Cancelling motor insurance (Germany)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
A letter cancelling your German motor insurance with your current insurer: at the end of the insurance year, early after a premium increase or a claim, or after buying a used vehicle whose policy passed to you (§ 96 of the German Insurance Contract Act, VVG). For all cover or for the comprehensive cover only, asking the insurer to confirm the end date and refund any unused premium. For most policies, a cancellation for 31 December must reach the insurer by 30 November. In German, ready to send.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Policyholder (name as on the policy)
- Policyholder's address
- Insurer
- Motor insurer's address (street or PO box, then postcode and town, each on its own line)
- City
- Date
- Policy number
- Registration plate
- Ground and timing of the cancellation
- What is cancelled: all cover, or comprehensive cover only
- IBAN
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- By when must a German insurer receive notice cancelling motor insurance?
- Most German motor policies run to 31 December and renew for a year unless cancelled one month beforehand. The cancellation must then reach the insurer by 30 November at the latest — receipt counts, not posting (§ 130 BGB). If your insurance year is different, the policy schedule shows when it ends, and your AKB give the notice period.
- When can German motor insurance be cancelled outside the usual switching date?
- After a premium increase that does not improve the cover, within one month of receiving the insurer's notice (§ 40 VVG) — usually not when the premium rises only because a claim lowered your no-claims class. After a claim, usually within one month of the insurer paying or refusing payment. Your AKB give the exact periods.
- Must the inherited motor insurance be cancelled after buying a used car in Germany?
- No, but it may be: the seller's insurance passes to you with the vehicle (§ 95 VVG), and you can cancel it within one month of the purchase (§ 96(2) VVG). If you take out a new motor liability policy for the vehicle, the inherited one ends automatically anyway (§ 5a(2) PflVG). For re-registration you need the new insurer's eVB number (electronic proof of insurance).
- Is an e-mail enough to cancel German motor insurance?
- As a rule, yes. The law sets no particular form for this cancellation, and policy terms may not demand more than text form from consumers (§ 309 No. 13 BGB). What matters is that the cancellation arrives in time and you can prove it: ask for a confirmation, as this letter does. Without motor liability insurance the vehicle may not be driven once the policy ends.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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