A person is the victim of data theft and phishing. You report it to your insurance company. Do you get any compensation? Not really.

Insurance companies in Germany are receiving (a lot) more complaints about cases of data theft and phishing - the victim is tricked into sharing passwords or credit card numbers, among other confidential information, with criminals.

Confirmation of the increase was given on Wednesday by the consumer arbitration board.

Overall, there were around 18,000 complaints in 2023, 13.4% more than the previous year.

One of the central problems for customers in the automotive sector is that premiums are rising. Insurers claim that repairs are also more expensive, explains Handelsblatt.

Many consumers change insurers - but are often misled, as the specific discounts of the first insurer (which the customer is sometimes not even aware of) are not passed on to the second insurer. Some people complain because they thought they were going to pay less, but in these cases the complaint does no good.

Then there are big problems for the customer: legal protection. In other words, in cases of data theft, almost always via the Internet.

More and more users are affected by data leaks on social media platforms, where their personal data falls into the hands of third parties, often criminals.

The victim makes a claim but often doesn't get the response they want from the insurance company.

Why is this? Because the digital world still has many legal loopholes: "As case law is still evolving, we often can't make a final decision," explains Wilhelm Schlebier, from the German Consumer Arbitration Board.

In addition, many older insurance policies do not cover these cases of fraud.

There is no legal basis for the insurer to give in and agree to pay the customer what has been stolen. Nothing is specifically written for many cases. Still.

The solution in many cases lies with the Ombudsman, who proposes splitting the costs: the customer pays part, the insurance company pays part.

Here's a basic but essential tip: read everything. Many contracts have exceptions written into them, but the insured doesn't even know about them.

And, not least, make sure your policy is up to date.