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How much does car insurance go up after an accident in Germany?

In short

If your insurer pays for an accident, you usually lose 4 to 15 no-claims classes on 1 January, depending on your class. The liability or comprehensive premium often rises by 30 to 70 percent in the first year. Over the following ten years this easily adds up to EUR 500 to over EUR 1,000. Partial cover claims and accidents fully paid by the other side do not count.

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How much does car insurance go up after an accident in Germany?

What it costs

Published premium rates, downgrades and worked examples, 2026.

Example	Typical range
Downgrade from SF 10 after a liability claim	usually to SF 4, around 6 classes
Downgrade from SF 20	liability often to SF 10, comprehensive often to SF 12
SF 20 to SF 10 at EUR 500 base premium	from about EUR 150 to 200 a year, over ten years about EUR 750 to 1,000 more
Example from SF 8 downgraded to SF 3	about EUR 1,100 extra over five years
No-claims protection	about 10 to 25 percent extra

Downgrades and premium rates from published tables, September 2026; each insurer has its own values. The euro amounts in the table and in the worked example are guide values from our quoting practice. We calculate your downgrade in the quote.

Worked example

Rear end collision in SF 20, liability and comprehensive cover pay

A driver in SF 20 runs into the car ahead. The other car has EUR 2,500 damage, her own EUR 3,000, deductible EUR 300. Base premium at 100 percent: liability EUR 600, comprehensive EUR 700.

Premium before in SF 20, around 30 percent	about EUR 390 a year
Liability after, SF 10, around 40 percent	about EUR 240
Comprehensive after, SF 12, around 38 percent	about EUR 266
Extra premium in year one	about EUR 115 to 125
Extra premium over ten years	roughly EUR 800 to 1,000
Paid by the insurer	EUR 5,200

The extra premium stays well below the payment, so reporting clearly pays off. If only a EUR 500 scratch on another car had to be paid, paying it yourself would avoid the downgrade and usually be cheaper. Calculation with guide values.

How the downgrade works

Your liability and comprehensive premium depend on your no-claims class (Schadenfreiheitsklasse, SF). If you report a claim in a calendar year and your insurer pays or sets money aside, it downgrades you (Rückstufung) on 1 January of the following year according to its downgrade table. The higher premium applies from the next due date.

How far you fall is set by each insurer. The model terms of the German insurance association (GDV) only give the framework, each company fills in its own numbers. Liability and comprehensive cover have separate tables; if your insurer pays from both, both are downgraded.

Class before	Class after (liability, example)	Rate before	Rate after	Extra premium in year one at EUR 600 base
SF 5	SF 1	about 60 percent	about 100 percent	about EUR 240
SF 10	SF 4	about 40 percent	about 60 to 70 percent	about EUR 120 to 180
SF 20	SF 10	about 30 percent	about 40 percent	about EUR 60
SF 25	SF 12	about 27 percent	about 35 to 40 percent	about EUR 50 to 80
SF 30	SF 15	about 25 percent	about 35 percent	about EUR 60

If your history came from abroad

If your insurer recognised your claim free years from another country and placed you in a better class, that class is treated like any German one after an accident. You fall from it according to the same table.

Within the EU, insurers that use claims history must treat a statement from another member state like a German one and may not discriminate by nationality or previous country of residence. If you plan to leave Germany later, ask for a written statement of your claims history (Schadenfreiheitsbescheinigung) before the policy ends. It is what your next insurer abroad will want to see.

Why high classes suffer differently from low ones

Long time accident free drivers lose many classes, but the percentage only rises by a few points. The pain is in the duration: it often takes ten years or more to get back to the old rate, and you pay a little extra in each of them.

With low classes it is the other way round. The jump in the first year is the biggest in euros, but you climb back faster. For young drivers with a high base premium, one claim can almost double the premium.

When your premium does not rise

Under the model terms your policy stays claim free if the claim goes through partial cover (Teilkasko), such as glass, collisions with wild animals, hail or theft. The same applies if the other side refunds your insurer in full, if it only pays expert or lawyer fees, or if it releases a reserve after three years without paying.

If you share the blame, your liability pays part of the other side's damage. That is enough for a full downgrade, however small the share.

Avoiding or limiting the rise

You can refund your insurer's payment, and the policy then counts as claim free. The model terms allow this in liability for claims up to EUR 500 within six months after the insurer's notice. Many insurers allow higher amounts and also in comprehensive cover. You still have to report the claim within one week.

No-claims protection (Rabattschutz) prevents the downgrade for usually one claim a year. It costs about 10 to 25 percent extra and only works with your insurer: if you switch, the new company uses your real class. Switching after the accident does not help either, your claims history is passed on.

After a claim, you and your insurer may cancel the policy within one month after the claim is settled. That is a chance to look for a cheaper offer with your new class.

What else drives the premium

Not every increase after an accident comes from the downgrade. Type class, regional class and general premium adjustments change every year for everyone, also for drivers without claims. Check your premium invoice for the class and rate before you blame the accident.

Step by step

Report the claim to your insurer within one week, even if you are thinking of paying yourself.
Look up your current class and rate on your last premium invoice.
Check in your policy's downgrade table where you will land.
Compare the extra premium of the next years roughly with the claim amount.
For small claims, refund the insurer in time after its notice.
After the claim is settled, get a new quote with your new class.

Checklist

Downgrade table for liability and comprehensive cover known
Deadline and maximum amount for paying yourself noted
Checked whether the claim can go through partial cover
If not at fault, insisted that the other side pays in full
Premium invoice checked for class and rate

Common mistakes

Not reporting an accident because you want to pay yourself, and putting your cover at risk
Letting small claims go through the insurance without doing the maths
Paying large claims yourself out of fear of the downgrade
Believing a switch after the accident resets the class
Buying no-claims protection and then switching insurer

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

When do I pay more after an accident?

The downgrade applies on 1 January after the year you reported the claim. The higher premium comes with the next premium invoice.

Does my premium rise if I was not at fault?

No, if the other side pays in full. If you share the blame, your liability pays part and you are downgraded.

Two accidents in one year: am I downgraded twice?

Yes. The tables have separate columns for two, three and more claims, each one pushes you further down.

Does a collision with a deer or a stone chip count?

No, those are partial cover claims. Partial cover has no no-claims classes.

Can I prevent the downgrade afterwards?

Yes, by refunding your insurer's payment. The model terms allow this for liability claims up to EUR 500 within six months, many insurers are more generous.

Will a downgrade in Germany follow me abroad?

Your next insurer abroad will usually ask for a claims history statement, which lists the claim. Ask for it in writing before your German policy ends.

May the insurer cancel after an accident?

Yes, under the model terms within one month after the claim is settled. You have the same right.

Sources

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