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Insurance for Studying or training: what you really need
International students need health insurance to enrol, either statutory or a private plan recognised by the university. Personal liability is cheap and landlords of student flats often ask for it. If your parents live in Germany, you may already be covered under their family policy while in first training.
You can skip
- Phone insurance
Premiums over two years approach the value of the phone, and simple theft is usually excluded.
- Endowment or savings life policy
High upfront costs mean you lose money if you leave Germany and cancel after a few years.
The policies one by one
Personal liability
In Germany, anyone who negligently causes damage to someone else pays for it in full, with no upper limit. Private liability insurance (Privathaftpflicht) pays justified claims and fights …
Travel insurance
German insurers sell up to six different travel policies, but only one is essential: Auslandsreisekrankenversicherung, travel health insurance. Statutory health insurance pays only partly …
Occupational disability
Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung, usually shortened to BU, pays a monthly pension if illness or injury leaves you unable to work in your own occupation. It is the closest German equivalent to …
Contents insurance
In Germany, the insurance for your belongings is called Hausratversicherung. It pays new-for-old after fire, burst pipes, burglary, storm and hail. Unlike renters insurance in the US, it …
Bicycle and e-bike
Bike theft is common in German cities, and the cover most people assume they have often is not there. Contents insurance, called Hausrat, only pays for a bike stolen outside if a bicycle …
Why this order
The rule: existential risks first, expensive ones second, comfort last
First insure what could ruin you financially: unlimited liability towards others under the German Civil Code, the loss of your income through illness, and your house if you own one. Then losses that hurt but will not ruin you, such as replacing the contents of a flat. Comfort cover such as dental top-ups or travel extras comes last.
Pay small losses yourself. Every premium carries administration costs, so insuring a phone or glasses costs more over the years than it pays out. Compulsory in Germany are health insurance with long-term care cover for everyone, motor liability for every registered vehicle and, in several federal states, dog liability.