Avoid repair costs: This way the vehicle can be protected from marten damage

92 million euros in damage caused by martens

Marten damage causes high costs every year. In 2021, drivers reported 208,000 cases of marten damage to their insurance companies in Germany alone. Each of these cases caused an average damage of around 450 euros. In contrast to 2012, the total costs caused by martens have risen sharply. While they were still at 64 million euros in 2012, the total reported damage amount in 2021 was 92 million euros, according to figures from the German Insurance Association (GDV). According to GDV, there is a particularly high level of marten damage to vehicles in the spring months of April to June, with most of this occurring in the month of May between 2015 and 2017. Martens are small, dog-like, carnivorous mammals that are particularly found in rural areas with many gardens and green spaces. There are three species of martens in Germany: the stone marten, the pine marten and the polecat. Stone martens are the most common and live in almost all of Europe, while pine martens and polecats are rather rare in Germany.

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Motor vehicle liability insurance is not sufficient

When it comes to marten bites on the car, only partial or fully comprehensive insurance offers protection against financial damage. Motor vehicle liability insurance is not sufficient in this case. Some comprehensive insurance plans only cover immediate damage, meaning they only reimburse the repair costs for the damaged parts. Other tariffs, however, also cover expensive consequential damage. In such cases, not only the direct damage is covered, but also typical damage caused by martens is covered, such as catalytic converter failure caused by bitten ignition cables, leaky cooling hoses that can cause the engine to overheat, or broken rubber boots that can cause damage to the vehicle’s drive or axle joints.

Further protection options

According to GDV, other options for protecting your car from marten attacks include sealing off the engine compartment, for example with elastic wire mesh that is placed under the engine. This ideally prevents animals from getting to the cables and hoses at all. There are also advanced defense systems that are designed to keep martens away from the cars using ultrasonic waves or electrical shocks. Vehicle owners can also protect the cables and hoses with an additional hard plastic coating. This makes it more difficult for the martens to cause damage.

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Editorial team finanzen.net

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