01
Basic
Model Gliedertaxe, moderate progression, standard 15-month deadlines, reduction from 25 percent pre-existing contribution. Covers severe accidents, leaves gaps for wear-related injuries.
Home / Insurance broker / Personal
Personal accident insurance in Germany: the cover your employer's scheme does not give you
If you work in Germany, you are covered by statutory accident insurance at work and on your commute, but not at home, on holiday or while doing sport. German private accident insurance pays a lump sum for permanent physical impairment after an accident. It is common here and often misunderstood by newcomers.
The question almost everyone asks first
Do I need private accident insurance if I already have health insurance in Germany?
Health insurance pays for treatment, not for the lasting consequences of an injury. After a leisure accident, nobody in the German system pays you a lump sum for a stiff knee, a rebuilt bathroom or lost earnings. Private accident insurance does exactly that. It is most useful for children, the self-employed and people who cannot get income protection. If you can get occupational disability insurance, buy that first, because illness causes far more lost careers than accidents.
Do the maths
The limb table: what an accident pays
German policies fix a degree of disability for the loss of each body part. With progression, payouts grow faster in serious cases.
Values from the German model conditions (GDV), progression as a common model scale.
What the Berufsgenossenschaft covers, and what it does not
As an employee in Germany you are automatically insured by your employer's Berufsgenossenschaft, the statutory accident insurer for your industry. It pays for accidents at work and on the direct route between home and work. Your employer pays the contribution, which is why you never see it on your payslip.
Outside that, you are on your own. A cycling fall on a Sunday, a skiing accident in Austria or a slip on the stairs at home are not covered. Even for work accidents, a statutory injury pension is only paid if your earning capacity is reduced by at least 20 percent beyond the 26th week after the accident. Freelancers are not covered at all unless they join their Berufsgenossenschaft voluntarily.
How a German accident policy calculates what it pays
German policies do not work like UK or US accidental death and dismemberment cover with a fixed sum per injury. They use a table called the Gliedertaxe, which assigns a percentage to each body part. Losing the full use of a hand might be 55 or 70 percent, depending on the insurer. That percentage is multiplied by your base sum (Grundsumme).
Many contracts add progression: above a certain degree of impairment, the payout rises faster than the percentage. A policy with 350 percent progression pays three and a half times the base sum for total impairment. Sales brochures like to quote that maximum. For comparison, the base sum and the Gliedertaxe matter much more.
If a pre-existing condition or wear and tear contributed to the injury, the insurer reduces the payout. Standard terms do so from a 25 percent contribution, better policies only from 50 percent or more. This clause decides many claims involving knees, shoulders and the spine.
Deadlines that catch newcomers out
The model terms published by the German Insurance Association (AUB 2014 and 2020) require the permanent impairment to arise within 15 months of the accident, to be certified in writing by a doctor and to be claimed from the insurer within that time. Miss the deadline and the claim is lost, even if the injury is obvious.
If you are treated abroad, keep every medical report and have them translated early. A German insurer will need a doctor's statement that a lasting impairment is likely. Good policies extend the deadlines considerably, which is worth more than most optional extras.
What is covered
- Accidents during leisure, sport, housework and travel, worldwide and around the clock
- Lump sum for permanent impairment according to the Gliedertaxe
- Progression for severe cases, if agreed
- Monthly accident pension from a set degree of impairment, if agreed
- Search, rescue and helicopter recovery costs
- Cosmetic surgery after an accident
- Death benefit for dependants, if agreed
- Depending on the policy: tick-borne diseases, poisoning of children, strains from extra physical effort
What is not covered
- Illness, including heart attack and stroke
- Damage caused mainly by wear and tear
- Accidents under the influence of alcohol or drugs above the policy's limits
- Accidents while committing a deliberate crime
- Psychological reactions without physical injury, except in top-tier policies
- Motor racing and extreme sports unless specifically included
Who needs it
- Children, who have no statutory cover outside nursery and school
- Freelancers and company founders without a voluntary Berufsgenossenschaft membership
- Anyone who cannot get or afford occupational disability insurance
- Active people who cycle, ski, climb or dive
- Retirees who would need practical help at home after a fall
Who can do without
- Employees who already hold good occupational disability insurance and have savings to cover adapting a home
Wheel of misfortune
Spin the wheel of bad luck
Six things that really happen. The wheel picks yours and shows who pays.
Cost:
Budget policy
Strong policy
See all six cases
- Ski crash in Austria, helicopter lift, helicopter rescue from the mountains: several thousand euros. Budget policy: pays in part, Strong policy: pays. Basic German policies pay rescue costs up to about €5,000, which a long mountain operation can exceed. Strong ones go to €25,000 or more.
