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Open claim with ELEMENT: what can you still do?
Short answer
Only claims filed with the insolvency administrator and admitted by him are paid.
Check both in the creditor portal, keep every document,
and act at once if your claim is marked as disputed.
ELEMENT Insurance AG, a Berlin insurer that also wrote boat and personal property cover sold through brokers and partner brands, went into insolvency proceedings on 1 March 2025. According to BaFin, most of its roughly 320,000 policies ended on 1 April 2025. Anyone with an unsettled claim at that point became a creditor in a German insolvency, wherever they live. The German regulator BaFin said on 27 July 2026 that more than 25,000 claims had been filed, that nothing had been paid so far and that no payments are expected this year.
At distribution, only what is on the record counts. Telling ELEMENT, your broker or the old customer service line about a loss is not the same as lodging a claim with the insolvency administrator. The first deadline passed at the end of May 2025; a late claim can still be lodged for a small fee. The administrator then reviews each claim and records whether it is admitted or disputed. A disputed claim receives nothing at distribution unless the creditor takes action, and many people never look.
So log in to the administrator's creditor portal (element-insolvenz.de) and check that your claim is there and what its status is. If it says disputed, speak to a lawyer familiar with German insolvency law soon, because deadlines apply to the next step. Keep the photos, invoices, surveyor's reports and all correspondence, and answer the administrator's questions promptly. If you want the cost of the proceedings scrutinised, contact the creditors' committee; creditors can inspect the fee decisions at the Charlottenburg local court in Berlin (case no. 36e IN 8660/24).
Worth remembering
Filed and admitted
shares in the distribution
Disputed or never filed
gets nothing unless you act
Check the status of your claim in the creditor portal today.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Does the German procedure apply if I live in the UK or the Netherlands?
Yes. ELEMENT was based in Berlin, so a single German insolvency covers all its creditors, wherever they live.
Can I still file my claim?
Yes. The first deadline passed in May 2025, but a late claim can still be lodged with the administrator for a small fee.
What does it mean if my claim is disputed?
It will not share in the distribution unless you act. Find out from the administrator what is missing and get legal advice on the deadlines.
Related
Not sure whether you qualify?
Whether it is “Open claim with ELEMENT: what can you still do?” or another question: send us your residence and the flag your boat flies. You will get a straight answer in one email; including a no, if that is the answer.
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