Insurance in Germany

Jibran Shahid 30 Jun 2024

Are you planning to move to Germany? No matter where you live or work, you need to know about insurance in Germany so you can protect yourself and your belongings from loss. If you landed on this page, you will get to know about all insurances in Germany. Remember that insurance in Germany is a must to have things, so you are recommended to get it when you travel to Germany. Germans are big fans of insurance, so Germany is one of the most popular countries in terms of insurance. In this article, we will give you an overview of all insurances in Germany. We will also share in detail what insurance is compulsory and what is optional for you. Here is the list of all insurances in Germany;

Health insurance
Personal liability insurance
Pet liability insurance
Professional indemnity insurance
Household or home content insurance
Automobile insurance
Accident insurance
Legal protection insurance
Occupational disability insurance
Long term care insurance

Let us discuss each kind of insurance in detail.

Health Insurance

By German law, health insurance is necessary for those who stay in Germany for more than 3 months. Whether you live or work in Germany, it is your primary obligation to get health insurance to safeguard your health. If your stay in Germany is for a short period, usually less than 3 months, then you are free not to have health insurance.

Kinds of Health Insurance

Germany has a health insurance system as mentioned here; - Statutory health insurance
- Private health insurance
- Pet health insurance

There are other insurances too. Usually, basic treatments are covered in your health insurance, but it also depends on the type of treatment you need. For example, if you need basic dental care, you can get it free of cost, but if the treatment is expensive and needs specialised service and expertise, a separate dental insurance is recommended. Let us understand both health insurances now;

Statutory Health Insurance

Statutory health insurance is also called the health insurance fund. In Germany, each employee is automatically insured under statutory health insurance. Employer’s contribution to the premium amount is 50%. Contribution in the insurance amount by the employee depends upon the employee’s income level. If annual income is above the contribution assessment ceiling, then remain insured for statutory health insurance if they want to. The contribution by the employee is directly deducted from the monthly salary of the employees.

The employees are not responsible for their insurance registration as it is the employer’s responsibility to register their employees with the health insurance funds. If you are married and have kids under 18 years, your spouse and minor children are automatically covered in your free family health insurance plan. In order to receive the benefit for spouse and kids, you need to submit an application to the health insurance fund.

Private Health Insurance

If they are insured by the statutory health insurance, and their annual income is above the ceiling amount of contribution assessment, and they have been insured for at least one year, they can shift to private insurance. In other cases, they are not eligible for private health insurance in Germany.

There are a few insurance providers who offer

Comprehensive private health insurance
Private supplementary health insurance

These insurance plans offer greater advantages in terms of extended and improved health services. Self employed people and high earners may also take out private health insurance.

Pet Health Insurance

If your pet is sick and you need to consult a veterinary doctor, you can cover your veterinary bills with your pet health insurance. Remember that pet health insurance does not cover routine operations like castration or vaccination, but it covers major operations where expenses are high. It is usually beneficial when your pet gets old. The cost of pet insurance varies and mainly depends upon the age, race, and sex of the pet you have. For young dogs, the price of pet health insurance is approximately 20 Euros per month.

Personal Liability Insurance

This kind of insurance is optional in Germany, but if you have it, your everyday life is safe and protected, so it is recommended. If you visit other EU countries, you will find it a mandatory insurance plan. Personal liability insurance is not expensive and gives you amazing benefits and coverages whenever there is any mishap in your daily life. This is beneficial for events like

Your friend’s phone is damaged by you
Your dining chairs destroyed the floor of your rented dining room
Someone slipped in your driveway, and the legs are broken
You hurt someone badly because you had snow in front of your house in Germany
Your child broke something very expensive in a shopping mall
Scratch to someone’s car with your shopping cart
Other worst conditions and everyday scenarios

If you have it, you can cover such losses easily. Otherwise, you might be liable to pay for hundreds of thousands of Euros for reparation of losses. Situations for coverage might be related to life insurance, content insurance, pet insurance, travel insurance, and other liability insurance. According to the latest study, around 83% of Germans have liability insurance, and it costs approximately 5 Euros per month, so you should have it when you move to Germany. Life insurance in Germany does not give you any benefit, but it is beneficial for your family after your death. Life insurance is usually for a fixed period, like 5, 10, or 20 years. Have it when you are young because it will be expensive in your old age.

Pet Liability Insurance

If your pet causes damage to others, your pet liability insurance will offer coverage and protect you against losses. It is also called pet owner liability insurance.

