How do I cancel my bike insurance in Germany?

What a policy you cancel or replace costs, and what is left when you cancel mid year, 2026.

How fast you can leave depends on the reason. Without a special reason the normal cancellation (ordentliche Kündigung) applies at the end of the contract year. A claim or a price rise gives you a special right to cancel (Sonderkündigungsrecht), but only within one month.

If your bike is covered as an add-on in your contents insurance (Hausratversicherung), it is not a separate contract. Whether you can drop just the bike add-on is in your terms, often only at the next main renewal date.

Most separate bike policies run for one year and renew for another year if nobody cancels. Under the German Insurance Contract Act the notice period must be between one and three months. The exact period and the expiry date are on your policy schedule (Versicherungsschein).

Contracts longer than three years can be cancelled at the end of the third year with three months notice, even if a longer term was agreed. Newer policies can often be cancelled daily or monthly, which is useful if you are not sure how long you will stay in Germany.

The law asks for text form, not for a particular language. A short letter in German is still the safest choice, because the staff reading it will act faster and there is less room for doubt. Three lines are enough: your policy number (Versicherungsnummer), the wish to cancel (Hiermit kündige ich den Vertrag zum nächstmöglichen Termin) and a request for written confirmation.

Leaving Germany does not end a bike policy by itself. If the bike moves with you, check whether the policy still covers it abroad and for how long. If you give up your German address, cancel in time and ask for confirmation by email, so that no further direct debits reach your German account.

After every claim both sides may cancel, even if the insurer paid. Your month starts when the negotiations end, usually with the payment or refusal. If you wait longer, the right is gone.

If the insurer raises the premium without improving the cover, you may cancel within one month after receiving the notice. If the policy ends in the middle of a period, the insurer only keeps the premium up to that date. The rest is refunded pro rata.

When you sell the insured bike, the policy passes to the buyer by law. You as seller then have no right to cancel. The buyer and the insurer may cancel within one month after the sale. For the premium of the current period you and the buyer are jointly liable.

Tell the insurer about the sale without delay, with the buyer's name and address. If you do not want to pass the policy on, cancel it in time before the sale or tell the buyer openly that it comes with the bike.

Do not cancel before the new cover has started. A theft in the gap is not insured. And do not cancel while a claim is still open, you need the contract until it is settled.

If the bike is old and worth little, cancelling is often the right call. The premium of a separate policy no longer matches what you could get back, and for an everyday bike the bike add-on of a contents policy is usually enough.