- E-scooter fall on cobblestones, wrist fracture with lasting stiffness: four- to five-figure payout. Budget policy: pays, Strong policy: pays. A fall caused by an uneven road is a classic accident. Unless you were commuting, the Berufsgenossenschaft pays nothing, so the private policy is the only lump sum.
- Tick bite in the Black Forest, lasting joint or nerve damage: payout by degree of impairment. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays. Infections are excluded in the model terms, and basic policies only add back tetanus and rabies. Strong policies include Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.
- Dizzy spell, fall down the stairs, spinal fracture with lasting damage: five to six figures. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays. A fall caused by a blackout counts as loss of consciousness, excluded in basic cover. Strong policies pay even when a stroke or heart attack triggered the fall.
- Slipped disc lifting moving boxes, surgery, rehab and possible lasting damage: four to five figures. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays in part. Without an external event, basic cover sees no accident. Strong policies accept injuries from your own movement but still deduct for wear and tear.
- Heart attack on a bike ride, hospital, rehab and lost income: easily five figures. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: does not pay. A heart attack is an illness, and no accident policy covers illness. That gap is what occupational disability insurance is for.
What it costs
Premiums in Germany depend mainly on the base sum and your occupational risk class. Office workers and children pay least, manual trades and older people more.
What drives the premium
- Base sum and progression
- Occupational risk class, usually A for office work and B for manual work
- Age, particularly after 60 or 65
- Extras such as accident pension, death benefit, hospital daily allowance
- Minimum degree of impairment before anything is paid
- Contract term and payment frequency
We do not quote a premium range, because prices vary too much with the base sum and occupation. Your premium is only fixed in the quote.
The policy levels on the market
02
Comfort
Improved Gliedertaxe, longer deadlines, reduction only from 40 or 50 percent, wider definition of accident, tick bites included. A sensible choice for most adults.
03
Premium
Very generous Gliedertaxe, long deadlines, psychological consequences and own-movement injuries included, guaranteed future improvements of the terms.
How to recognise a good policy
| Criterion | Minimum standard | Strong policy | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gliedertaxe | model values of the German Insurance Association | clearly higher percentages for hand, foot and eye | With the same base sum, this table decides how much money you actually receive. |
| Deadlines for impairment | 15 months | 36 months to arise, 48 months to claim | Missed deadlines are the most common reason valid claims fail. |
| Pre-existing conditions | reduction from 25 percent | reduction only from 60 to 100 percent | Most adults have some joint wear, and that is where reductions bite. |
| Definition of accident | includes strains from extra effort on limbs | includes own movements without external impact | A torn ligament from twisting your knee is otherwise often not an accident. |
| Loss of consciousness | excluded | included, even when caused by a stroke or heart attack | Falling after fainting would otherwise not be covered at all. |
| Rescue costs | up to €5,000 | €25,000 or more | Mountain rescue by helicopter quickly costs five figures and is not fully paid by health insurance. |
| Improvement guarantee | none | future better terms apply automatically | Your old contract then benefits from later improvements without a new health check. |
Insurers on the German market
Almost every German property and casualty insurer sells accident cover. The differences lie in the Gliedertaxe, deadlines and pre-existing condition clause, often between two product lines of the same company. This is a market overview, not a statement about which insurers we work with.
| Insurer | Background |
|---|---|
| Allianz | German non-life company of the Allianz group, sold through agents and brokers |
| AXA | German arm of the French AXA group, agents and brokers |
| ERGO | owned by Munich Re, agents, brokers and direct sales |
| R+V | insurer of the German cooperative banks |
| Gothaer | group headed by a mutual, agents and brokers |
| InterRisk | part of the Austrian Vienna Insurance Group, sells through brokers |
| Die Haftpflichtkasse | mutual insurer, sells through brokers |
| Ammerländer | regional mutual from Lower Saxony, sells through brokers |
| HUK-COBURG | sells through its own network only, does not work with brokers |
From the BaFin register
123
123 insurers supervised by BaFin, the German regulator, are licensed for this class of insurance. (Unfall, Summenversicherung)
Show all 123 names from the register
- ACM Versicherung AG
- ADAC Versicherung AG
- ADLER Versicherung AG
- Allianz Direct Versicherungs-AG
- Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE
- Allianz Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- Alte Leipziger Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- Ambra Versicherung AG
- AMMERLÄNDER VERSICHERUNG Versicherungsverein a.G. (VVaG)
- ARAG Allgemeine Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- Astra Versicherung AG
- AXA Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- BA die Bayerische Allgemeine Versicherung AG
- Badischer Gemeinde-Versicherungs-Verband
- Baloise Sachversicherung Aktiengesellschaft Deutschland
- Barmenia Allgemeine Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- BavariaDirekt Versicherung AG
- Bayerischer Versicherungsverband Versicherungsaktiengesellschaft
- BD24 Berlin Direkt Versicherung AG
