Notional Settlement (Fiktive Abrechnung)

With a notional settlement (fiktive Abrechnung), the injured party has the repair costs calculated by the expert paid out by the opposing party's liability insurer without actually or fully having the vehicle repaired. The basis is the principle of freedom of disposition (Dispositionsfreiheit): the injured party is generally free to decide how to deal with the compensation – whether to repair, partially repair, or use the money for other purposes.

Its counterpart is the concrete settlement (konkrete Abrechnung), in which the repair costs actually incurred are reimbursed on the basis of the workshop invoice.

According to established case law, notional settlement is generally permissible, but it is subject to limits:

• Net principle (Netto-Grundsatz): VAT is usually not reimbursed in a notional settlement, as it is only recoverable if it is actually incurred.
• Referral to reference workshops: Under certain conditions, the insurer may refer the injured party to the lower hourly rates of an equivalent, easily accessible independent specialist workshop. For newer vehicles or vehicles consistently serviced by a brand workshop, such a referral is usually restricted.
• Total loss threshold: If the calculated repair costs exceed the replacement value (Wiederbeschaffungswert), notional settlement is subject to narrow limits; above the 130 percent threshold, settlement is usually made only on a total loss basis.

Conceptually, a distinction can be made:

• Usually recoverable: calculated net repair costs according to the expert report, diminution in value (merkantiler Minderwert), expert fees, flat-rate expense allowance.
• Usually not recoverable notionally: VAT, vehicle transfer or spare parts surcharges not actually incurred (assessed differently depending on regional practice), rental car costs without an actual rental.
• Loss-of-use compensation (Nutzungsausfall): only comes into consideration in a notional settlement if an actual downtime period – for example due to a partial repair – is proven.

The details often depend on the individual case and the region; the expert report provides the calculation basis.

An injured party suffers scrape damage to the side of the vehicle through no fault of their own. The damage assessment report calculates a proper repair at a brand workshop. Since the vehicle remains roadworthy, the injured party decides not to have the damage repaired for the time being and settles notionally on the basis of the net repair costs. If they later do have the vehicle repaired, they can usually switch to a concrete settlement upon presentation of the invoice and subsequently claim, for example, the VAT then actually incurred.

For injured parties, notional settlement offers flexibility: they retain decision-making authority over their vehicle. At the same time, it is the preferred target for deductions by insurers – a detailed, verifiable expert report is therefore particularly important.

For experts, this means: the calculation must transparently state hourly labour rates, labour units and spare parts prices and take regional practices into account so that it withstands attempted deductions.