What does motorhome insurance really cost? Your comprehensive guide 2025
31 May 2025
6
Minutes
Katrin Straub
CEO at nextsure
Freedom on four wheels comes at a price – even when it comes to insurance. Discover which factors determine the cost of your motorhome insurance and how you can find optimal coverage for under a thousand euros annually. Read on to benefit from practical examples and expert tips.
The topic in brief and concise terms
The annual cost of motorhome insurance is usually between 200 and 1,000 euros, influenced by the type of vehicle, value, SF class, and scope of coverage.
Savings can be achieved through seasonal license plates, choosing the deductible, a secure parking space, and comparing providers.
In addition to the mandatory liability insurance, comprehensive or fully comprehensive cover and additional modules such as breakdown cover and contents insurance are important options for protection.
Quick Overview: Cost Factors of Motorhome Insurance
The premiums for motorhome insurance typically range from around four hundred to eight hundred euros per year. Various elements are decisive for the exact amount. These include the type of vehicle, its current value, and the chosen type of insurance. Your personal no-claims class also plays a significant role in the calculation. These factors largely determine what your motorhome insurance will cost.
Practical explanation: How are insurance costs composed?
The cost of your motorhome insurance is not a random product, but the result of a complex calculation. A key factor is the vehicle type: A compact camper van is often cheaper to insure than a fully integrated luxury model weighing over three and a half tonnes. The new or current value of the camper also significantly influences the premium; a new vehicle valued at eighty thousand euros incurs higher insurance costs than a ten-year-old model. Additional features such as a solar system or an expensive awning can increase costs by a few percentage points, as these are often insured up to a value of twenty thousand euros. The annual mileage is another factor; those who only drive five thousand kilometres tend to pay less than frequent drivers with fifteen thousand kilometres. Last but not least, the parking space has an impact: A secure garage can reduce the premium by up to ten percent compared to a street parking spot. These aspects highlight how individual the answer to the question “What does motorhome insurance cost?” is.
Choosing the Right Type of Insurance: Liability, Partial Cover, or Comprehensive Cover?
For every motorhome registered in Germany, motor liability insurance is legally required. It covers damages you cause to other road users, with coverage amounts of up to one hundred million euros for property damage and up to fifteen million euros per injured person. Costs for this begin, depending on the provider and vehicle, at around one hundred and nine euros annually. The partial comprehensive insurance extends this protection and covers damage to your own vehicle, such as theft, fire, glass breakage, or natural events like storms and hail. For this, you should expect costs starting at approximately two hundred and seventy-five euros per year. The most comprehensive protection is offered by the fully comprehensive insurance, which also compensates for self-inflicted accident damage and vandalism. This is particularly recommended for newer or very high-value motorhomes and costs upwards of around three hundred and thirty-six euros. The difference between partial comprehensive and fully comprehensive lies in the extent of the damage covered on your own vehicle.
To choose the right coverage, you should consider the following points:
Value of the motorhome: For older models with low value, liability insurance, possibly supplemented by partial comprehensive, is often sufficient.
Frequency of use: Those who drive only occasionally have a lower risk than all-year campers.
Personal safety needs: How much risk do you want to bear yourself?
Financial means: A fully comprehensive insurance offers the best protection but is also the most expensive option.
The decision on the right level of coverage has a direct impact on what your motorhome costs in terms of insurance.
Utilise saving potentials: How to reduce your insurance premium
There are several ways to reduce the cost of your motorhome insurance. A deductible in the comprehensive insurance can significantly lower the premium; usual amounts are between one hundred and fifty and five hundred euros for partial coverage and three hundred to one thousand euros for full coverage. A seasonal license plate is ideal if you use your motorhome only a few months of the year, for example from April to October. This way, you only pay taxes and insurance premiums for the registered period, often six to eight months. Make sure your insurance includes coverage during the off-season. Choosing a secure parking spot, such as a garage, can also lead to discounts of up to ten percent. Additionally, compare offers from different insurers, as prices can vary greatly for the same coverage. A look at the type class table can be helpful with cars, but is less decisive for motorhomes, as some insurers, like Allianz, do not use it for calculation.
