Which insurance can I cancel once the children have moved out?
In short
Which insurance can you cancel once the children have moved out? Usually none completely, but several can be adjusted: term life cover can often be reduced or cancelled, child accident cover passes to the child, and young drivers come off your car policy. Keep liability insurance: under the model terms, children in first training stay covered, even with their own flat.
Published premiums that change once the children have moved out.
Example
Typical range
Personal liability, couple or family
about EUR 60 to 180 a year
Child's own personal liability, single
about EUR 40 to 120 a year
Term life, age 40, EUR 350,000, 25 years
about EUR 33 to 42.90 a month
Term life, age 30, EUR 200,000, 25 years
about EUR 7.59 to 15.35 a month
Child accident insurance, EUR 100,000 base sum with progression
about EUR 50 to 100 a year
Figures from published tariff examples and German law, as of October 2026.
Your premium depends on age, location and cover; we obtain the exact quote.
Worked example
Parents, both 52, two children working, mortgage repaid
How premiums change once the children have moved out and earn their own money. Term life is assumed at about EUR 40 a month.
Term life, assumed 12 × EUR 40
EUR 480 a year less
Child accident cover for two children
about EUR 100 to 200 a year less
Family liability becomes couple tariff
often EUR 0 difference
Contents and buildings
unchanged
Together about EUR 580 to 680 a year less. In return the children need their own liability and accident cover.
What changes once the children have moved out
Once the children have moved out, the family risk falls, but not every policy becomes unnecessary. What matters is whether the children already earn their own money and whether a loan is still running. Go through the policies one by one rather than cancelling everything at once.
Policy
Once the children have moved out
Personal liability
keep, children in first training stay covered
Contents
keep, leave the sum based on floor space
Term life
reduce or cancel when nobody depends on you
Child accident and disability
transfer to the child or cancel
Car
adjust drivers, remove the child
Children's health insurance
family insurance ends at 25 at the latest
Liability: children stay covered longer than many think
Under the German model terms, adult children are covered by your personal liability policy while they are unmarried and in school or first training directly afterwards, meaning an apprenticeship, a bachelor and a master that follows directly. Where the child lives does not matter. Some older contracts still require a shared home, so check your own terms.
Only when the child has moved out and started a first job does it need its own policy, about EUR 40 to 120 a year. Your family tariff often becomes a couple tariff; many tariffs cost the same for couples and families, so there is little to save here.
Term life: reduce rather than keep paying
Term life insurance makes sure your partner and children are provided for and the loan is paid if you die. If the children have moved out and earn their own money and the house is paid off, the policy can go. You may cancel a life policy with regular premiums at any time at the end of the insurance period (Section 168 VVG).
If a loan is still open or your partner needs cover, reduce the sum rather than taking out a new policy: a new contract costs more at an older age. An endowment policy is a different matter, as cancelling often loses money; you can also make it paid up (Section 165 VVG).
Adjust child accident cover, car and contents
Child accident and child disability policies often have an end age. Once the children have moved out, check whether the child can continue the policy before you cancel: an existing contract without new health questions is often valuable.
Car insurance also depends on who drives. If your child no longer uses your car, have them removed. For contents insurance, the children moving out does not change your floor space; do not cut the sum below EUR 650 per square metre, or you often lose the waiver on underinsurance deductions.
What you should not cancel now
Personal liability, contents and buildings insurance stay even after the children have moved out. Disability insurance continues until retirement, because you still need your income. This is also a good moment to think about long-term care cover while health questions are no obstacle yet.
Norman Nammert works as an insurance broker (Versicherungsmakler) and goes through all family policies with you once the children have moved out: what stays, what gets smaller and what can go. The insurer pays the commission, so the review is free for you.
Step by step
For each child, check: still in first training or already working?
List all policies with premium, sum and end date.
Compare term life with the remaining loan and your partner's needs.
Transfer or cancel child accident policies.
Update the drivers on your car policy.
Note deadlines: usually three months before renewal.
Checklist
Keep liability, children in training stay covered
Working children have their own liability cover
Term life matches loan and partner
Child accident policies sorted
Car drivers up to date
Long-term care cover considered
Common mistakes
Insuring a student child separately although your policy already covers them
Cancelling an endowment policy at a loss instead of making it paid up
Cancelling term life although a loan is still running
Cutting the contents sum and losing the underinsurance waiver
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Is my child still on my liability policy after moving out?
Under the model terms yes, as long as the child is unmarried and in first training,
wherever it lives.
Some older contracts require a shared home.
Can I cancel term life insurance once the children have moved out?
Yes, at any time at the end of the insurance period.
It makes sense when nobody depends on you financially and no loan is open.
What happens to child accident insurance?
It runs until the end age in the contract.
Often the child can take it over, which avoids new health questions.
Does liability insurance get cheaper when the children leave?
Usually hardly.
Many tariffs cost the same for couples and families.
Can I remove my child from my car insurance?
Yes.
Report the new group of drivers, as young drivers raise the premium.
