Insurances

Statutory health insurance is part of social insurance. It is compulsory for everyone and provides you with sufficient insurance cover if you need medical assistance.

Alternatively, you can take out private health insurance. Please note the different services on offer, the expected cost development and the options for returning to statutory insurance.

The health insurance funds perform the tasks of statutory health insurance. You are free to choose the health insurance company of your choice.

In any case, it must offer the following benefits:

• medical and dental treatment
• Provision of medicines, dressings, remedies and aids
• hospital treatment
• medical services for rehabilitation
• pregnancy and childbirth benefits

Only those benefits that are deemed necessary are covered by the health insurance fund. Anyone wishing to upgrade basic health insurance benefits can take out supplementary health insurance.

Special benefits

You have to pay co-payments for certain services, e.g. some medicines or dentures. If you want to take advantage of several preventive care programs, so-called "IgeL", you must pay for them in full yourself.

Many health insurance companies offer bonus programs. If you take part in regular check-ups, the costs are reimbursed. For example, if you go to the dentist at least once a year, you will save money if you need treatment.

Family insurance

Not every person has to have individual health insurance. Spouses and children can take out family insurance together. Children are then insured free of charge.

Pupils can usually remain covered by their parents' family insurance until the age of 25, regardless of where they live, as long as they have not yet completed their education or have a permanent, higher income.

Health insurance for trainees and students

As a trainee, you are generally subject to compulsory insurance regardless of your age. As a student, you can remain covered by family insurance as long as you are under 25 years old and your monthly income does not exceed 450 euros.

If your income is higher or you are older than 25, you are subject to compulsory insurance. Students pay a lower contribution. Please contact the health insurance company of your choice for more information.

Health insurance for employees

As an employee, health insurance is particularly important for you if your illness leads to a prolonged absence from work. If an employee falls ill, the employer continues to pay their full salary for 6 weeks.

After that, the statutory health insurance helps out and pays a daily sickness allowance. However, this amounts to a maximum of 70 percent of gross income.

Health insurance for foreigners

It is compulsory to have valid health insurance in Germany, regardless of whether you are coming for a short visit to relatives, an internship, a language course or a city trip.

If you have statutory health insurance within the EU and therefore have the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), all necessary treatment for short-term stays is covered.

If you wish to enter the country with a visa, you will usually need valid health insurance. Insurance policies from your country of origin are often not valid for Germany or do not adequately cover the costs of treatment.

Special international insurance policies can usually be adapted to the exact duration of your stay and offer various other benefits in addition to covering the costs of outpatient and inpatient treatment.

It makes sense to take out additional liability and accident insurance.

Long-term stays usually require German health insurance.

Statutory long-term care insurance is part of social insurance. Long-term care insurance supports you if, due to your illness, it is to be expected that you will need regular help in everyday life for a longer period of time.

Depending on the extent to which you are dependent on this help, care assessments are used to define the level of care required. This care can be provided professionally, for example by a care service, or on a voluntary basis. The level of care is used to determine the level of costs up to which care is paid for by the insurance company.

Compulsory insurance only covers costs up to a certain level. If you want full cover, you would need to take out private supplementary insurance.

Voluntary care

If care is provided on a voluntary basis, e.g. by a relative, the person in need of care receives a care allowance to use as they wish. Regular checks are carried out to ensure that this home care is adequately covered.

Professional care

Professional care can also take place at home or partly in a facility, e.g. in a day clinic or day care center.

If professional and voluntary help overlap, supplementary care allowance is still granted. Care aids and measures to make everyday life easier in the living environment are also covered by long-term care insurance.

In cases of hardship, it also covers full inpatient care.

Statutory pension insurance is part of social insurance. It is intended to secure your income if you are no longer able to work due to old age and thus protect you from poverty in old age.

You are obliged to pay a regular share of your wages to the statutory pension insurance scheme. The amount you pay depends on the amount of your salary.

Benefits

After you reach retirement age, the pension insurance pays you a certain amount of money every month for the rest of your life. The amount of your pension is calculated from the amount of your contributions.

