Insured Storm Damage to German Vehicles Drops to 650 Million Euros in 2025

Insured storm damage to vehicles across Germany fell by nearly half in 2025, with the German Insurance Association reporting that insurers paid out around 650 million euros for approximately 190,000 claims, compared to 1.2 billion euros the previous year. The decline reflected a comparatively mild severe-weather year across most of the country, though the association cautioned that the improvement should not be taken as a sign of lasting relief. The figures cover damage caused by storms, hail, and lightning to vehicles with partial or full comprehensive insurance, and also include damage caused by flooding. Uninsured vehicles are not captured in the statistics, meaning total actual damage across Germany was likely higher than the reported figures.

650 (million euros) — nationwide insured storm vehicle damage in 2025

Storm and hail damage to vehicles in Germany has fluctuated sharply from year to year depending on the severity of the summer storm season. In 2022, nationwide insured vehicle storm damage stood at 0.9 billion euros. By 2023, that figure rose to around 2 billion euros, driven primarily by severe hailstorms in the summer, with Bavaria alone accounting for more than half of the total damage that year. The 2024 figure of 1.2 billion euros represented a partial retreat from that peak before the further decline recorded in 2025.

Nationwide insured storm vehicle damage: Total payout (before: 1.2 billion euros (2024), after: 650 million euros (2025)); Number of claims (before: approx. 465,000 (2023 peak), after: approx. 190,000 (2025))

Baden-Württemberg leads the sharpest drop of any state The most dramatic regional decline occurred in Baden-Württemberg, where insured storm vehicle damage fell from 530 million euros in 2024 to 148 million euros in 2025 — a drop that illustrates how heavily a single state's figures can be distorted by one or two major storm events in a given year. Most other states also recorded declines, including Saxony, where damage fell from 32 million euros affecting around 10,000 vehicles in 2024 to 23 million euros affecting around 6,000 vehicles in 2025. Saxony-Anhalt saw damage more than halve, dropping from 12 million euros and roughly 3,000 affected vehicles in 2024 to 5 million euros and approximately 1,500 vehicles in 2025. Schleswig-Holstein recorded a similarly steep decline, with total insured damage falling from 12 million euros in 2024 to around 5 million euros in 2025, with the number of claims dropping from approximately 4,500 to around 2,000. Rhineland-Palatinate saw a more modest decrease, from 18 million euros covering around 6,500 vehicles in 2024 to 16 million euros covering around 5,000 vehicles in 2025. Saarland recorded the smallest absolute figures among reported states, with damage falling from 5 million euros and around 1,500 vehicles in 2024 to 3 million euros and approximately 1,000 vehicles in 2025.

Baden-Württemberg 2025: 148, Baden-Württemberg 2024: 530, North Rhine-Westphalia 2025: 200, Saxony 2025: 23, Saxony 2024: 32, Rhineland-Palatinate 2025: 16, Rhineland-Palatinate 2024: 18, Saxony-Anhalt 2025: 5, Saxony-Anhalt 2024: 12, Schleswig-Holstein 2025: 5, Schleswig-Holstein 2024: 12, Saarland 2025: 3, Saarland 2024: 5

North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony bucked the national trend While most German states recorded falling storm damage figures, North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony moved in the opposite direction, with damage in both states rising compared to 2024. North Rhine-Westphalia recorded 200 million euros in insured storm vehicle damage in 2025, making it the hardest-hit state in the country by total cost. The GDV did not provide a specific 2024 comparison figure for North Rhine-Westphalia in the reported data, but confirmed the increase ran contrary to the national trend. Lower Saxony similarly saw an increase, though specific figures for that state were not detailed in the published reports. The divergence between states underscores the localized nature of storm damage, which can be concentrated in a single region by one severe event. Among eastern German states, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania recorded the lowest damage totals at around 5 million euros and 3 million euros respectively, while Thuringia reached 11 million euros and Brandenburg 9 million euros.

Average payouts per claim varied widely across states Despite the overall decline in total damage, the average payout per claim in 2025 varied considerably across states, reflecting differences in the severity of individual storm events rather than their frequency. Jörg Asmussen, Managing Director of the GDV, noted that Saxony recorded the highest average payout among the reported states at 3,700 euros per claim, followed by Saxony-Anhalt at 3,200 euros, Rhineland-Palatinate at 3,100 euros, and Saarland at 2,900 euros. In Rhineland-Palatinate, the average cost per claim actually rose by 300 euros compared to 2024, even as the total number of damaged vehicles fell. Asmussen issued a warning against complacency, stressing that a single severe storm in a region can reverse an entire year's improvement within hours.

„A quieter year does not mean an all-clear. Individual storms could cause massive damage within a few hours.” — Jörg Asmussen via N-tv

The GDV also pointed to a structural concern beyond year-to-year weather variation: natural hazards are expected to increase over the long term, driven by more frequent extreme weather events as well as a growing number of vehicles and denser construction patterns. The association advised vehicle owners who suffer storm damage to notify their insurer promptly, document all damage with photographs, and take immediate steps to limit consequential damage, such as stopping water ingress or temporarily securing damaged areas. The Kasko insurance statistics captured in the GDV data cover only vehicles with voluntary comprehensive coverage, meaning a portion of storm-damaged vehicles across Germany went unrecorded in the official figures.