident, health
14 days
12 months and 14 days
Life and pension insurance
30 days
24 months and 30 days
Occupational disability (BU)
30 days, life insurance rules apply
24 months and 30 days
Contract shorter than one month
no withdrawal right
not applicable
How to withdraw correctly
You do not have to give a reason. Text form is enough: letter, fax or email to the address in the notice. What counts for the deadline is when you send it, not when it arrives. Keep proof.
If you signed online, the provider must offer a clearly visible withdrawal function on its site and confirm receipt with date and time. A short German sentence such as Hiermit widerrufe ich den Vertrag, plus your policy number, leaves no doubt.
What you get back after withdrawing
The insurer must refund premiums within 30 days. If cover had already started and you were correctly told about this consequence, it may keep the premium for the time up to your withdrawal.
If that information was missing, you also get back the premiums for the first year, unless you claimed a benefit. For life and pension insurance the insurer pays the surrender value including bonuses, or without correct information the first year premiums if that is better for you.
Withdrawing from old life insurance policies
If you were not properly informed about your withdrawal, objection or rescission right on a life or pension policy, the Verbraucherzentrale considers unwinding possible for all contract generations since 1991, including policies from 2008 onwards.
This matters most if the policy performed badly. Expect resistance from the insurer and have the notice checked legally before you cancel, because cancelling only gets you the surrender value.
Withdrawal, cancellation, rescission: the difference
A withdrawal undoes the contract. A cancellation (Kündigung) only ends it for the future, at the end of the insurance period or for long contracts at the end of year three.
Rescission (Rücktritt) is usually declared by the insurer, for example if health questions were answered wrongly. If you took out a policy through a broker such as Norman Nammert, you can go through the deadlines with him, but the withdrawal itself is declared by you to the insurer.
Step by step
Write down the date the last document with the notice arrived.
Work out the period: 14 days, 30 days for life, pension or disability insurance.
Send the withdrawal in text form to the address in the notice or use the online function.
Keep proof of sending or the confirmation of receipt.
Check the refund arrives within 30 days.
Arrange replacement cover where you need it.
Checklist
Date of receipt of all documents noted
Right period for the type of insurance
Withdrawal in text form, no reason
Proof of sending or confirmation
New cover where required
Notice checked on old policies
Common mistakes
Counting from signing although documents were missing
Telling only the adviser instead of the insurer
Cancelling an old life policy instead of checking a faulty notice
Withdrawing from liability cover without taking out a new one
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
How long can I withdraw from insurance I bought online?
Just as long as offline: 14 days, 30 days for life and pension insurance.
The provider must give you a withdrawal function on its website.
Do I have to give a reason?
No.
A withdrawal needs no reason.
Does this apply to car insurance?
Yes, 14 days.
Provisional cover on its own can only be withdrawn if it was concluded at a distance.
What if I already received a benefit?
You do not have to repay it.
You lose the extra claim to the first year premiums that applies when information was missing.
Can I withdraw years later?
Only if the notice was missing or faulty.
With life and pension insurance this comes up more often, so have it checked.
