It’s worth checking every autumn whether your car insurance is still good and cheap. Most car insured persons can terminate their contract properly at the turn of the year. In order to meet the one-month notice period, the insurer must give notice on November 30th. The providers also know this – and therefore lure customers at the same time every year with new and, in some cases, affordable tariffs.
When does the notice period end?
To quit is easier than ever today. Because for contracts that you concluded after October 1st, 2016, one email is sufficient. It is important that the mail can be clearly assigned to you. So it is better to use an email address that is on file with the insurance company. Also, include your contact number and address so that your insurance company can find the information in their records.
If you cancel by email, you should be able to prove that your insurance company has received the cancellation. Therefore request a read confirmation and save the letter in the outbox and print it out with the destination address and date. Make sure that the insurance company confirms the cancellation – if not, check it out.
You should terminate older contracts by registered letter or fax, and keep the transmission report with the fax. The notice of termination is only valid if it has been received by the old insurance company, within the notice period.
In addition, the letter to the insurance company can contain the identification number and the time of termination. It is always a good idea to also state the reason, for example, an increase in the premium or the sale of the car. If you sell your car, it also makes sense to include the name and address of the buyer. The insurance for the car is initially transferred to him. You play it safe when you deregister your old car at the registration office. You can also do this by agreeing to the sales contract that the buyer will re-register the car.
You have one month’s notice
Regardless of whether it is an ordinary termination or an extraordinary one because you are using a special right of termination: In car insurance, you can generally cancel your contract with one month’s notice. This results from Section 5, Paragraph 5, Clause 2 of the Compulsory Insurance Act – this regulation for liability applies to the General Conditions for Motor Insurance, including for comprehensive insurance contracts and for car insurance.
Make sure you don’t run out of time to quit. After all, you should have already looked for a new contract beforehand. The best way to do this is to make a double comparison. We explain how in our car insurance guide.
When do I change my car insurance?
Most of the car insurance contracts run for one calendar year, the main due date being December 31st. Because of the one month notice period, this means: For most insured persons, November 30th is the deadline for notice. Your insurer must receive the cancellation on this day. You will then need a new insurance policy from January 1st of the following year. Warning: your car may not be on the road without liability!
When signing a new contract, you should stick to the term until December 31 if possible. Because this means that you can continue to benefit from cheap insurance premiums for the changing season in the future.
Not all insurance policies are always valid until the end of the year. Some also offer contracts with a term of less than one year. If you have such a contract and it runs until the end of March, for example, your cancellation must be received by the insurance company by the end of February.
Do you have an extraordinary right to termination?
In addition to the ordinary right of termination, you can also have an extraordinary termination right. Then you come out of your contract regardless of the insurance year and main maturity.
You have a special right of termination in the following cases:
- As soon as there is a premium increase. Two constellations are conceivable for this: your insurance premium increases without the insurer increasing the insurance coverage or your insurer reducing the insurance coverage without lowering your insurance premium;
- When you report a claim ;
- As soon as you sell or de-register your car.
A termination-relevant premium increase exists in the two above-mentioned constellations ( §§ 19 VI, 25 II Insurance Contract Act ). You have one month to cancel from the receipt of the letter with which your insurer announces the increase in the insurance premium or the reduction in the benefit. So if you get such a letter on December 3rd, you can cancel until January 2nd.
Warning: You have received a letter, but supposedly with a reduction in your premium? Look carefully to see if it is not a hidden contribution increase. Because even if you should pay less in the future, it is possible that your contribution has increased – or part of it. This can be the case if you slip into a cheaper no-claims class, but at the same time are placed in a worse type or regional class. That is also sufficient for a special right of termination.
Many providers do not send letters about the contribution amount for the following year until December. A good chance for you if you missed your ordinary, annual termination date.
Even if you report a loss to your insurance company, you can give extraordinary notice – regardless of whether your insurance company takes over or not. The point in time at which your monthly period begins to run is when the insurer pays the damage (even in part) or refuses to assume the costs. Incidentally, in the event of damage, the insurance company also has the right to terminate.
A motor vehicle also triggers a special right of termination. If you buy a car and nothing else is regulated, the vehicle insurance of the seller for the car is also valid for you for at least another month. You have a special right of termination within this month. As soon as you take out your own insurance and report this to the admissions office, the old contract is deemed to have been terminated.
The other way round applies: when you sell a car, your insurance contract is transferred to the buyer. In order to avoid uncertainties, it is best to de-register the car yourself at the registration office. Then the registration office automatically informs the insurer. You can read more about this in our guide to selling a car.
Retirement insurance for temporary deregistration
A special case is the so-called retirement insurance, which takes effect if you only deregister the car temporarily. Your insurance contract will then continue to run free of charge until it is finally canceled. The scope of insurance remains the same, with the exception of fully comprehensive insurance – fully comprehensive insurance, therefore, becomes partial comprehensive insurance. The vehicle is automatically insured with the same provider when you re-register.
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