What is the sliding replacement value factor in German buildings insurance?
In short
What is it? The sliding replacement value factor (gleitender Neuwertfaktor) converts your base premium, set in 1914 marks, to today's building costs every year. In 2026 it is 27.8, after 26.7 the year before; newer policy terms call the same figure adjustment factor and use 27.63. Your German buildings insurance thus grows with construction prices without renegotiating the sum.
Published factors and index values, plus calculated examples.
Example
Typical range
Sliding replacement value factor 2026 (2025)
27.8 (26.7), about 4.1 percent more
Adjustment factor 2026 (2025)
27.63 (26.51), 4.22 percent more
Building price index 2026 for the sum insured, 1914 = 100
2,263.6
1914 value of 20,000 marks, premium rate 0.8 per mille, factor 27.8
about EUR 445 a year before insurance tax
Factors and index as published, valid for premiums due from 1 January 2026.
The premium rate of 0.8 per mille is a guide value from quoting practice;
your rate is in your policy schedule.
As a broker we obtain the exact quote.
Worked example
Detached house with a 1914 value of 20,000 marks
How the insurer moves the premium from 2025 to 2026 if nothing else in the tariff changes.
Base premium 1914 (20,000 marks × 0.8 per mille)
16 marks
Premium 2025 (16 × 26.7)
EUR 427.20
Premium 2026 (16 × 27.8)
EUR 444.80
Sum insured 2026 (20,000 × 2,263.6 ÷ 100)
EUR 452,720
EUR 17.60 more a year before insurance tax, in return for around EUR 452,700 of rebuilding value instead of a fixed sum that goes out of date.
Two figures, two jobs
In sliding replacement value cover your house is in the policy as a 1914 value, the notional cost of building it in 1914 marks. Two figures are derived from it every year.
The sum insured in euros is the 1914 value times the building price index, divided by 100. In 2026 that index is 2,263.6. The premium, by contrast, is the 1914 value times your premium rate times the sliding factor. So the factor decides what you pay, the index what you are insured for.
Year
Sliding replacement value factor
Adjustment factor
2022
21.2
20.97
2023
24.3
24.06
2024
26.1
25.87
2025
26.7
26.51
2026
27.8
27.63
Why there are two almost identical factors
Older policies under the VGB 88 or SGIN terms use the sliding replacement value factor, newer ones from VGB 2000 the adjustment factor. Both are built from the building price index and the construction wage index and are close to each other.
In everyday use many people call both the sliding factor. Which one applies to you is in your policy schedule or premium invoice. For the premium, the difference in 2026 is about 0.6 percent.
What the factor means for your premium
When building prices and construction wages rise, the factor rises, and your premium rises in the same proportion. In 2023 the adjustment factor jumped almost 15 percent in one go, in 2026 a good four percent.
You get something for it: the sum insured grows too, and as long as the 1914 value was set correctly, the insurer waives the underinsurance deduction. A house insured 20 years ago with a fixed euro sum would be clearly underinsured today.
When you may cancel and when not
If the premium rises only because the factor rose, your cover grows by the same amount. The law gives no special right to cancel for this.
If the insurer raises the premium rate without improving cover, section 40 VVG lets you cancel within one month of receiving the notice. So compare whether premium and sum insured rose by the same percentage.
When the factor need not concern you
You cannot negotiate the factor; almost all insurers use the same one. Switching only because of the annual adjustment therefore achieves nothing.
Check the 1914 value and the premium rate instead. A 1914 value that is too low is not fixed by any factor, and the premium rate is where offers really differ.
Step by step
Check your policy schedule for a 1914 value and factor, or a living space figure.
Check which terms apply: VGB 88 with sliding factor, or VGB 2000 and later with adjustment factor.
Compare premium and sum insured with the previous year.
If the premium rose more than the factor, ask why and check the cancellation deadline.
Have the 1914 value recalculated after an extension, conversion or renovation.
Checklist
1914 value set with a valuation form or appraisal
Waiver of underinsurance agreed
Factor in the premium letter matches the published figure
Premium rate compared with other offers
Alterations since the start of the policy reported
Common mistakes
Cancelling because of the annual factor increase and getting the same increase from the new insurer
Mixing up factor and building price index and recalculating the sum wrongly
Letting an inherited old policy with too low a 1914 value run on
Missing a real increase in the premium rate and the one-month deadline
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Who sets the sliding replacement value factor?
The German Insurance Association calculates it every year from Federal Statistical Office data.
It is not binding for individual insurers, but in practice almost all adopt it.
When does the factor change?
Once a year on 1 January, based on the building price index for May and the wage index for April
of the previous year.
It applies from your next premium due date.
Can the factor fall?
Yes, if building prices and construction wages fall.
Since 2010, however, the adjustment factor has risen every year.
Does the factor also apply to a living space tariff?
Usually yes.
The premium is adjusted each year in line with the factor there too;
the policy simply shows living space instead of a sum in marks.
Why did my premium rise more than the factor?
Then the insurer also raised the premium rate, for example because of higher claims,
or a discount for a new building has expired.
For a pure tariff increase you have a special right to cancel.
Do I have to calculate the factor myself?
No, the insurer does it automatically.
It is worth comparing your premium invoice with the published figure once a year.