Understanding and Optimising the No-Claims Discount (NCD) Class
Your no-claims bonus class (SF class) is a crucial factor in determining how much your motorhome insurance will cost. For each year without an accident, you rise to a higher SF class, leading to a lower premium rate. For motorhomes, the SF classes with some insurers go up to SF 20 or even SF 35, meaning you can receive significant discounts after twenty or more claim-free years. For example, the premium rate in SF 20 can be about twenty-five percent for liability insurance and thirty-two percent for comprehensive insurance. If you already have a high SF class for your car, check if it can be transferred to your motorhome insurance; many insurers offer options here. A discount protection can be useful to avoid being moved to a more expensive SF class immediately after a claim; this usually costs an extra fifteen to twenty-five percent. The specific SF class table varies depending on the insurer.
Expert Knowledge: Legal Fundamentals and Additional Components
Motor vehicle liability insurance is mandatory in Germany for every mobile home according to the Mandatory Insurance Law (PflVG). The statutory minimum coverage amounts to seven and a half million euros for personal injury, around 1.22 million euros for property damage, and fifty thousand euros for pure financial loss. However, many insurers offer significantly higher coverage amounts of up to one hundred million euros. In addition to standard insurance, there are sensible additional options. A roadside assistance policy, often available for under thirty euros per year, offers European-wide breakdown assistance and covers towing costs, for instance. Contents insurance (CamperContentsProtection) secures your movable inventory such as clothing or electronics up to a value of, for example, ten thousand euros, and often costs around fifty euros annually. For trips abroad, foreign damage protection can be useful, ensuring claims settlement according to German law, even if the opponent's insurance coverage abroad is lower. Our expert tip: Always clarify the coverage area of your insurance before traveling abroad, especially to countries outside the EU.
Important aspects when choosing additional options:
Roadside assistance: Costs usually between twenty and forty euros per year.
Contents insurance: Coverage for inventory often up to ten thousand euros, premium approximately fifty euros.
Foreign damage protection: Important for trips outside the EU, costs vary.
Driver protection: Provides benefits for injuries to the driver, even in self-inflicted accidents.
GAP coverage: For leased or financed vehicles, bridges the gap between replacement value and remaining liability.
These options can increase the cost of your mobile home insurance, but they offer important additional protection.
Special cases and special regulations in motorhome insurance
Not every motorhome is the same, and thus there are certain specificities to consider in terms of insurance. Motorhomes with a permissible total weight of over three and a half tonnes may be classified differently, which affects the premium. Vehicles exceeding seven and a half tonnes often fall under truck tax rates and insurance tariffs, potentially increasing costs further. Privately renting out your camper typically requires special insurance or an extension of your existing policy, as not all standard policies cover this; the costs for such an extension can be twenty to thirty percent higher. For stationary motorhomes on campsites, known as permanent campers, some insurers offer special rates that differ from the classic campervan insurance for travelling vehicles. Our expert tip: Always clarify the exact conditions for the co-insurance of permanently installed special equipment; often limits of up to twenty thousand euros are included at no extra charge. Knowing these details helps answer the question, "What does insurance for a motorhome cost?" more precisely.
Conclusion: Finding the optimal motorhome insurance
More useful links
Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) provides official statistics on the stock of motorhomes.
Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) publishes a press release with current information on motorhomes.
Caravaning Industrie Verband (CIVD) provides information on the stock of motorhomes.
Bundesfinanzministerium provides information about vehicle tax.
FAQ
What is the annual insurance cost for a motorhome?
The annual cost of motorhome insurance is usually between 200 euros for basic liability and over 1,000 euros for comprehensive full coverage. On average, you can expect to pay between 400 and 800 euros.
Which factors most strongly influence the price of motorhome insurance?
Key factors are the type and value of the vehicle, the chosen insurance type (liability, partial cover, comprehensive), the no-claims bonus of the owner, the annual mileage, the parking location, and the amount of the deductible.
How can I save on motorhome insurance?
Opportunities to save arise by choosing a seasonal registration plate, opting for a higher deductible, having a secure parking space (e.g. garage), limiting the annual mileage, and carefully comparing offers from different insurers.
Is a comprehensive insurance necessary for my motorhome?
A fully comprehensive insurance is particularly recommended for new or very valuable motorhomes, as it also covers self-inflicted damage and vandalism. For older vehicles of lesser value, a third-party, fire, and theft insurance or even just the mandatory liability insurance may suffice.
What does the partial cover insurance for motorhomes include?
The partial coverage insurance covers damage to one's own motorhome caused by external factors such as theft, fire, explosion, storm, hail, lightning strike, flooding, collision with animals, and glass breakage.
What role does the no-claims discount class play in the cost of motorhome insurance?
The no-claims discount class (SF class) has a significant impact. The longer you drive without accidents, the higher your SF class and the lower your insurance premium. For motorhomes, SF classes often go up to SF 20 or higher.
