According to the “Branchenmonitor: Rechtsschutzversicherung 2025” published by V.E.R.S. The study, which examines the 25 largest market participants accounting for roughly 90 percent of market share, highlights significant financial strains across the German legal protection insurance sector due to rising claims expenses.
Huk24 Leads Market With Highest Loss Ratio
Among all evaluated companies, Huk24 AG registered the highest loss ratio, spending more on claims than it collected in earned premiums with a ratio of 100.01 percent, according to the V.E.R.S. Leipzig monitor. The insurer operates as one of the smaller market participants, ranking 22nd in portfolio size with 156,589 contracts and 25th in gross written premiums at just over 20 million euros. Despite maintaining the lowest operating expense ratio in the sector, Huk24 finished the six-year period firmly in the insurance-technical loss zone. Data shows the company’s loss ratio peaked during the first three years between 114.2 and 123,5 percent before moderating as average contributions increased and both claim frequency and average claim sizes decreased. By the final years of the study, the loss ratio settled at 82.7 percent, which remained the highest among all providers tracked in the report.
Comparative Analysis of Sector Loss Ratios
Alongside Huk24, only two other insurers crossed the 75 percent threshold in average claims expenditure relative to premiums across the six-year window: Huk-Coburg-Rechtsschutzversicherung AG and Badische Rechtsschutz-Versicherung AG. Meanwhile, five other providers—WGV-Versicherung AG, DEVK Rechtsschutz-Versicherungs-AG, Deurag Deutsche Rechtsschutz-Versicherung AG, Continentale Sachversicherung AG, and ADAC Versicherung AG—recorded loss ratios ranging between 71 and 74 percent. Industry-wide, the 25 largest providers spent an average of 52 percent to over 100 percent of their revenue on claim expenditures.
| Insurer | Six-Year Loss Ratio Range / Peak | Market Position (Premiums/Contracts) |
|---|---|---|
| Huk24 AG | Exceeded 100% (Peak over 123%, ending at 82.7%) | Position 25 in premium volume (approx. €20M) |
| Huk-Coburg-Rechtsschutz | Over 75% | Top 25 market participant |
| Badische Rechtsschutz | Over 75% | Top 25 market participant |
| WGV, DEVK, Deurag, Continentale, ADAC | Between 71% and 74% | Top 25 market participants |
Pandemic Pressures and Reserve Increases
WGV came close to surpassing a 100 percent loss ratio in 2020 with a 98 percent figure, driven by a 44 percent surge in insurance case expenses up to 48,8 million euros. According to WGV’s 2020 business report, that spike stemmed largely from settlement losses and an increase in technical provisions by nearly 10 million euros to 135,4 million euros. Beyond Huk24, annual loss ratios breached the 80 percent mark only during isolated years for select competitors, including Huk-Coburg-Rechtsschutz in 2020 and 2021, Continentale in 2020 and 2024, and Allianz Versicherungs-AG in 2020 and 2021. Leipzig study is available for purchase via Maik Entrich.