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INSURANCE

The new app that gives you money for driving well

Germany’s largest insurance company is offering an app which allows you to win money back on your car insurance if it records you driving safely.

The new app that gives you money for driving well
Photo: DPA

The app – called BonusDrive – is being offered by Allianz and tracks drivers’ acceleration and braking patterns, how they take corners and their general speed. At the end of the journey it will then give feedback on the trip.

“With BonusDrive we’re bringing car insurance into the digital age,” Frank Sommerfeld, a member of the Allianz board, said in a statement.

“And the app is simply fun to use. I use it myself and I find it exciting to after every journey to get an immediate feedback report,” he added.

The company say they are aiming the app at young people up to the age of 28, who often have to pay high insurance charges, and are offering people of this age who use the app 10 percent off their premium once they have used it for over 100 kilometres.

Responsible drivers are then rewarded depending on how well the app rates them to have driven, with awards of gold, silver and bronze medals at the end of every journey.

MUST READ: Eight things you never knew about the German Autobahn

At the end of a year’s insurance, the app will then rate the driver overall. ‘Gold drivers’ are promised a lucrative 30 percent back on their insurance payment. Silver drivers will receive 20 percent back, and bronze drivers get 10 percent.

So the company is promising those young drivers who are grade A students a reduction of 40 percent of their first year’s insurance costs.

“Especially for young people this is a fair offer,” Sommerfeld said. “Firstly, customers can actively influence their driving behaviour. Secondly, they can save costs through safe driving.”

“Those who pay high premiums because they belong to the high risk group of young drivers will in the future be split into those who drive more considerately and those who drive less so,” he added.

The company also claims that the app, which became available from Google and Apple app stores this month, doesn’t pose a disadvantage, as customers will not be punished with higher premiums if they do not win medals for their driving.

It also seems that the driver doesn't always need to play by the rules that Allianz sets. The company says that the data belongs only to the customer, who can switch off the data collection for periods of time if he wishes.

So those young drivers who want to make the most of Germany having some of the only roads in the world with no speed limits can still have a bit of fun when they want to too.

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DRIVING

EXPLAINED: The changes to Germany’s driving licence theory test

Anyone now taking their written test to get a German driver's licence has a bit more prep work to do. New questions have been added to the test this month.

EXPLAINED: The changes to Germany's driving licence theory test

A total of 61 new questions were added to the theoretical driving licence test as of April 1st, both for a regular licence and several special categories. 

That’s not necessarily encouraging news for anyone aspiring to work toward earning their German driving licence. The country’s process for earning a driving licence is already notoriously difficult and expensive – regularly costing more than €2,000.

READ ALSO: How much does it cost to get a driving licence in Germany?

However, adding new questions to the theoretical driving test is standard procedure in Germany, in fact it happens every six months. 

The relevant authorities suggest that these regular updates are necessary because the road transport system and its related legal framework is constantly changing.

But that doesn’t mean the test is constantly getting longer. Questions are added to a catalogue of potential questions for the driving test, but outdated questions are also removed. 

Ultimately the written test that a prospective driver will face consists of a total of 30 questions chosen from the catalogue. Of these, 20 will cover basic material and 10 will cover knowledge specific to vehicle class B, which is passenger cars.

Who creates the driving test?

Germany’s theoretical and practical driving licence test is continuously developed by the Technical Inspection Association (TÜV) and DEKRA, an auditing company which manages testing, inspection and certification for vehicles, among other things.

Mathias Rüdel, managing director of the TÜV | DEKRA joint venture, told German regional broadcaster MDR that the catalogue for the theoretical driving test contains “a total of 1,197 basic and supplementary tasks”.

One or more questions could potentially be created to test students’ understanding of each of these tasks. 

READ ALSO: More than a third of German driving tests failed in 2022

Rüdel added that there is not a set maximum number of tasks which could be included in the test. Instead, the number of tasks correspond to the relevant road safety content being taught, which is a result of European and national frameworks.

Asked which types of questions make up the biggest part of the driving test catalogue, Rüdel suggested that emphasis is placed on the subjects of ‘hazard theory’ and ‘behaviour in road traffic’.

READ ALSO: Germany sees ‘record number’ of cheating cases on driving licence exams

What does it take to get a driving licence in Germany?

Germany’s rules around driving licences are notoriously strict. 

Advocates for the country’s regulations say that ensuring drivers are properly trained is a benefit to society, because unsafe driving comes with severe consequences for drivers and pedestrians alike.

But drivers holding foreign driving licences that are considered invalid in Germany, despite years of driving experience, and even some German parents who have to shell out thousands of euros to put their kids through drivers’ education, suggest that the process seems excessive and over-priced.

The basic steps to earn a driving licence are:

  1. Pass an eye test
  2. Complete a first aid course
  3. Complete a driving school course (Fahrschule)
  4. Request a licence / make an appoint to apply (If you don’t have a foreign licence this covers you while you are learning to drive)
  5. Pass the written theoretical test
  6. Pass the practical in-car test

READ ALSO: ‘A year-long ordeal’: What I learned from getting my driving licence in Berlin

More information on the entire process can be found here.

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