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After risk car insurance: how does it work?

The Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) stipulates that an insurer must pay damages to a third party 16 days after the sale of a vehicle if it turns out that the new owner did not purchase valid auto insurance . This is called the after-the-fact risk.

The period of after-risk starts on the day after the suspension or termination of the insurance and lasts for 16 days. The condition is that the insurer deregisters the registration number within 30 days after the termination or suspension. If the deregistration takes place after 30 days, the 16-day risk starts on the day after the deregistration.

How does after risk work

Example 1

On 02.03. the customer informs the company that his car has been sold on 01.03. and that he wants to suspend the car insurance.

When the insurer informs the RDW on 03-03, the 16 days start from 02-03 (the day after the suspension).

If the new owner - who is obliged to have insurance - does not take out a valid car insurance, the old insurance company has to pay the damage to the injured party. Depending on the amount, the insurance company may try to recover the damages from the new owner.

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Example 2

On 02.05. the customer informs the company that his car has been sold on 01.03. and that he wants to suspend the insurance.

When the insurer reports this to the RDW on 03-05, the 16 days start from 04-05 (the day after the report).

The old insurance company is not happy with the situation in this example. Firstly, it runs the risk of having to pay a claim for much longer, but it does not receive a premium for this either. Normally, the old company will have the insured pay the premium up to the date of cancellation.

In any case, the zero risk ends when the new owner of the motor vehicle has taken out a valid motor insurance for the vehicle.

Incidentally, the old company will only pay for the culpable damage to an injured party from the naris risk. The damage to the vehicle itself is not covered.

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  • To calculate premiums, we need the zip code of the primary driver. For private use, the youngest driver must reside at the same address as the applicant. In case of business use, you can enter the postal code of the company here.

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