Car deadlines · Autofrist
When can you cancel or change car insurance in Germany?
Most German car insurance (Kfz-Versicherung) runs with the calendar year and can be cancelled with one month's notice, so your cancellation has to reach the insurer by 30 November. Outside that date you can usually still switch within a month of a premium increase, after a settled claim, or when a car changes hands.
Why the date is 30 November
German car insurance contracts normally renew themselves every year unless someone cancels. The Insurance Contract Act (Versicherungsvertragsgesetz, VVG) limits each automatic extension to one year in §11 and says the notice period has to be the same for both sides, at least one month and at most three. ADAC explains that car insurance can generally be cancelled to the end of the policy year with one month's notice, and that most policy years end on 31 December. That is where 30 November comes from.
The date is about arrival, not posting. ADAC's guidance is that the cancellation letter has to reach the insurer by 30 November, so a letter dropped in a postbox on the 29th may already be too late. When 30 November fell on a Sunday in 2025, ADAC's insurance arm told people switching that the letter had to reach the old insurer by 1 December instead; in 2026 the 30th is a Monday. If the date lands on a weekend, check the exact deadline with your own insurer rather than assuming.
When your policy year ends on another date
Not every policy follows the calendar year. ADAC notes that contracts with a different main renewal date (Hauptfälligkeit) carry the same one month's notice to that date. Find the end of your policy year in your contract documents and count one month back from it to get your own cut-off.
A few contracts include terms that change the picture. §11 VVG allows both sides of an open-ended contract to agree to give up the right to cancel for up to two years, and lets a policyholder end a contract signed for more than three years at the end of the third year with three months' notice. If you are unsure whether your policy has such a clause, the contract itself is the place to check before you plan a switch.
Cancelling outside the deadline
After a premium increase. Under §40 VVG, if an insurer raises the premium through an adjustment clause without widening the cover, you can cancel within one month of receiving the notice. The insurer has to point out this right and send the notice at least one month before the increase takes effect. ADAC adds that increases caused by a change in your car's type class or regional class qualify, while a higher premium because your no-claims class was downgraded after a claim does not.
After a claim. Once the insurer has finished settling a claim, ADAC says you can usually switch within one month. The right works both ways: the insurer can also use it to end the contract.
When the car changes hands. If you sell your car, ADAC explains that the insurance passes to the buyer at handover and you get back the premium paid in advance. A buyer who takes over the previous owner's policy can cancel it within one month. If you take a car off the road for good, for example to scrap it, the contract ends and the unused premium is refunded proportionally.
Switching in the right order
ADAC's advice is to take out the new policy first and cancel the old one only after the new insurer has accepted you, because insurers are allowed to turn down applications for partial and comprehensive cover (Teilkasko and Vollkasko). Cancelling first can leave you with nothing lined up for 1 January.
Send the cancellation in a way you can prove. ADAC recommends registered post with a return receipt (Einschreiben mit Rückschein), and some insurers offer to send the cancellation to your old insurer for you. You do not need to de-register the car to switch, and ADAC says the registration office is normally informed automatically.
Mistakes that cost a whole year
Posting on the last day. The letter has to arrive by the cut-off, not leave by it. Sending it a week earlier by registered post removes the doubt.
Cancelling before the new insurer says yes. If the new application is turned down after your cancellation has gone out, you are left looking for cover in a hurry.
Assuming every price rise opens a special right. The premium-increase rule covers changes made through the insurer's adjustment clause, not a higher premium that follows your own claim.
Losing track of a non-calendar policy. A cut-off in March or July is easy to forget because nobody around you is talking about it. If you want the date in front of you, Autofrist, a car paperwork app, turns the cut-off amber in the month before it and, for a calendar-year policy, reminds you on 1 and 23 November. It does not compare or recommend insurers.
This guide summarises the VVG and ADAC guidance in general terms. It is not legal or insurance advice; your own policy terms set the exact deadline, so check them or ask your insurer.
Frequently asked questions
Is the deadline always 30 November?
Only for policies whose year ends on 31 December, which ADAC says is most of them. If your policy year ends on another date, the one month's notice runs to that date instead.
What happens if I miss 30 November?
The contract renews for another year. You can still leave later if a special right applies, such as a premium increase under §40 VVG, a settled claim or a change of car.
Can my insurer cancel my car insurance too?
In some cases, yes. ADAC notes that after a settled claim the insurer has the same one-month right as you, and §11 VVG requires the regular notice period to be equal for both sides.
Do I have to tell the registration office when I switch?
Usually not. According to ADAC, the necessary notification to the registration office normally happens automatically, and the car does not need to be de-registered.