PrivatE Insurance

As I said before: Germans have insurance for everything - this may sound like a prejudice, but it is true. (The one about the leather pants on the other hand is not true at all!) The German insurance system offers a wide range of possibilities to hand over risks. You can insure your household contents, your residential building, your liability risk, your accident or your death risk. Besides cars, bicycles and boats you can also insure your work force or your risk of contracting a serious illness. All this is possible and much more!

You may not take advantage of all the options available to you, but this guide will introduce you to the insurance policies you should know about and explain why they may be important to you.

LIability Insurance

Known in German as Haftpflichtversicherung

Private liability covers the financial costs of damage that you have unintentionally caused to a third party. Here are some examples of damage:

Property damage

Accidentally you sit down on the cell phone of a friend. The liability covers the repair costs.

Personal injury

When riding a bicycle you accidentally give way to a passenger and you collide. The private liability insurance covers the treatment and follow-up costs and...

Financial loss

... in addition, the compensation for pain and suffering and the costs of the injured person's loss of earnings.

In addition, the insurance company rejects unjustified claims and enforces this in court.
The contribution for the private liability insurance is less than €100 per year.
There are many other liability insurances (for cars, for dogs and horses, for business owners...)

What additional benefits do top tariffs offer?	Mehr
Loss of keys For example, the loss of keys from privately rented properties or the loss of a key used for business purposes can be insured. As a rule, this also applies to for locking systems, general key or Code cards. Damage caused by acts of goodwill From a legal point of view you cannot be held liable be made, provided that the damage occurs, because you did a favor for a friend have. Drop the moving box, are But you have a moral obligation to respect the damage. Damage to rented property Tenants of apartments are liable to the landlord for any damage they cause themselves. Whether scratches in the fitted kitchen or a cracked tile in the bathroom - with the right liability the insurance company will compensate the damage Damage caused by children under eight years of age If your child causes damage to a neighbor, he or she can only be held liable from the age of eight. Good liability insurances reimburse the damage regardless of age and preserve the peace of the neighborhood. Use of drones As the owner of a drone or other aircraft, you are obliged to take out insurance. Provided that certain limits are not exceeded with regard to weight and type of propulsion, insurance cover is provided via liability Damage to rented or borrowed items If things are temporarily in your possession and you damage them, this is normally not insured. In very good rates, however, there may be an inclusion for rented and borrowed items.

When do I not have insurance cover?	Mehr
In the event of personal injury to yourself or a co-insured person (your child, your partner) In case of intentionally caused damages. When participating in racing events (e.g. car races), competitions (e.g. boxing) and certain hobbies (e.g. hunting). This list contains essential exclusions of performance and is not conclusive.

Additional health insurance

KNown in German as Krankenzusatzversicherung

In Germany we have a statutory health insurance. It is much better than in other countries. Nevertheless, you need to pay supplementary payments by yourself for many treatments. These supplementary payments depend from the kind of treatment and differ a lot. Especially at the dentist and in the hospital there could be a higher amount of supplementary payments. With private insurances you can minimize these co-payments or increase your service level.

Dental Insurance

The service level of the health insurance companies was cut back considerably, especially in this segment. If you go to a dentist, you have to make considerable additional payments, especially for dental prostheses such as crowns, implants and bridges. With a dental insurance you can minimize these co-payments.

A dental insurance costs between €10 an €50 per month - depending on your age, benefits and state of health.

hospital insurance

In a hospital in Germany you will not receive treatment by a chief physician. You will also not get a single room, but share a room with several patients. If you want better service, you will have to make co-payments. You also do not have a free choice of hospital. You are simply always driven to the nearest hospital. With a private additional insurance you can book these and other benefits.

A hospital insurance costs between €20 - €50 per month - depending on your age, benefits and state of health.

Travel health insurance

With the public health insurance you are insured in Germany and partly also in other countries of the EU. For trips to countries with which Germany has no social agreement, a travel health insurance is very useful.

The travel health insurance costs between €10 and €20 per year. You can also book by the day, but this will quickly become much more expensive.

Comprehensive insurance

Health insurance is compulsory in Germany. So everyone has to prove a health insurance. 90% of the population is insured in the statutory health insurance. The other part, such as self-employed, civil servants and high earners can take out statutory health insurance by choice. But they also can take out full private insurance.

