Insurance: Motor vehicle insurers’ results are coming under pressure again

Baden-Baden. The world's third-largest reinsurer Hannover Re still considers the situation in German motor insurance to be “fragile”. The premium increases in recent years have had an impact. “But there are still motor vehicle insurers who have to restructure their loss-making portfolios,” said Thorsten Steinmann, head of the German subsidiary E+S Rück, on Monday in Baden-Baden.

The reinsurers are currently meeting with primary insurers and brokers in the spa town in the Black Forest to discuss the upcoming contract renewals at the turn of the year. As a large motor vehicle reinsurer, E+S Rück has a good insight into the development of the division. Against this background, the head of the motor vehicle business, Stefan Schmuttermair, said: “The pressure on results remains for motor vehicle insurers, also because claims costs continue to rise.”

For drivers, this means that they will also have to expect further premium increases in 2027, although not to the same extent as in previous years. Schmuttermair believes industry-wide price increases in the low to mid-single-digit percentage range are realistic.

In 2026, the average premiums for partial and fully comprehensive insurance rose by five percent and seven percent respectively, and for motor vehicle liability insurance it was four percent, according to estimates from E+S Rück. In previous years, average contributions had sometimes even increased by double-digit percentages.