What can the insurer claim back if a vehicle is used differently from what was agreed? This page summarises § 2 to § 7 of the German Motor Vehicle Compulsory Insurance Ordinance.
Zevra is the B2B platform for digital vehicle registration for car dealers, registration services and fleets: cases are entered in the dealer portal and filed nationwide by power of attorney with qualified electronic signature – from €10 per registration, no base fee, no minimum volume.
Last updated: · Zevra editorial team · Reviewed by M. Gabal, owner
What does motor liability insurance cover?
The insurance covers the settlement of justified and the defence against unjustified claims for damages arising from the use of the insured vehicle.
Covered are personal injury, property damage and financial loss; damage caused by a coupled trailer is included.
Which obligations concern the use?
- to use the vehicle for no purpose other than the one stated in the insurance contract
- not to let the vehicle be used without authorisation
- not to let the vehicle be used if the driver does not have the prescribed driving licence
- not to let the vehicle be driven if the driver cannot drive safely because of alcohol or other intoxicants
The application for registration must state the use for self-drive rental.
How high is the recourse at most?
| Case | Maximum amount |
|---|---|
| obligation breached before the insured event, or increase of risk | a maximum of 5,000 euros each |
| obligation breached intentionally or with gross negligence after the insured event | a maximum of 2,500 euros |
| particularly serious intentional breach of the duty to inform or to mitigate damage | a maximum of 5,000 euros |
The limit does not apply towards a driver who obtained the vehicle through a criminal act.
When does a breach by the driver affect the keeper?
Towards the policyholder, keeper or owner the insurer is released only if they breached the obligation themselves or culpably made the breach possible.
This concerns unauthorised use, driving without a licence and driving under the influence of alcohol.
When does the limit not apply?
If the obligation is breached in order to obtain an unlawful financial advantage for oneself or a third party, the release from liability is unlimited in the amount of that advantage.
If a grossly negligent breach had no influence on establishing the insured event or the benefit, the insurer remains obliged to pay.
What does this mean for dealers?
For rental companies this means: a self-drive rental vehicle is registered with this use; for every rental vehicle the purpose stated in the insurance contract counts.
With Zevra the dealer files registration and deregistration in the dealer portal. Registration costs from 10 € per case, deregistration 2 € net, plus official fees.
- Provisional cover in German motor liability insurance: start, end and duties (KfzPflVV)
- Compulsory motor insurance in Germany: duty to insure, term and penalty
- Checking the driving licence: what the keeper risks under § 21 StVG
- Registering rental cars and taxis: reporting the use and meeting deadlines
- Minimum insured sums in German motor liability insurance: amounts per claim
- Temporary registration proof: valid for 10 days
- Documents posted by the authority: within 6 days
- Digital deregistration: documents from 01.01.2015
- Digital registration: documents from 01.01.2018
- Registration with Zevra: €10 net
- Deregistration with Zevra: €2 net · base fee: €0
Deadlines and cut-off dates according to: Bundesministerium für Verkehr
Read more
- Vehicle registration fees in Germany: official fees at the counter and online
- Operating licence lapsed: when modifications to the vehicle end it (§ 19 StVZO)
- Individual operating licence under § 21 StVZO: application, expert report and retention
- Historic vehicle report under § 23 StVZO: requirements for the H plate
- Compulsory motor insurance in Germany: duty to insure, term and penalty
- Minimum insured sums in German motor liability insurance: amounts per claim
- Making, selling and issuing number plates: notice duty under § 6b StVG
- Number plate misuse under § 22 StVG: punishable acts and penalty
- Fines in German vehicle registration: standard rates from the schedule of fines
- German vehicle tax: car rates by engine size and CO₂ (§ 9 KraftStG)
- German vehicle tax liability: start, end and minimum term under § 5 KraftStG
- German number plate size and font: dimensions, FE font and character count (annex 4 FZV)
- Paying German vehicle tax: yearly, half-yearly or quarterly (§ 11 KraftStG)
- German vehicle tax for motorhomes, vans and trucks: rates by total weight
- German vehicle tax and severe disability: exemption and reduction under § 3a KraftStG
- Trailer without vehicle tax in Germany: green plate and trailer surcharge (§ 10 KraftStG)
- Operating licence for vehicle parts under § 22 StVZO: licence, inspection and type mark
- Claims history statement in Germany: deadline, content and equal treatment (§ 5c PflVG)
- Foreign vehicle in Germany: insurance, Green Card and frontier insurance
- General operating licence for vehicle types in Germany: grant, duties and lapse (§ 20 StVZO)
- Design approval for vehicle parts in Germany: duty, test mark and exceptions (§ 22a StVZO)
- Vehicle tax notice in Germany: assessment, reassessment and tax base (§ 12 and § 8 KraftStG)
- E-scooter and other small electric vehicles in Germany: operating licence, insurance sticker and minimum age (eKFV)
- German vehicle tax: who is the tax debtor and what is taxed? (§ 7 and § 1 KraftStG)
- Provisional cover in German motor liability insurance: start, end and duties (KfzPflVV)
- Logbook order in Germany: order, entries and retention for keepers (§ 31a StVZO)
- Keeper liability for stopping or parking offences in Germany: when the keeper bears the costs (§ 25a StVG)
- Individual approval for vehicles in Germany: conditions, expert report and revocation (§ 13 EG-FGV)
- Carsharing vehicle: definition, marking and parking privileges (Carsharing Act)
- Returning an end-of-life vehicle: take-back by the manufacturer, exceptions and recovery quotas
- Checking the driving licence: what the keeper risks under § 21 StVG
- Keeper liability under § 7 StVG: duty to compensate, maximum amounts and vehicles handed over
- Winter tyre rule: requirements, Alpine symbol and fines for driver and keeper
- Deregistering a car: disposal declaration, third country and the 7-year period (§ 17 FZV)
- Approving a dismantling facility: certificate, experts and requirements
- End-of-life vehicle rules: administrative offences and fines under § 11
- Handing over an end-of-life vehicle: duties of last keeper, collection point and dismantler
- Car dealerships
- Registration services
- Fleet operators
- Rental & car subscription
- Pricing
Sources: Kraftfahrzeug-Pflichtversicherungsverordnung (KfzPflVV) § 2 – Umfang der Versicherung · Kraftfahrzeug-Pflichtversicherungsverordnung (KfzPflVV) § 5 – Obliegenheiten vor dem Versicherungsfall · Kraftfahrzeug-Pflichtversicherungsverordnung (KfzPflVV) § 6 – Obliegenheiten nach dem Versicherungsfall · Kraftfahrzeug-Pflichtversicherungsverordnung (KfzPflVV) § 7 – Unbeschränkte Leistungsfreiheit · Fahrzeug-Zulassungsverordnung (FZV) § 6 – Antrag auf Zulassung · Sources · FZV sections § 6 · Vehicle figures: tax, insurance, fines