All about this insurance: Bicycle and e-bike
Is my bike covered by my German contents insurance?
Insurance broker / Insurance questions / Bicycle and e-bike
In short
What should you do after a bike accident in Germany? Secure the scene, help anyone injured and call 112 if someone is hurt. Stay until names and details are exchanged: leaving is a criminal offence for cyclists too. Photos, witnesses and a doctor's report from the same day protect your claim. If a car was involved, its liability insurer usually pays. Claims expire after three years.
What the policies that pay after a bike accident cost, published annual premiums for 2026.
| Example | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Personal liability insurance, single | about EUR 40 to 120 a year |
| Private accident insurance, office job, 350 percent progression | about EUR 60 to 180 a year |
| E-bike worth EUR 3,000, own policy with accident cover | about EUR 60 to 140 a year |
| Statutory accident insurance for the commute | EUR 0 for you, your employer pays |
Guide values as of October 2026, taken from published tariff examples.
The amounts in the worked example are guide values from quoting practice.
We obtain the exact quote for you.
Worked example
A driver opens his door without looking. The rider wears a helmet, breaks her wrist and is signed off sick for three weeks.
| E-bike repair according to the quote | EUR 900 |
| Helmet, jacket, phone | EUR 450 |
| Prescription charges, trips to the doctor | EUR 120 |
| Pain and suffering for a fracture in a cast | about EUR 2,000 to 4,000 |
Together about EUR 3,470 to 5,470, paid by the car's liability insurer. She needs no policy of her own for this, only good evidence.
Move yourself, the injured and the bike out of traffic if you can, and help first. Call 112 if anyone is hurt. Call the police on 110 if a car is involved, the other person will not give their details, or you disagree about what happened. A police reference number helps later with every insurer.
German law treats anyone who may have contributed to an accident as involved, cyclists included. Do not ride off until names, addresses and involvement are established. Otherwise you risk criminal proceedings for leaving the scene of an accident (Unfallflucht).
Take photos of where the bike and vehicle ended up, skid marks, traffic lights, the cycle lane and your injuries. Write down the number plate, name, address and insurer of the other party and the phone numbers of witnesses.
Keep your helmet, bike and damaged clothes. An assessor or insurer often wants to see them. See a doctor the same day even if you feel fine: a report written days later makes it easier to dispute that the injury came from the accident.
| Evidence | Why you need it |
|---|---|
| Photos of the scene and the bike | shows what happened and the damage |
| Number plate and insurer | lets you claim directly from the car's insurer |
| Witnesses with phone numbers | if the course of events is disputed |
| Doctor's report from the day | pain and suffering and accident insurance |
| Receipts for bike and gear | value of bike, helmet and clothing |
If a car was involved, its keeper is liable for the risk of operating the vehicle even without personal fault. The car's liability insurance then pays for your bike, clothing, medical costs and compensation for pain and suffering (Schmerzensgeld), reduced only by your own share if you contributed.
If you injured a pedestrian or damaged a parked car, your personal liability insurance (Privathaftpflicht) pays. Damage to your own bike after a fall you caused is only covered by a bike insurance policy with accident cover. Contents insurance usually covers bikes only against theft.
If the accident happens on the direct way to work, it is a commuting accident (Wegeunfall). Statutory accident insurance then pays for treatment and rehab. If you are unfit for work beyond the day of the accident, you must see a specialist accident doctor (Durchgangsarzt).
| Situation | Who pays |
|---|---|
| A car hit you | the car's liability insurer |
| You injured someone or damaged something | your personal liability insurance |
| You fell alone, damage to your own bike | only a bike policy with accident cover |
| Accident on the way to work | statutory accident insurance for treatment |
| Lasting injury, regardless of fault | private accident insurance, if you have it |
On 17 June 2014 the Federal Court of Justice ruled (VI ZR 281/13) that a cyclist without a helmet does not, as a rule, share the blame for head injuries, at least for accidents up to 2011. Whether this changes for sporty riding was left open. A helmet protects your head; the law protects you only partly.
Claims for damages and pain and suffering expire after three years. The period starts at the end of the year in which you know about the damage and who caused it. An accident in March 2026 therefore becomes time-barred at the end of 2029.
After a harmless fall on your own, with no injury and no damage to anyone else, you do not have to notify anyone. Reporting it to your bike insurer only makes sense if the repair costs more than your excess.
If a car injured you, a German traffic lawyer (Fachanwalt für Verkehrsrecht) is usually worth it, especially if the facts are disputed or you are off work for longer. Check first whether your legal expenses insurance covers the cost.
Questions and answers
Not always.
It makes sense if someone is injured, a car is involved,
you disagree about what happened or the other person will not give their details.
Your health insurance pays for treatment, a private accident policy pays for lasting injuries.
Damage to the bike is only covered by a bike policy with accident cover.
According to the Federal Court of Justice ruling of 17 June 2014, as a rule no.
The question is open for sporty riding, for example on a road bike.
Note or photograph the number plate, call 110 at once and ask witnesses to stay.
The sooner the police have the plate, the sooner they find the driver and the insurer.
Yes, cycling is part of your private life.
Report the claim quickly and do not admit fault at the scene.
Yes, it counts as a commuting accident.
Statutory accident insurance pays for treatment; if you are off work for longer,
see a Durchgangsarzt.
Three years, counted from the end of the year in which you knew about the damage and who caused it.
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Statutory disclosure (German) · Updated
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