Pets are of various kinds, and the scenario is different for each kind of pet. It also depends on the breed and the danger level. If you have a dog and live in Berlin, you would have dog liability insurance. Dog liability insurance is necessary in a few states like Hamburg, Berlin, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, and Thuringia. Dog liability insurance costs you around 5 Euros per month. While taking out your insurance plans, do not forget to check the policies and terms in detail. You might pay less than 5 Euros if you combine your private liability insurance and dog liability insurance together. Before you finalise an insurance provider, do not forget to check if your chosen provider covers the dangerous breeds, too.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

This insurance is also available in Germany and covers all liabilities related to your job. If you are an employee and working in Germany, you are automatically covered by such insurance through your employment. If you are self employed, you should take it yourself to enjoy the coverage. Being self employed, your client may sue you if you make a mistake. Professional liability insurance will protect you. This insurance is beneficial for professionals like doctors, lawyers, architects, engineers, and a few others.

Household or Home Content Insurance

It is always good to have home content insurance to protect your home content, belongings, and your luggage at your home. Things at your home include furniture, fixtures, and technical devices like TV, laptops, and other devices. Some providers offer coverage to your bike or motorcycle if it is stolen or vandalised. While getting an insurance plan, you should carefully read the terms and conditions of your insurance plan. If you are a renter or homeowner, you must take out home insurance to get coverage for the losses due to theft, house fire, and extreme weather situations like floods, storms, and burglaries. If you have your own home in Germany, you should also have a residential building insurance plan to protect your personal property. A few insurance providers cover the cost of calling a locksmith if you lose your keys and lock yourself out of the apartment. According to the latest study, around 76% of Germans have household or home content insurance.

Automobile Insurance

Automobile insurance is compulsory for vehicle drivers in Germany. The minimum insurance requirement is to have an insurance plan with automobile liability insurance. Without having automobile liability insurance, you can not register your car. Automobile liability insurance only covers the damage or loss that is caused to other people by your car or vehicle. If you have damaged other people during an accident in Europe or other’s property like vehicle, building, or road signs, you can cover the loss or damage caused to others by your automobile liability insurance. You can also cover damages to your own vehicle such as a car, motorcycle, or truck, no matter whose fault (even if yours) it was to make an accident happen. To cover your personal vehicle damages, theft, or fire, you can get two kinds of insurance plans given below in addition to the automobile liability insurance.

Partial comprehensive insurance plan
Full comprehensive insurance plan

Accident Insurance

Accident insurance will cover your private losses during your road accident in Germany. Employees working in Germany are automatically covered by their employers or social security provider in Germany for an occupational accident. They are entitled to financial compensation or permanent pension benefits. Remember that no insurance provider offers coverage for the losses or damages during leisure time, so if an accident happens outside office hours, accident insurance will not cover the cost of damage. In that case, personal accident insurance will give you coverage for the losses.

Legal Protection Insurance

Legal protection insurance will protect you in the event of legal disputes. There might be events in life when you need a legal advisor or a professional lawyer to tackle the situation. Events might include

Disagreement with your landlord
Problem with the employer
Trouble over a parking ticket
Tax office related issues
Other such scenarios

Whenever you need to hire a lawyer, you need to pay the bills, too. Usually, the lawyer’s fees are high, so you should take out the legal protection insurance. Your policy might cover;

Personal legal protection
Tenancy legal protection
Motorist legal protection

You can get both private and professional legal insurance. Private legal insurance costs you around 15 Euros per month, whereas professional legal insurance is more expensive as the cost of business legal insurance depends on the business type. It is not very important like liability insurance, but around 46% of Germans have legal insurance to deal with their legal matters. To protect employees in Germany legally, employment dispute insurance is also available and worth taking it.

Occupational Disability Insurance

Occupational disability insurance protects your occupational capacity to work in Germany. Occupational disability comes into effect when you can not work for a longer period and your spouse and children are dependent on you for the regular monthly income. A few reasons for occupational disability may include;

Mental illness
Skeletal illness
Burnout cases
Major diseases like cancer
Lost a finger during surgery
Nerve disorder
Musculoskeletal illness

In such health issues, occupational disability insurance is highly recommended. This is also helpful if you have a debt (mortgage) to pay. Having such an insurance plan will enable your spouse and children to get a fixed amount on a monthly basis. The insurance premium amount (monthly pension) your dependents will receive depends upon the following factors;

The job you do (niche and the department where you are working).
Your age at the time of taking an insurance plan
How high do you want your monthly pension to be?
Your pre existing conditions

As per the study, around 26% of Germans have occupational disability insurance to protect themselves and their families.

Long Term Care Insurance

The German social security system added long term care insurance in 1995. It was added for those who cannot work due to certain reasons like old age, illness, or disability. Such people need long term nursing care, so it is mandatory to have this insurance. Long term care insurance includes

Statutory long term care insurance
Supplemental long term care insurance

How to Choose an Insurance Policy and The Insurance Provider?

Before you take out any insurance policy, you should always choose your insurance provider carefully. Below are the instructions to choose the best insurance policy and a good insurance provider;