Insurance

In Germany, there are two forms of insurance. Firstly, private insurance, which you can take out voluntarily, and then there is German social insurance, which involves you having to pay contributions as an employed international professional.

German social insurance is a statutory form of insurance that provides protection against risks such as unemployment, long-term care needs or illness. It also includes the payment of a pension. As compulsory insurance, half of the contribution is paid by the employer, while the other half is paid by the employed international professional. When you become an employee in Germany, the contributions are automatically deducted from your monthly salary. The contribution amount is based on the income.

Statutory social insurance includes:

  • Health insurance: The statutory health insurance covers the costs you face when you and your family are ill. It also covers many costs arising from preventive healthcare or rehabilitation measures. If you are unable to work for a long period of time due to an illness and consequently do not receive a salary from your employer, the health insurance fund pays you a sickness benefit as financial compensation. If you earn above a certain income level or if you are a freelancer or business owner, you can choose between statutory or private health insurance.
  • Unemployment insurance: If you become unemployed through no fault of your own, you will be given financial support from the state and you can also take advantage of placement services and further education from the Employment Agency. Please note: you are obliged to register as seeking work three months at the latest before terminating your employment. If you do not register in time, a blocking period can occur when you receive no unemployment benefit.
  • Pension insurance: Pension insurance provides financial security in old age. Retirement age has been gradually raised to 67 years in recent years. This retirement age shall apply to everyone born from 1964 onwards from the year 2029. Pension insurance also gives you support if you can no longer work or only work to a limited extent due to illness or disability.
  • Nursing care insurance: If you are no longer able to look after yourself due to illness or age, nursing care insurance is there to support you. This type of insurance also supports people caring for sick relatives. If you have statutory health insurance, you are automatically a member of the statutory nursing care insurance fund. If you have private health insurance however, you should also take out a private nursing care insurance policy.
  • Accident insurance: This type of insurance covers accidents at work and their consequences, occupational illnesses and accidents on the way to work or back home again.

Besides statutory insurance, you can also take out a number of private insurance policies in Germany. These include the above-mentioned private health and pension insurance policies, which in some cases should be taken out.

Other important insurance policies are as follows:

  • Personal liability insurance pays when you have inadvertently caused another person material damage. It is usually taken out for the whole family.
     
  • Home contents insurance covers unintentional damage to your home resulting from burglary, fire or water damage. This also covers damage relating to this, which occurs in the neighbourhood.
     
  • If you would like to cover yourself financially against the risk of becoming seriously ill, you can take out occupational disability cover, which pays a monthly payment depending on the level of insurance taken out.
     
  • Vehicle third-party liability insurance is mandatory for every car driver.
     
  • With legal protection insurance, you can claim back legal and court costs.

For further information, please see the following links:

Information on insurance provided by the Consumer Association
Federal Employment Agency – unemployment
National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds, the main organization representing the interests of the statutory health insurance and long-term care insurance funds in Germany