In certain cases, statutory pension insurance invests in rehabilitation measures to ensure long-term earning capacity. If you are no longer fully able to work before reaching retirement age, the insurance covers this risk and pays a lower reduced earning capacity pension.

In the event of the death of the other spouse, one spouse may have claims against the other's pension insurance.

Supplementary insurance

In addition, occupational disability insurance is often recommended. Many employers also offer their employees additional voluntary company pensions.

There are also voluntary private pension insurance policies. These are mainly used by the self-employed and civil servants who are not covered by statutory pension insurance.

Statutory accident insurance is part of social insurance. It covers claims that occur during your work or are caused by your profession. This also includes accidents on the direct route to work or on the direct route home.

Injuries should be prevented wherever possible, so health and safety authorities advise on safety measures in the workplace and monitor compliance with them.

Benefits

The insurance covers benefits that are suitable and necessary to restore your health.

These benefits include medical treatment, including medical and supplementary rehabilitation benefits, benefits in the event of the need for long-term care and also cash benefits, in particular injury benefit and injury pension.

The statutory accident insurance is also liable for accidents involving children and young people while they are at kindergarten or school and on the associated routes.

Supplementary insurance

However, it does not cover accidents in private life. For accidents in the private sphere, private accident insurance is a useful supplement if you are unable to take out occupational disability insurance.

Statutory unemployment insurance is part of social insurance. Unemployment insurance is financed by compulsory contributions from employees and employers.

The contributions are subsidized and administered by the Federal Employment Agency. This agency provides various advisory services on career choice, training, further education and job placement.

Benefits

The agency promotes participation benefits, benefits for remaining in work and for reintegration into the labor market and reimburses some of the necessary costs.

If your employer terminates your employment relationship, the employment agency will pay you unemployment benefit (ALG I), usually for 12 months. The amount depends mainly on your previous wage income.

As an unemployment benefit recipient, you are covered by statutory health, long-term care and accident insurance through the employment agency and usually also by pension insurance.

If you yourself are responsible for the terminated employment relationship, you will receive a suspension period and are not entitled to unemployment benefit I during this period.

Self-employed persons are not subject to compulsory insurance, but can take out voluntary unemployment insurance.

Personal liability insurance is the most important insurance you should take out yourself. It is voluntary and protects you against claims for damages from third parties. Property damage, personal injury or financial loss caused by negligence can quickly become very expensive and may ruin you financially. Liability insurance, on the other hand, is very inexpensive.

In addition to the generally agreed damage risks, special benefits such as glass breakage can also be included in the insurance for a premium payment. Your liability insurance should always also cover damage caused by courtesy.

Important: Negligent acts that harm third parties can happen in all areas of life. This is why there are additional liability insurance policies, e.g. for medical professions, vehicles, pets, hunting and many others, which may be recommended or even mandatory for you.

You can take out occupational disability insurance on a voluntary basis. It secures your income if you are no longer able to work as a result of a health impairment. This includes impairments caused by accidents in your free time as well as illnesses that lead to occupational disability.

Your premium depends on your age, your current state of health, your profession and the associated health risk as well as the desired scope of benefits.

Benefits

The insurance taken out voluntarily beforehand provides you with financial security. The amount of money paid out by the insurance company depends on the contractual agreements. The disability pension is paid out for as long as you are unable to work.

Insurance for young people

Occupational disability insurance is particularly useful for young people and should be taken out while they are still training or studying. You cannot rely on protection through a reduced earning capacity pension because this is granted after 5 years of employment at the earliest.

If you receive benefits in accordance with SGB II or SGB XII, mandatory insurance contributions are paid by the benefit provider and paid directly to the health insurance fund.

If you were a member of a private health insurance fund before you started receiving benefits, you can usually remain so.

Other insurance contributions can be taken into account to the extent that they may be deducted from your qualifying income. The income to be taken into account is then lower.

However, if you do not earn any income, you will not receive any additional benefits to finance insurance.