The private health insurance companies do not have to accept everyone. Unlike the statutory health insurance companies, they check your risk. If you cannot prove that you have been a member of a German health insurance company for at least two years, no reputable company will insure you. Therefore, you have to stay in the public health insurance for two years and only then you can change to the private full insurance. Here you get better benefits and at a young age you pay even less than with the public health insurance.

home contents insurance

Known in German as Hausratversicherung

If the household contents are damaged as a result of one of these events, a claim for reimbursement of the financial loss will arise:

Fire e.g. due to defective electrical installations
Tap water e.g. through old/dirty pipes or a deceptive wax machine
Storm and hail e.g. due to broken window panes and damage caused by the resulting water ingress.
Burglary and robbery e.g. over doors or windows
Vandalism e.g. wilful destruction of prop

All objects not firmly attached to the building are considered home contents. Insured are

furnishings,
articles of daily use,
consumables,
cash and valuables,
pictures or jewelry and
other items like car accessories, sports equipment etc.

If you temporarily live in a furnished apartment, it is assumed that the owners have a home contents insurance. However, your personal belongings are not covered (your clothes, valuables, etc.). For longer stays it may be useful to take out a small household insurance for your belongings. If you move into your own apartment, which you furnish yourself, you should definitely take out a home contents insurance. It is already available from €30 per year up to €200-300 for a large or very high-quality household.

Legal Assistance Insurance

Known in German as Rechtsschutzversicherung

"Germany is a state of bureaucracy" This is not really a prejudice either. We are very correct and love our rules. In addition we like to insist on our right. Therefore it can happen that you unexpectedly get into a legal dispute in Germany. You could also take legal action yourself, for example against your employer or another road user who bumped into you. To minimize the costs, a legal protection insurance is suitable.

This form of insurance covers legal costs up to a certain amount (which varies depending on the contract).
Extrajudicial and judicial costs can be insured.
You are free to choose your lawyer.
Private and employment legal protection is offered. There is also legal protection for transport and also for your home.
Depending on the benefits, legal assistance insurance costs between €50 and €400 per year.

accident insurance

Known in German as Unfallversicherung

As an employee you are covered by a relatively generous accident insurance. However, treatment and loss of earnings are only covered if there are incidents on the way to and from work or if you are the victim of an accident at work. But many potential activities are not covered by the insurance, e.g. household activities, hobbies such as mountain biking or hiking. If you have a high accident risk in your private life, a private accident insurance can be very useful for you.

This insurance pays a one-time benefit depending on the long-term damage caused by the accident. The money is needed to finance long-term medical costs that are not covered by health policy and possibly for the conversion of your car, moving to a suitable apartment.
The accident insurance can be supplemented by payment in case of death, payment for hospitalization, payment for broken bones and much more. A monthly accident pension can also be included.
The costs depend on various factors. A good accident insurance starts at 20 Euro per month

life insurance

Known in German as Lebensversicherung

When it comes to life insurance, Germany offers a lot of possibilities. For the sake of simplicity, we distinguish two types:

risk insurance

In life, we take some risks, but even if we try to live as safely as possible: The risk of our death or the risk that we lose the ability to do our job always exists. You can insure these risks, even for a limited time during your stay in Germany. The benefit is due if the insured event occurs within the term.

The premium is only paid for the life insurer's promise to provide benefits in the event of an insured case. No additional savings are made. If the insured event does not occur during the term, no benefits are paid. The contract ends. You can take out risk insurance with regular or single premium payment. It can be useful to make arrangements for the worst case. Especially if your family is dependent on you and your work. You are welcome to inquire with us and we will calculate how much an insurance for you costs.

insurance to save money

Today, people are consuming more than ever before. The problem: by consuming you neither become rich nor happy. So we should urgently change our thinking and invest more than we consume.

But taking out an insurance to save money probably makes no sense for you. You are only temporarily in Germany and you will not work here until your retirement. In your case short-term savings contracts are more reasonable. But if you decide to stay longer in Germany, please contact us. There are a few possibilities how you can provide for your future.

Summary

You will defintly need a liability insurance for yourself and maybe your family. If you buy a car, you´ll also need a liabilty insurance for that.
In addition to the salutory health insurance you can take out additional health insurance to minimize your co-payments e.g. at the dentist or in the hospital.
If you move into your own flat or maybe already befor that, it could be useful to have a home contents insurance. This could insure your belongings in case of e.g. fire, tap water or storm.
And if you have problems with the law or you need consulting from a lawyer, you should think about a legal assistance insurance.
You are already insured in case of an accident. But just if it happens at work. It could be very useful to have a separately accident insurance, to be provided e.g. in daily activities and sports.
Much more expensive than the accident insurance is a ife insurance. It covers the risk of your death or the risk that you lose the ability to do your job. You can take out a short term insurance and protect yourself and your loved ones from financial risks.

For more information

contact us