- BGV-Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- Concordia Versicherungs-Gesellschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit
- Continentale Sachversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- Cosmos Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- DA Deutsche Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- DARAG Deutschland AG
- Debeka Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft Sitz Koblenz am Rhein
- Delvag Versicherungs-AG
- DEVK Allgemeine Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- DEVK Deutsche Eisenbahn Versicherung Sach- und HUK-Versicherungsverein a.G. Betriebliche Sozialeinrichtung der Deutschen Bahn
- DFV Deutsche Familienversicherung AG
- Dialog Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- Die Haftpflichtkasse VVaG
- ERGO Direkt Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- ERGO Reiseversicherung AG
- ERGO Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- Euro-Aviation Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- EUROPA Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- Fahrlehrerversicherung Verein auf Gegenseitigkeit
- Feuersozietät Berlin Brandenburg Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- GARANTA Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- Generali Deutschland Versicherung AG
- Gothaer Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- Gothaer Versicherungsbank VVaG
- Great Lakes Insurance SE
- GRUNDEIGENTÜMER-VERSICHERUNG Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
- GVO Gegenseitigkeit Versicherung Oldenburg VVaG
- GVV Direktversicherung AG
- GVV-Kommunalversicherung, Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
- Hamburger Feuerkasse Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- HanseMerkur Allgemeine Versicherung AG
- HanseMerkur Reiseversicherung AG
- HDI Global SE
- HDI Global Specialty SE
- HDI Haftpflichtverband der Deutschen Industrie Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
- HDI Versicherung AG
- Helvetia Schweizerische Versicherungsgesellschaft AG Direktion für Deutschland
- Helvetia Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- HUK-COBURG Haftpflicht-Unterstützungs-Kasse kraftfahrender Beamter Deutschlands a.G. in Coburg
- HUK-COBURG-Allgemeine Versicherung AG
- HUK24 AG
- Häger Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
- Hübener Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- IDEAL Versicherung AG
- INTER Allgemeine Versicherung AG
- Interlloyd Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- InterRisk Versicherungs-AG Vienna Insurance Group.
- ISSELHORSTER Versicherung V.a.G.
- Itzehoer Versicherung/Brandgilde von 1691 Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
- Janitos Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- KRAVAG-LOGISTIC Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- KRAVAG-SACH Versicherung des Deutschen Kraftverkehrs Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
- KS Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- Landschaftliche Brandkasse Hannover
- LBN Versicherungsverein a.G. (VVaG)
- Lifestyle Protection AG
- Lippische Landesbrandversicherung AG
- LVM Landwirtschaftlicher Versicherungsverein Münster a.G.
- Mannheimer Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- Markel Insurance SE
- Mecklenburgische Versicherungs-Gesellschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit
- MVK Versicherung VVaG
- MÜNCHENER VEREIN Allgemeine Versicherungs-AG
- NEH Neue Hildener Versicherung AG
- Neodigital Versicherung AG
- neue leben Unfallversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- Newline Europe Versicherung AG
- nexible Versicherung AG
- NV-Versicherungen VVaG
- NÜRNBERGER Allgemeine Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- NÜRNBERGER BEAMTEN ALLGEMEINE VERSICHERUNG AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
- OKV - Ostdeutsche Kommunalversicherung auf Gegenseitigkeit
- Ostangler Brandgilde, Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit (VVaG)
- ProTect Versicherung AG
- Provinzial Nord Brandkasse Aktiengesellschaft
- Provinzial Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- PVAG Polizeiversicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- R+V Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- RheinLand Versicherungs Aktiengesellschaft
- Rhion Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- S DirektVersicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- SAARLAND Feuerversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- SHB Allgemeine Versicherung VVaG
- SIGNAL IDUNA Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- SIGNAL IDUNA Unfallversicherung a. G.
- Sparkassen-Versicherung Sachsen Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- Stuttgarter Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- SV SparkassenVersicherung Gebäudeversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- TRIAS Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- Uelzener Allgemeine Versicherungs-Gesellschaft a.G.
- Union Reiseversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- uniVersa Allgemeine Versicherung AG
- VHV Allgemeine Versicherung AG
- VOLKSWOHL-BUND SACHVERSICHERUNG AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
- VPV Allgemeine Versicherungs-AG
- VRK Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit im Raum der Kirchen
- Waldenburger Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- WGV-Versicherung AG
- WWK Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- Württembergische Gemeinde-Versicherung auf Gegenseitigkeit
- Württembergische Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- Würzburger Versicherungs-AG
- Zurich Insurance Europe AG
- Öffentliche Feuerversicherung Sachsen-Anhalt
Source: BaFin company database, retrieved 18 September 2026. Insurers from other EU countries selling through a branch or without a German office are not included.
