Insurance Checker

Provided you have an international green insurance certificate and are staying in Germany for less than a year there is no requirement to take out additional cover in the country. However, for lor longer periods, a policy needs to be purchased locally.Valid car insurance (Autoversicherung or Kfz Versicherung) is a mandatory requirement for anybody who wants to drive in the Federal Republic.

The minimum requirement is Haftpflichtversicherung, or third party cover. This compensates accident victims for bodily injury, damage to property and pure financial loss. The key thing to consider is that additional insurance needs to be in place to cover first party losses and the outlook for German drivers is complicated since comprehensive cover is subdivided into two categories.

Teilkaskoversicherung includes the protection afforded through the mandatory Haftpflicht- and extends this to insure against fire, explosion, theft, storm and flood. There is also a clause covering collision with wild animals (although details vary between providers in terms of wild and domesticated animals). Oddly, at least for anybody outside continental Europe, the Teilkasko also guards against Marderbiss – a Marder being a sort of tree weasel with a fondness for chewing through wires.

Vollkaskoversicherung, or fully comprehensive cover, safeguards against damages and costs arising from accidents where the insured party is deemed to be at fault. Protection is also afforded in the event of the third party fleeing the scene of an accident. Furthermore this cover also offers cover, with various exceptions, against vandalism.

A plethora of providers in Germany is good news for the customer : intense competition keeps prices down. A quick way of getting a quote for the best Autoversicherung deal is to use one of the online comparison Preisvergleich sites.