Overview
- Germany’s Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe largely rejected Allianz Life’s appeal in case IV ZR 34/25, declaring its rentenfaktor clause invalid.
- The ruling establishes a binding standard for fondsgebundene Riester policies and allows affected customers to seek reimbursement for past unilateral reductions.
- Judges held that adjustment terms must be symmetrical and clearly stipulated, because cuts without a matching obligation to increase unfairly disadvantage policyholders.
- Allianz referenced low interest rates, rising life expectancy and an independent trustee’s review, and said later contracts omit the wording, with policies from 2001 to 2013 potentially affected according to the company.
- Consumer advocates report similar clauses at other providers including Zurich, Axa and LPV/Postbank, and the Bund der Versicherten estimates up to about one million contracts could be impacted.