A no-fault car accident abroad can be doubly annoying: the foreign insurer settles under local law – often slower, at lower rates and with lower coverage sums than in Germany. Foreign damage protection (Auslandsschadenschutz) solves exactly this problem: your own motor insurer settles your claim as if the other party were insured in Germany. Which countries this makes sense for – read here.
If you are injured abroad through no fault of your own, you report the claim not to the foreign insurer but to your own: it pays under German damages law (including loss of use, diminished value, German-level pain-and-suffering) and recovers the money from the opposing insurer. You save yourself language barriers, foreign procedural law and months of waiting. The legal basis of your opponent's mandatory coverage in Europe is EU Directive 2009/103/EC "relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles, and the enforcement of the obligation to insure against such liability" (source: eur-lex.europa.eu, translated) – it harmonises minimum coverage sums, but national differences in damage items remain.
In countries with lower compensation standards or sluggish settlement practice, the add-on plays out its strengths fully – typical examples are popular holiday and transit countries in Southern and South-Eastern Europe.
In the non-EU Balkans, Turkey or North Africa, minimum coverage is sometimes much lower; in personal injury cases, the opponent's sums can quickly be exhausted. Here foreign damage protection guards against total loss. Note your policy's territorial scope – usually Europe in the geographical sense plus adjacent states.
In countries with high standards, the added value is smaller – but comfort (German settlement, one contact person) remains. Since the add-on usually costs only a few euros a year, it is almost always worth it for frequent drivers.
Foreign damage protection supplements but does not replace your compulsory insurance: under German law, the keeper is obliged to "take out and maintain" liability insurance for their vehicle (source: Section 1 PflVG, gesetze-im-internet.de, translated). The Green Card (international insurance card) as proof belongs in the glove compartment on trips abroad – in some countries it is still mandatory.
Book your free initial consultation
Usually no – it is tied to your insured vehicle or you as the driver of your own car. For rental cars, the Mallorca policy and a look at the local coverage sum help.
Many policies include hit-and-run and uninsured-driver cases abroad; otherwise national compensation funds help. This is exactly where policy quality differs – we compare it for you.
Usually 10–30 € per year as an add-on to motor liability – measured against the risk of an accident abroad, one of the cheapest sensible extensions.
Book your free initial consultation
Sources: Directive 2009/103/EC on motor vehicle liability insurance – EUR-Lex · Section 1 PflVG – Vehicle keeper's insurance obligation, gesetze-im-internet.de · Updated: 2026
