The Allianz Center for Technology (AZT) has spent decades working on the ease of repair of car models. It is the basis for the type class classification in motor vehicle insurance, which can change annually.
The type class has an enormous influence on the premium the customer pays. German insurers spend hundreds of millions of euros on regulation every year. The crash tests carried out at the institute are designed in such a way that they depict typical damage such as that caused in simple rear-end collisions in city traffic. The insurance costs in the least favorable type class can be 20 times higher than in the lowest – for car buyers, it's a lot of money, says Christoph Lauterwasser, the former head of the AZT. He handed over management of AZT to his successor Christian Sahr at the beginning of the year, but remains active as a consultant for the company. For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or see www.samaritans.org. Vehicle insurance premiums have recently reached record highs again. In addition to inflation and high raw material costs, the increasing technical complexity of vehicles also plays a role. Manufacturers have been quite successful in making vehicles easier to repair. A current challenge for motor vehicle insurance is the electric car. Average damage to electric vehicles is around 30 per cent more expensive than with conventional vehicles, according to Lauterwasser. The study was published in the journal of the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (EAAM) and is based on a survey of more than 2,000 car owners in the UK and the U.S. It has been published by the ECAM on behalf of the Association of European Automakers (AEAM) in association with the European Society of Automotive Engineers (ESAE) and the European Institute of Motor Safety (EIM) in Paris. For more information, visit www.ecam.org.uk or go to www.eim.org/car-insurance.