Do I have a special right to cancel when my insurance premium goes up in Germany?
In short
Yes, if your insurer raises the premium under an adjustment clause and your cover does not improve. In Germany you then have a special right to cancel (Sonderkündigungsrecht) within one month of receiving the notice (§ 40 VVG). You do not have it when the premium goes up only because the sum insured grows with it, or because you were downgraded after your own claim. Private health insurance allows two months.
Worked examples of what an increase means. The deadlines come from the law and the model terms.
Example
Typical range
Car liability and comprehensive, EUR 600 a year, up 12 percent
EUR 72 more a year, cancel within 1 month
Building insurance, EUR 450 a year, adjustment factor only, up 4 percent
EUR 18 more, no special right
Private health insurance, EUR 520 a month, up 8 percent
EUR 41.60 more a month, cancel within 2 months
Contents insurance, EUR 120 a year, tariff up 10 percent
EUR 12 more, cancel within 1 month
Premiums and percentages are illustrative rules of thumb from practice.
Deadlines under the VVG and the model motor terms (AKB 2015), as of October 2026.
Worked example
Car insurance goes up on 1 January
The notice arrives on 5 December. Because of a new vehicle type class, the premium rises from EUR 600 to EUR 672.
Notice received
5 December
Last day to cancel
5 January
Cancellation takes effect
1 January at the earliest
Extra premium paid to the old insurer
EUR 0
You have one month to find a better offer and never pay the higher premium.
When a premium increase gives you the right to cancel
What counts is the reason for the increase. If the insurer raises your premium under an adjustment clause in its terms and you get no better cover in return, § 40 of the Insurance Contract Act (Versicherungsvertragsgesetz) lets you cancel. The same applies if it cuts your cover and keeps the premium.
Your cancellation must reach the insurer within one month of receiving the notice. It takes effect immediately, but at the earliest on the day the increase would apply. So you never pay the new price.
When you have no special right to cancel
If your car insurance goes up because you move to a worse no-claims class (Schadenfreiheitsklasse) after an accident, that is a consequence of your claim, not a tariff adjustment. It does not create a special right to cancel.
Building insurance (Wohngebäudeversicherung) usually rises with an annual adjustment factor, and the sum insured grows in the same step. You get more cover for more money, so § 40 VVG does not apply. Only when the premium rate itself goes up is it worth a closer look.
Reason
Special right to cancel?
Tariff adjustment without better cover
yes, one month (§ 40 VVG)
Car: higher vehicle type class or regional class
yes, one month under the model terms
Car: downgrade after your own claim
no, but you may cancel after the claim itself
Building: sum and premium rise with the adjustment factor
no
Private health insurance: premium adjustment
yes, two months (§ 205 (4) VVG)
Car insurance: the most common case
The model terms for German motor insurance (AKB) include their own right to cancel if the premium rises because of a new vehicle type class (Typklasse), a new regional class (Regionalklasse) or a tariff change. Again you have one month from receiving the notice.
Many renewal notices arrive after 30 November, the usual switching date. The special right to cancel is then your second chance to change provider for the new year.
What a broker checks when your premium goes up
An insurance broker (Versicherungsmakler) reads the notice against your contract: is it a tariff adjustment, a sum insured adjustment or the result of your own claims? That decides whether you have a special right to cancel and by when.
Then the broker compares whether another tariff with the same cover costs less. At NAMMERT, Norman Nammert arranges cover as an insurance broker. The commission (Courtage) is paid by the insurer, so the check is free for you.
To be honest, not every premium increase is a reason to switch. After several claims or with an old house, a new contract may cost more or may not be offered at all. Only cancel once the new offer is confirmed in writing.
Step by step
Keep the notice and note the date you received it.
Check the reason: tariff, type class, sum insured or your own claim.
Put the old and new sum insured and the old and new premium side by side.
Get a comparison offer with the same cover.
Cancel in time, but only after the new insurer has confirmed in writing.
Checklist
Date of receipt noted
Reason for the increase understood
Deadline worked out: one month, two in health insurance
New offer confirmed in writing
Cancellation sent with proof of delivery
Common mistakes
Counting the deadline from the letter's date instead of the day you received it
Cancelling before a new contract is confirmed
Confusing a sum insured adjustment with a tariff increase
Accepting weaker cover to save a few euros
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Do I have the right even for a small increase?
Yes.
§ 40 VVG sets no minimum.
What matters is that your cover does not improve to the same extent.
Must the insurer tell me about my right?
Yes.
The notice has to mention it and reach you at least one month before the increase.
What if I miss the deadline?
Then you can only give ordinary notice for the end of the insurance year,
with the notice period in your contract.
The higher premium applies until then.
Does a no-claims downgrade after a car accident count?
No, that is not a tariff increase.
After a claim, however, there is a separate right to cancel.
Can a broker cancel for me?
Yes, with a broker's mandate (Maklervollmacht).
The broker first checks whether the special right applies and whether a new contract is in place.
