MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - The Allianz car insurance company now also allows cars to be repaired with used spare parts. This should be both more environmentally friendly and cheaper. Vehicles between three and eight years old are eligible. On Friday, the Munich-based DAX-listed company and largest German insurer referred to England, the Netherlands and France, where there have already been regulations requiring reusable parts in car repair shops for several years. "All experts agree: repairing is more sustainable than using new parts," said Frank Sommerfeld, head of Allianz Versicherungs-AG, which operates the property insurance business in Germany.

The source of the spare parts will be cars that have been totaled and are often sold abroad for cannibalization. Allianz wants to reuse parts such as doors, front and tailgates, but also mirrors, headlights and rear lights. "Safety-relevant parts such as steering systems, axle parts or wheels will not be used," said Sommerfeld.

As an example calculation, the manager cited the repair of the windshield of a VW ID.3, which would cost 1,200 euros less than a new windshield. According to the Allianz Center for Technology, CO2 emissions would be almost one hundred percent lower in this example. This is due to the fact that greenhouse gases are produced during the production of car parts, which naturally do not occur again when installing a used spare part.

German car insurers have been suffering from rising costs for years, which are largely caused by the high prices of new spare parts. As income currently no longer covers costs, the German Insurance Association expects the insurance industry to post another billion-euro deficit in the automotive sector this year./cho/DP/stk