Key takeaways
- The insurance ombudsman is an independent arbitration board that helps in dispute resolution between the policyholder and the insurer.
- You must always contact your insurance company first about the issue. If you are not satisfied with the insurer’s proposal, you can submit a complaint to the insurance ombudsman.
- The insurance ombudsman services are free for consumers in Germany.
- The ombudsman’s decision is binding on the insurer if the dispute value is less than 10,000 €.
This is how you do it
- Contact your insurer to resolve the issue. Give the insurer six weeks time to do it.
- If the insurer doesn’t resolve the matter, file a complaint to the ombudsman.
- Fill out the complaint form and send it via email or post. Attach the insurance company’s reply and other relevant documents to the complaint application.
- You can also file a complaint to Bafin. It’s the Federal Supervisory Authority of Germany.
- You can always take the dispute to court if you are unsatisfied with the Ombudsman and Bafin’s proposal.
Table of Contents
What is the insurance ombudsman in Germany?
You took out an insurance policy to protect yourself. You regularly paid the insurance premium. But when you needed support from the insurance company, they refused.
So, what can you do in this situation?
This is where the insurance ombudsman comes into the picture. You can approach an insurance ombudsman to review your case unbiased.
The ombudsman assesses the issue free of charge and makes a decision. If the dispute value is under 10,000 €, the insurance company must comply with the ombudsman’s decision.
For the dispute value between 10,000 € and 100,000 €, the ombudsman can only make a recommendation. It’s up to you and the insurer to accept it or not.
You can always take the dispute to court if the ombudsman doesn’t rule in your favor.
In short, the Insurance Ombudsman is the independent arbitration board for consumers in insurance matters. It is responsible for settling disputes between policyholders and insurers neutrally in accordance with the law.
In which cases can you contact the insurance ombudsman in Germany?
You can contact the insurance ombudsman when you have disputes with the insurance company or insurance broker. The ombudsman offers support in the following areas of insurance.
- Household contents and building insurance (Hausrat- und Gebäudeversicherung)
- Liability insurance (Haftpflichtversicherung)
- Legal protection insurance (Rechtsschutzversicherungen)
- Car insurance (Kfz-versicherung)
- Private accident insurance (Private Unfallversicherung)
- Life insurance (Lebensversicherung)
- Private pension insurance (Private Rentenversicherung)
- Occupational disability insurance (Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung)
The insurance ombudsman doesn’t support disputes with the private health insurance providers. There is a separate private health insurance ombudsman for issues with the health insurer.
Dispute with the insurance broker
Unlike insurance companies, insurance brokers don’t have to adhere to the ombudsman’s decision.
Nevertheless, a complaint can be worthwhile because you’ll receive a competent examination of the situation. And you can use this to evaluate whether taking legal action against the broker makes sense.
What types of disputes can the insurance ombudsman help with?
You can reach an insurance ombudsman about the following issues:
- The insurance company refuses to pay for the claim.
- Your insurer doesn’t accept your contract cancellation request.
- You feel that the insurer hasn’t settled the claim right.
- You believe the insurance company or the broker gave you the incorrect advice when taking out the insurance contract.
- Regarding car insurance, consumers often complain that they are not placed in the right no-claim class. The no-claim class can significantly reduce your car insurance premium.
Number of cases with insurance ombudsman
To give you an idea, the insurance ombudsman received 17,324 complaints in 2023. Of these, 12,501 were concluded, 3181 were under review, and the rest were rejected.
Here is a breakdown of the number of complaints in different insurance areas.
| Insurance area | Number of complaints |
| Life insurance (Lebensversicherung) | 3338 |
| Occupational disability insurance (Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung) | 388 |
| Car liability insurance (Kfz-Haftpflichtversicherung) | 1362 |
| Car insurance (Kfz-Kaskoversicherung) | 2085 |
| Legal insurance (Rechtsschutzversicherung) | 2920 |
| Accident insurance (Unfallversicherung) | 607 |
| Household insurance (Hausratversicherung) | 884 |
| Building insurance (Gebäudeversicherung) | 1679 |
| Liability insurance (Haftpflichtversicherung) | 1060 |
| Other insurance types | 1518 |
| Real estate loan contracts (Realkreditverträge) | 13 |
How does the insurance ombudsman work?
Here is the process of filing a complaint to the insurance ombudsman.
- First, contact the insurance company about your issue. You must give the insurer 6 weeks to resolve or reply.
- Suppose you are not satisfied with the insurer’s proposal. You can contact the insurance ombudsman.
- Submit the complaint in writing to the ombudsman. You must explain the issue as clearly and concisely as possible.
- The ombudsman checks whether the complaint is admissible and can be processed within a reasonable time.
- If the ombudsman accepts your complaint, the insurer has three weeks to explain their decision to the ombudsman. The arbitration board can also extend the response deadline by up to one month.
- The ombudsman then makes the decision based on the available information.
Suppose the insurance company didn’t reply. The Ombudsman will not consider the insurer’s opinion while making a decision.
Moreover, the insurer must pay a fine of at least 500 € if they delay the procedure. The fine can increase to 1,000 € in the event of a repeat case.
The ombudsman has 90 days to complete the process and make the decision.
How can you contact an insurance ombudsman in Germany?
You can contact the insurance ombudsman in three ways.
- by telephone: 0800 3696000 (free of charge, Mon-Fri from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
- by email: [email protected]
- by letter: Versicherungsombudsmann e. V., PO Box 080632, 10006 Berlin
The best way is to complete the “complaint form (Beschwerdeformular)” and send it by email or post. Remember to attach the insurer’s reply and other documents to support your case.
Check out the insurance ombudsman website for more information.
What are the alternatives of the insurance ombudsman in Germany?
There are two alternatives to insurance ombudsman in Germany.
- Filing a complaint to Bafin
- Taking the issue to court
File a complaint against your insurer to the Bafin
You can also contact Bafin (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority). Bafin is responsible for protecting consumers’ interests.
Bafin assesses the issue neutrally and checks if the insurance company has violated legal requirements or relevant judgments. Unfortunately, Bafin cannot make legally binding decisions in individual cases.
However, it can definitely put pressure on the insurer to resolve the matter quickly.
Suppose several customers face a similar problem with an insurance company and file a complaint with Bafin. In such cases, Bafin puts the company under strict surveillance and demands that it resolve the matter within the provided deadline.
NOTE: As long as a case is with the Bafin, the insurance ombudsman can’t take action.
Take the dispute to the court
Suppose you are unsatisfied with the insurance ombudsman’s or Bafin’s proposal. In this case, you can sue the insurance company.
In this case, the court will decide based on the facts. And the decision is binding to both parties.
If you have a legal insurance policy, the insurer covers the legal costs of the dispute. You can compare the legal insurance offers on Check24* or Verivox*. If you want a service in English, check Getsafe* legal insurance and Feather*.
