Contribution adjustment 2025 – 80 percent more expensive! With this car insurance, switching is now extremely worthwhile

Car insurance has become significantly more expensive for most car owners this year. But especially for Michael C.: The HDI suddenly demanded 80 percent more money. This is not an isolated case, as a report from the insurance company shows. What customers should do now.

Michael C.* from the Rosenheim district did not expect such a calculation: his motor vehicle insurance company, HDI, charges 80 percent more for partial comprehensive insurance in 2025. C. drives a VW Up, with 170,000 km on the clock, for 15,000 km per year insured. This should now cost 715 euros a year. “I can quickly buy a new car with the annual fee,” he says angrily.

What’s particularly tricky is that HDI only sends one invoice. There is no mention of a contribution adjustment. The customer has to calculate for themselves whether the contribution is higher than last year and by how much. For C. it goes up from 390 euros to 715 euros, a jump in contributions for the second year in a row: “In 2023 I still paid 293 euros. That’s an increase of 144 percent in two years.

HDI increases vehicle insurance by an average of 50 percent

He didn’t have an accident and the type class even went down. The HDI seems to be a special case among motor vehicle insurance this year. The company made a severe technical loss in the division in 2023 and is now trying to restructure the portfolio, reports the magazine “ Insurance Monitor “. With the minimal increase, HDI Insurance also wants to test the point at which price increases lead to a significant change in cancellation behavior among motor vehicle customers. On average, the insurance company increased premiums by 50 percent.

The HDI itself justifies the increase in contributions with increased damage, rising repair costs and a more expensive supply of spare parts. No wonder: in the first half of 2024 alone, storm and hail caused 400 million euros in damage to the automotive sector in Germany.

On average, contributions increase by 25 percent

Many drivers also receive current mail with the new vehicle insurance premiums for 2025. The bills show that it is not just the HDI that is seeing large increases, customers of other insurers are also reporting increases of 30 to 40 percent. Here too, insurers such as Huk Coburg point to sharply increased costs for spare parts.

“The market average prices for motor vehicle insurance are currently 25 percent higher than the previous year,” writes the comparison portal “Verivox” in response to a request from FOCUS online. However, insurers continue to compete for new customers with cheap offers. This means that a change can definitely be worthwhile: “Cheap tariffs are currently on average 28 percent lower than tariffs in the middle price segment,” says Verivox.

What is important when changing car insurance?

The first thing customers need to do when changing their car insurance is to keep an eye on the special cancellation deadline. It is four weeks. If you want to cancel your old car insurance, you should only do so once you have signed a contract – or, even better, use the cancellation service of your new provider.

Four points are particularly important in the new tariff:

1. Coverage amount

The amount that motor vehicle liability insurance covers in the event of damage must not be too low, because anything beyond that is borne by the policyholder himself. The ADAC recommends a maximum coverage of 100 million euros.

2nd row discount protection

Normally the premium increases when you report damage. With discount protection you usually have at least a free shot. In contrast, with very cheap tariffs it can happen that you are upgraded particularly high when you need the insurance.

3. Mallorca Police

Car insurance should cover damage to rental cars abroad.

4. Gross negligence

There are police officers whose insurers refuse to plead gross negligence, for example if they were distracted and caused an accident. However, drunk driving and grossly negligent theft are still usually excluded here.

Don’t change and still save

If you don’t want to change, you can try to negotiate the premium with your insurance company. Insurance agents in particular can turn the premium screw if you ask them about it.

In addition to switching, there are a few adjustments that drivers can use to reduce their premium, emphasizes Verivox. Insurers use more than 50 factors to calculate rates. Drivers have no influence on some of these – for example the regional class, which depends on where they live, the type class, which is determined by the vehicle, or their age. You can have an active influence in other ways:

• Pay for damages yourself : One of the most important factors influencing the vehicle insurance premium is the no-claims class. It increases with every year that drivers travel without claims being settled by the motor vehicle insurer. If you let your insurance company pay for accident damage instead, you will be downgraded by several classes in the following year and lose important discounts. According to the model calculation of the comparison portal Verivox, it is worth paying for liability damages up to 2,555 euros and fully comprehensive damages up to 3,408 euros.

• Driving performance : Fewer kilometers driven means a lower risk of damage and therefore lower premiums. In a Verivox evaluation, adjusting the mileage from 10,000 to 5,000 kilometers per year for a 45-year-old Golf driver from Berlin brings an average cost advantage of 16 percent

• Workshop binding : If you choose an insured tariff with a workshop connection, you will pay an average of twelve percent less for your vehicle insurance. Drivers only have to contact a partner workshop of their insurance company in the event of comprehensive insurance cases. You can continue to have annual inspections or repairs carried out in a workshop of your own choosing, apart from cases of damage.

• Deductible : A deductible reduces insurance premiums. Insured people pay 28 percent less on average if they opt for a deductible of 300 euros for fully comprehensive insurance and 150 euros for partial comprehensive insurance.

• Annual payment: Anyone who pays their car insurance annually instead of monthly saves an average of six percent per year.

• “Parent trick”: Novice drivers are asked to pay heavily. You can save on car insurance if you initially insure your vehicle through one parent for a few years and register as an additional driver. The acquired no-claims classes can later be transferred from parents to the child.

• Avoid age surcharge: Seniors have a higher risk of accidents – and car insurers take this into account with higher premiums. Older drivers can save on car insurance by insuring and registering their vehicle through younger family members. According to a Verivox model calculation, an 85-year-old Golf driver from Hamburg saves 54 percent (365 euros) if he transfers his vehicle and its no-claims classes to his child, who is 30 years younger.

• Check driver circle : Have the children now left the nest and no longer use the car? Then this should also be adjusted for the vehicle insurance. For example, a golf driver saves an average of 38 percent if he takes his 20-year-old child out of the insurance contract.

• Use seasonal license plates : If you only drive your car seasonally, it’s worth getting a seasonal license plate to save on insurance premiums when you don’t use it.

Insurance customer Michael C. decided to switch instead: “I’m now going to Allianz directly. There I pay 352 euros. It would have even been a few euros cheaper. “But I perform a little better this way,” he says. The change cost him 10 minutes – and at least next year C. will only pay half as much. “Even now it’s worth changing properly.”

*Name is known to the editors