Riding lawnmowers are becoming more expensive: compulsory insurance leads to higher costs for hobby gardeners

Riding lawnmowers are becoming more expensive: compulsory insurance leads to higher costs for hobby gardeners

For hobby gardeners, mowing the lawn could become more expensive in the future. According to the federal government's plans, self-propelled work machines such as ride-on lawn mowers should be subject to insurance from December 23, 2023. This means that insurance is also required for riding lawn mowers that are driven on public property. Anyone who fails to comply with this obligation is committing an administrative offense and can be subject to a fine or even a prison sentence.

However, the General Association of Insurers (GDV) states that the current insurance solution is sufficient. In most cases, work machines are covered by the vehicle owner's private liability insurance. To date, there have been no known cases in which general liability insurance coverage was not sufficient.

According to the EU Directive on Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance (“KH Directive”, EU 2021/2118), German law is to be changed to introduce compulsory insurance for self-propelled work machines.

This proposed regulation could have an impact on the market for lawn mowers. Because insurance requires additional costs for riding lawn mower owners, many consumers may choose other options for mowing lawns, such as using walk-behind electric or gasoline lawn mowers. This could reduce demand for riding lawn mowers.

Source: According to a report from t-online.de, link