- Increased liability responsibility for over 1.4 million motorists
Commencing in 2023, approximately 1.4 million vehicle owners in North Rhine-Westphalia will encounter an escalated, and consequently less favorable, local tier in their automobile liability insurance coverage. The GDV (All-German Insurance Federation) disclosed that these evaluations will surge in 8 out of 53 registration districts.
The impacted regions include Aachen's city region, Ennepe-Ruhr, Hagen, Herne, Höxter, Minden-Lübbecke, Recklinghausen, and Viersen. In these locales, automobile insurance expenses may escalate. Insurance providers can implement these new ratings for new agreements immediately and for existing contracts starting from the subsequent insurance period.
On the bright side, Paderborn and Olpe will experience improved ratings, potentially generating a decrease in premiums for approximately 250,000 people. For drivers located in other districts, the situation probably remains unchanged. Furthermore, alterations are underway in comprehensive automobile insurance: Around 650,000 out of the approximately 8.2 million comprehensive automobile insurance holders in NRW will transition to a more advantageous tier, while 200,000 will navigate towards a more unfavorable one.
Offenbach currently maintains the country's worst claim record.
The GDV computes the claim records of the 413 registration districts in Germany annually to determine where drivers cause the most damage. Based on this information, the districts are categorized into regional classes that embody the likelihood of a claim. Generally, a superior rating equates to a lower insurance premium. However, the GDV clarifies that modifications in the regional class do not forecast the trajectory of development in motor vehicle insurance prices.
Motor vehicle liability insurance boasts 12 regional classes. The worst and least desirable, class 12, is inapplicable to any city in NRW. Cities like Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Hagen, Remscheid, and Wuppertal inhabit class 11. Borken, Coesfeld, Höxter, Kleve, Münster, Paderborn, and Warendorf maintain the best ratings in NRW, with class 4.
Nationwide, Elbe-Elster district in Brandenburg takes the top spot with a class 1 rating. Offenbach holds the worst claim record with a class 12 rating, surpassing the average by nearly 40%.
In light of the changes, vehicle owners in affected regions like Aachen's city region, Ennepe-Ruhr, Hagen, Herne, Höxter, Minden-Lübbecke, Recklinghausen, and Viersen may need to prepare for increased automobile insurance expenses due to the escalated local tier in their liability insurance coverage. Insurance providers can adjust their ratings immediately for new agreements and implement them for existing contracts from the next insurance period.