Legal basis and sources
Products and add-ons
Individual and family policy
One contract for yourself or your household, each person with their own base sum.
Children's accident insurance
High base sum at low cost. Some insurers offer a children's disability policy instead, which also pays after serious illness.
Senior accident insurance
Lower sums, but practical help after an accident such as shopping, cleaning and transport for a few months.
Accident pension
Lifelong monthly payment from a set degree of impairment, usually 50 percent, on top of the lump sum.
Premium refund policy
Accident cover with a savings element. Much more expensive with low returns. Usually better to insure the risk and invest separately.
Myth or truth
True or false?
Five things people say about this insurance. Guess first, then see the answer.
My German employer's insurance covers me around the clock.
This is false.
False. The Berufsgenossenschaft only pays for accidents at work and on the direct commute. A hiking fall on Saturday is covered by your health insurance for treatment, but nobody pays a lump sum for lasting damage.
German accident insurance can pay out even if you never miss a day of work.
This is true.
True. It pays for lasting physical impairment, not for lost income. Someone who loses the full use of a finger gets money even if they keep working in the office as before.
A tick bite in a German forest can be an insurance claim.
This is true.
True, if the policy includes infections from tick bites. Tick-borne encephalitis is concentrated in southern Germany, Lyme disease occurs across the country. Strong policies include both, basic ones often neither.
You need a German passport to buy accident insurance here.
This is false.
False. Insurers want a residence in Germany and an account in the SEPA area for the premium. Nationality plays no role in the price or the cover.
Accident insurance just pays the hospital bill.
This is false.
False. Treatment costs are your health insurer's job. An accident policy pays a lump sum for lasting impairment, plus agreed extras such as rescue costs or a daily hospital allowance.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the employer's statutory cover also applies at weekends
- Buying accident insurance instead of occupational disability insurance
- Comparing only the headline maximum with progression
- Missing the 15-month deadline while being treated abroad
- Not telling the insurer about a move from office work to manual work
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Does German accident insurance pay out if I have an accident in my home country?
Yes. Private accident policies in Germany normally cover you worldwide. You will need medical reports the insurer can assess, so ask for detailed written findings and keep copies. Deadlines run regardless of where you were treated.
Am I covered by my employer if I have an accident while working from home?
Since 2021, German law extends statutory cover to activities at home that are directly part of your work, and to the route to your children's nursery when working from home. Making coffee in your kitchen or going to the shops is generally not covered.
What is the Gliedertaxe?
It is a fixed table in the policy that gives each body part a percentage for complete loss or loss of function, for example an arm, a hand, an eye or hearing. Partial loss gives a proportional share. It is the core of every German accident policy.
Does accident insurance pay for a slipped disc?
Usually not, or only in part. Insurers treat a slipped disc as caused mainly by wear unless an accident was the main cause. Strong policies include own-movement injuries and reduce payouts only when pre-existing damage clearly dominates.
Is accident insurance the same as income protection?
No. Accident insurance pays a lump sum based on physical impairment after an accident. The German equivalent of income protection is occupational disability insurance (Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung), which pays a monthly pension if you cannot work in your job, whatever the cause.
Should I insure my children against accidents in Germany?
It is one of the more useful policies for children. Statutory cover applies only at nursery, school and on the way there. Children cannot yet get disability insurance, and a lasting injury affects their whole working life.
Can I keep my policy if I leave Germany?
That depends on the insurer. Many policies continue if you move within the EU, some end when you give up your German residence. Check the terms before you move and tell your insurer about the new address.
How much base sum should I choose?
Work from what you would need at a medium impairment of 20 to 50 percent: adapting a home, a car, aids and several years of reduced income. The maximum with progression only matters in rare severe cases.
Can the insurer cancel after I make a claim?
Yes. After an insured event, both sides may cancel the contract. That is one reason to choose a good policy from the start rather than switching later with a claims history.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Accident insurance
We obtain quotes and come back with a comparison. Free of charge and without obligation: the insurer pays our commission. You can write in English.
Thank you, we have your request.
We will be in touch within one working day. If it is urgent: +49 3375 29 12 77.
Often goes with it
Do I need occupational disability insurance if I have just moved to Germany?
How much term life cover do I need in Germany?
Do my employees in Germany need group accident insurance if the Berufsgenossenschaft already covers them?
What does German public health insurance not cover?
Ten life situations, sorted honestly
Find your case, see which policy pays
What we would talk you out of
Boat or yacht? Here we are not the broker but the underwriting agency, with our own policies and our own claims handling.
Boat insuranceNAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act, broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37. For boat and yacht insurance we act as underwriting agency, not as broker. Statutory disclosure (German) · Updated