Are insurance apps a good alternative to a broker in Germany?
In short
Are insurance apps a good alternative to a broker in Germany? For simple policies often yes, as a substitute for advice usually not. Many apps are registered brokers themselves and take over your policies through a broker mandate (Maklervollmacht); they then receive the commission, about 15 to 25 percent of the net premium for home contents or liability. Neither costs you extra. The difference is the advice.
Published commission rates that brokers and apps alike receive from insurers in Germany, 2026.
Example
Typical range
Personal liability, home contents, buildings
about 15 to 25 percent of the annual net premium, ongoing
Car insurance
about 5 to 10 percent of the annual net premium, ongoing
Life and pension insurance
often about 2.5 to 3.5 percent of total premiums
Personal liability, EUR 69 net premium at 20 percent
EUR 13.80 commission a year
Commission rates from a published overview; they differ by insurer and tariff.
The figures in the family example are estimates from quoting practice.
Worked example
Family moves six policies into an app
Liability, home contents, two car policies, legal expenses and accident insurance are transferred to an app by mandate.
Premium after the transfer
unchanged
Ongoing commission to the app
estimate EUR 150 to 250 a year
Overview and deadlines
much more convenient
No disability cover for the main earner
not picked up by the questionnaire
The app manages what exists well. The family's biggest gap lies outside the transferred policies. Figures are estimates from quoting practice.
Who is behind insurance apps
Most insurance apps that manage your policies are legally insurance brokers (Versicherungsmakler). Anyone who arranges insurance commercially in Germany needs a licence from the Chamber of Commerce and is listed in the intermediary register (Vermittlerregister). You can check there whether and how an app provider is registered.
To show and look after your existing policies, the app usually asks for a broker contract and a broker mandate. The insurers then transfer servicing to the app, and the ongoing commission goes to it. Your previous intermediary is no longer responsible for those policies.
Which duties also apply to apps
If the app acts as a broker, the same rules apply as for any broker. It must base its advice on a sufficient number of policies and insurers, ask about your wishes and needs, give reasons for its recommendation and document them. If it breaches these duties, it is liable for damages.
In practice quality depends on the questions asked. A five field form will not spot a gap in disability cover, a boat or a side business.
Insurance app and broker compared
Both are normally paid through the commission included in the premium. They differ mainly in how they advise.
Criterion
Insurance app
Broker with personal advice
Cost to you
usually none
usually none
Legal duties as a broker
the same
the same
Advice
standardised, often a questionnaire
conversation with follow up questions
Complex risks such as BU, boat or business
limited
core of the work
Overview and documents
very convenient
depends on the broker, often digital too
When an insurance app is enough
If you have a few simple policies, for example liability, home contents and car, and know exactly what you need, an app can be a good alternative. It keeps documents together, reminds you of deadlines and saves paper.
As soon as health questions, high values or unusual risks come in, a conversation pays off. A wrongly answered health question or a sum insured that is too low often shows up only when you claim.
What to check before signing the mandate
Read which policies the mandate covers, which data the app may pass on and how to end the broker contract and mandate. Check in the register that the provider is listed as a broker and not only as an agent.
Norman Nammert arranges insurance as an insurance broker. The insurer pays the commission, so the service is free for you, whether by app or in conversation.
Step by step
Check in the intermediary register that the app is listed as a broker.
Read the broker contract and mandate: scope, data, how to end it.
Transfer only the policies the app should service.
Plan a proper conversation for health and income risks.
Once a year, check whether the policies still fit your life.
Checklist
Registration as an insurance broker checked
Scope of the mandate known
Data sharing understood
Way to end the broker contract known
Contact person for complex questions identified
Common mistakes
Confirming a mandate in the app without reading its scope
Thinking the app is just a folder and not an intermediary
Buying disability or health insurance through a short questionnaire only
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Does an insurance app cost money?
Usually not.
Like a broker, it earns the commission included in the premium.
Is an insurance app a broker?
Often yes.
Check its entry in the intermediary register.
Is an app liable for bad advice?
As a broker yes, under the same rules as any broker.
Can I use an app and a broker side by side?
For different policies yes.
Each policy is serviced by only one intermediary at a time.
Does the app make my premium cheaper?
Not through the transfer itself, only if policies are actually changed.
