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South Africans in Germany

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Car Insurance

VMK (Versicherungen mit Kopf) has a very informative webpage (in German) about car insurance.

No claim bonus

  • Most companies do not give you credit for your no-claim history in South Africa.
  • One of our FB members reported that Debeka did acknowledge his no-claim record and assigned him to level 7.
  • Another member also had joy with HUK Coburg but only after some convincing.
    Someone also posted “HUK24 will accept a no claims bonus letter from SA, it must state for how many years no claims for motor own damage and also no claims for liability. I am sure some other companies also accept it if you email them and ask what schadenfreiheitsklasse they will grant you, namely claim free group in years for motor own damage and for liability- as here in Germany they are treated separately.”

Renewal

Please be aware “Your car insurance is renewed automatically every year on January 1.”
If you want to change to another provider, you are allowed to do it until November 30. 
If you don’t make any changes it will automatically renew. 

Comparative sites

Use Verivox or Tarifcheck to compare car insurance prices.

More Information

Article from Test.de about car insurance (Kfz-Versicherungs­vergleich)

Tips

  • You can get insurance that allows you one accident per year without losing your no-claim status if you have an accident
  • Read the small print! Always
  • Be careful of hidden fees when a dealership organises your insurance for you

Terminology

  German English Information
KFZ Kraftfahrzeug Vehicle Als Kraftfahrzeuge im Sinne dieses Gesetzes gelten Landfahrzeuge, die durch Maschinenkraft bewegt werden, ohne an Bahngleise gebunden zu sein.
PKW Personenkraftwagen  Passenger car  
LKW Lastkraftwagen  Trucks  
NFZ Nutzfahrzeug  Commercial or Utility vehicle ein Kraftfahrzeug, das nach seiner Bauart und Einrichtung zum Transport von Personen oder Gütern bestimmt ist, oder zum Ziehen von Anhängern, aber kein Personenkraftwagen oder Kraftrad ist, sondern beispielsweise ein Omnibus, ein Lastkraftwagen, eine Zugmaschine oder ein Kranwagen.
  Kfz-Versicherung Vehicle Insurance  
  Zulassung Registration