Cancel your car insurance in Germany: free letter generator

When to cancel your car insurance in Germany

Most German car insurance policies (Kfz-Versicherung) run for one year and renew automatically for another year unless someone cancels. The notice period is one month before the end of the insurance year. If your insurance year ends on 31 December, your cancellation has to reach the insurer by 30 November. What counts is the day it arrives, not the postmark. In 2026, 30 November is a Monday.

More and more insurers use other renewal dates. Check your policy document (Versicherungsschein). If it shows a different end date, your deadline is one month before that.

Special cancellation after a price increase

If your insurer raises the premium without improving your cover, you can cancel within one month of receiving the notice (§ 40 VVG). The contract ends at the earliest on the day the increase would take effect. The insurer has to tell you at least one month in advance and point out your right to cancel. If the premium invoice only arrives in late November, this is often your way out. In the generator, pick "Special cancellation after a price increase".

Cancelling after a claim

After a claim, either side may cancel. Your cancellation has to arrive within one month of the insurer closing the compensation talks. For liability claims, the month starts when the insurer accepts or rejects its obligation to pay (§§ 92, 111 VVG). You decide whether the contract ends right away or later, at the latest at the end of the insurance year. Only pick "with immediate effect" if your new policy is already in place.

Car sold: report it, don't cancel

When you sell your car, the insurance passes to the buyer automatically (§ 95 VVG). So you don't cancel. You report the sale to your insurer without delay (§ 97 VVG), with the date, time and buyer. The buyer can cancel within one month of the purchase, and taking out a new policy counts as cancelling. Also report the sale to the registration office (Zulassungsstelle), because it does not tell your insurer. In the generator, this is the "Car sold" option.

How to send it

For contracts from October 2016 on, an insurer's terms cannot require a stricter form than Textform (§ 309 Nr. 13 BGB). A letter, fax or email is enough, as long as it is clear who is cancelling. Older contracts may still require a written, signed letter (Schriftform), so for those a signed letter is safer. If there is a dispute, though, you have to prove it arrived in time. With a tight deadline, registered mail (Einwurfeinschreiben) or a fax with a transmission report is the safe choice. A phone call is hard to prove.

Include your name, address, policy number and licence plate, and ask for a confirmation with the end date. The generated letter already has all of that.

What happens after you cancel

• Confirmation: the insurer sends you a confirmation with the end date. If nothing arrives within two weeks, ask in writing.
• Registration office: your new insurer reports your new cover to the Zulassungsstelle, and the old one reports the end. If the end arrives first, the office can stop you using the car, and that comes with a fee. So sign the new policy first, then cancel.
• No-claims class (SF-Klasse): the new insurer requests your claims history from the old one, so your discount moves with you.
• Premium: if the contract ends before the insurance year is over, the insurer only keeps the premium for the time you were covered (§ 39 VVG). You get the rest back.

The full background: Switching Car Insurance in Germany: The 30 November Deadline Explained

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