Wegweiser Road accident victims · Claims after the accident Deutsch

🛡️ Comprehensive insurance and loss of no-claims discount

When you can use your own comprehensive cover (Kasko), what a downgrade means and how no-claims protection works.

comprehensive insurance fully comprehensive partially comprehensive downgrade no-claims class no-claims protection excess party at fault

In brief

Your own fully comprehensive cover (Vollkasko) can pay your damage even if the other party is at fault. This can make sense if their insurer hesitates.

  • If you report a claim to the insurer and have it paid, you are usually downgraded the following year. Your premiums then rise.
  • For a partially comprehensive (Teilkasko) claim there is usually no downgrade.
  • No-claims protection (Rabattschutz) can prevent the downgrade for the first liability or fully comprehensive claim in a calendar year.

Ask your insurer how a claim will affect your premium before you report it.

Step by step

  1. Check your contractWhich comprehensive cover do you have, what excess, what no-claims protection?
  2. CompareUse your comprehensive cover or the other party's insurer: weigh the consequences for premium and excess.
  3. Report on timeReport the damage without delay as your contract requires.
  4. Ask about the downgradeAsk the insurer how your claim will affect your no-claims (SF) class.

Deadlines

1 calendar year
No-claims protection: no downgrade of the first liability or fully comprehensive claim in a calendar year (as presented by ADAC)Insurers' contract terms (not uniform)
Watch out – common mistakes
  • If your comprehensive cover pays the damage, it can recover from the person who caused it and their insurer; your excess is then reimbursed where applicable.
  • Terms on no-claims protection, downgrades and reporting deadlines differ from contract to contract.
  • The statements here are based on ADAC guide pages, not on contract terms.
  • No downgrade occurs if the other party bears the damage in full and your comprehensive cover is not charged.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

No-claims class (Schadenfreiheitsklasse)

According to ADAC, the higher the no-claims class, the cheaper the premium; every claim-free year is rewarded with a better rating. If you report a claim and have the insurer pay it, you are downgraded in the coming insurance year. For partially comprehensive claims there is mostly no downgrade, as there are usually no no-claims classes there.

No-claims protection

According to ADAC: no downgrade of the first liability or fully comprehensive claim in a calendar year; the SF class remains unchanged.

Accident caused by someone else's fault

Here your insurer can first compensate the damage; under § 86 Abs. 1 Satz 1 VVG the claim passes to the comprehensive insurer (transfer of claims); recourse against the person who caused the damage is a matter for the insurer. Under § 86 Abs. 1 Satz 2 VVG, the transfer may not be asserted to the policyholder's disadvantage (Quotenvorrecht, priority of the policyholder's share): with shared liability, your uncovered losses, such as the excess, are satisfied first.

Who is responsible
  • Your own motor insurer (claims department)
  • Other party's motor liability insurer
  • Lawyer specialising in traffic law
Further reading
Claims settlement through motor liability insuranceLegal expenses insurance and lawyer's costs

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Comprehensive insurance and loss of no-claims discount“?
When you can use your own comprehensive cover (Kasko), what a downgrade means and how no-claims protection works.
Which deadlines and figures matter?
1 calendar year: No-claims protection: no downgrade of the first liability or fully comprehensive claim in a calendar year (as presented by ADAC) (Insurers' contract terms (not uniform))
What should I do first?
  • Check your contract: Which comprehensive cover do you have, what excess, what no-claims protection?
  • Compare: Use your comprehensive cover or the other party's insurer: weigh the consequences for premium and excess.
  • Report on time: Report the damage without delay as your contract requires.
What do I need to watch out for?
  • If your comprehensive cover pays the damage, it can recover from the person who caused it and their insurer; your excess is then reimbursed where applicable.
  • Terms on no-claims protection, downgrades and reporting deadlines differ from contract to contract.
  • The statements here are based on ADAC guide pages, not on contract terms.
Evidence
  • ADAC, Schadenfreiheitsklasse: Tabelle der SF-Klassen und Berechnung, retrieved 20 September 2026
  • ADAC, Rabattschutz in der ADAC Kfz-Versicherung, retrieved 20 September 2026
  • ADAC, Teilkasko / Kaskoversicherung (search result), retrieved 20 September 2026
  • Bundesministerium der Justiz (Federal Ministry of Justice), Gesetze im Internet: VVG § 86, retrieved 20 September 2026
As of

September 2026 · Sources and method

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