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Am I covered by accident insurance when working from home in Germany?

In short

Yes. As an employee in Germany you have been covered by statutory accident insurance (gesetzliche Unfallversicherung) when working from home since 18 June 2021, to the same extent as at the office. Work, the walk to your desk, to the kitchen or the toilet and the trip to your child's daycare are covered. Private tasks in between, such as laundry or a parcel at the door, are not.

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Am I covered by accident insurance when working from home in Germany?

What it costs

What statutory cover at home costs you and pays, plus the price of private top-up cover from published German tariff examples.

Example	Typical range
Your own contribution to statutory accident insurance	EUR 0, your employer pays it
Injury benefit after a work accident at home	80 percent of gross pay, at most net pay, for up to 78 weeks
Injury pension at 30 percent reduced earning capacity and EUR 50,000 annual earnings	about EUR 10,000 a year, roughly EUR 830 a month
Private accident insurance, office job, basic sum EUR 100,000, 350 percent progression	about EUR 5 to 15 a month, EUR 60 to 180 a year

As of October 2026. The pension is calculated as two thirds of annual earnings times the reduction in earning capacity, without supplements. Private premiums come from published tariff examples; your premium depends on age, job and scope. We obtain the exact quote for you.

Worked example

Two falls on the same stairs on one home office day

Employee earning EUR 50,000 gross a year, works from home on Tuesdays. The study is in the basement.

8.05 am: fall on the way to the desk	work accident, statutory cover
Treatment and rehabilitation	paid in full by the Berufsgenossenschaft
Off work for more than six weeks	injury benefit, 80 percent of gross, at most net
Permanent reduction in earning capacity of 30 percent	two thirds of EUR 50,000 is EUR 33,333, 30 percent of that: about EUR 10,000 pension a year
12.30 pm: fall on the way to the washing machine	private, not a work accident
Benefits after the second fall	health insurance with co-payments, statutory pension EUR 0
With private accident insurance	pays in both cases for permanent disability under the limb table (Gliedertaxe)

Same stairs, two different outcomes. In the morning a permanent injury brings a lifelong pension, at lunchtime nothing from the statutory side. If you work from home, know what each walk is for.

What changed in 2021

Until mid 2021, cover at home was narrower than at the office. Walking to the kitchen for a glass of water was covered at work but not at home. Since 18 June 2021 the law says that work done at home or somewhere else is protected to the same extent as work on company premises.

A new trip was added at the same time. If you work from home and take your child to daycare (Kita) or a childminder (Tagesmutter), the direct way there and back is covered. Accidents up to and including 17 June 2021 fall under the old rule.

Situation when working from home	Statutory cover?
Working at your desk, a call with a customer	yes
First walk in the morning from bedroom to study	yes, if you start working straight away
Walking to the kitchen for a drink	yes, the walk; not cooking or eating itself
Walking to the toilet	yes, the walk; not the time spent there
Taking your child to daycare and returning to your desk	yes, on the direct route
Hanging up laundry during your lunch break	no
Going to the front door for a private parcel	no
Working in a café or a holiday flat	yes for the work itself; the trip there is often not covered

Where the line runs in everyday life

What counts is what you meant to do at the moment of the accident. If you carry your laptop down the stairs to your study, you are covered. If you take the same stairs to empty the dryer, you are not. At home the two blur easily, and that is exactly what claims disputes are about.

You have to show the link to your work. If you fall, write down the same day what you were about to do, and report the accident to your employer even if it seems minor. Tell the doctor it was a work accident (Arbeitsunfall), so the case goes to the employers' liability insurance association (Berufsgenossenschaft) and not to your health insurer.

What statutory accident insurance pays

For a recognised work accident at home you get the same benefits as at the office: treatment and rehabilitation without co-payments, after your employer's six weeks of continued pay an injury benefit (Verletztengeld) of 80 percent of gross pay, capped at net pay, and from a 20 percent reduction in earning capacity a pension of up to two thirds of your annual earnings.

Damage to your laptop, flat or furniture is not covered by statutory accident insurance. That depends on your employment contract and your own contents or liability insurance.

Who is not covered

Self-employed people and freelancers usually work in their home office without statutory accident cover, unless they have joined their Berufsgenossenschaft voluntarily. For them private accident insurance matters more than for employees.

Employees also have a gap at home: everything that is not work. Falling off a ladder while hanging curtains at 2 pm on a home office day is a leisure accident.

When you do not need anything extra

Working from home alone is no reason to buy a policy. Cover for your work is set by law and costs you nothing. Private accident insurance (private Unfallversicherung) makes sense for other reasons: housework, leisure and sport, self-employment, or if you cannot get occupational disability insurance (Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung).

Step by step

Check whether you are employed and covered by law, or self-employed without cover.
Agree home office days and working hours with your employer in writing.
After an accident, note at once where you were going and why.
Report the accident to your employer and tell the doctor it was a work accident.
Decide whether you want private cover for housework and leisure.

Checklist

Home office agreed with your employer
Accident reported to the doctor as a work accident
Purpose of the walk at the time of the accident written down
Trip to daycare direct, without private detours
If self-employed, voluntary cover with the Berufsgenossenschaft checked
Leisure risk at home insured on purpose or left open on purpose

Common mistakes

Assuming everything at home is covered, including housework
Not reporting a small fall and being unable to prove the link months later
As a freelancer, assuming the rule for employees applies to you
Letting the accident run through your health insurer instead of as a work accident

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Since when has home office cover been the same as at the office?

Since 18 June 2021. Accidents up to and including 17 June 2021 fall under the older, narrower rule.

Is the walk to the fridge covered?

Walking to the kitchen to get a drink or food is. Preparing and eating it is private, just as at the office.

Am I covered when I work in a café or on a train?

For the work itself yes, the law expressly mentions places other than your home. Trips to that place are often private.

Does cover apply without a written home office agreement?

What matters is that you work on your employer's behalf. A clear agreement makes proving it much easier.

Does statutory accident insurance pay for my broken laptop?

No, it only covers injuries to your health. Property damage depends on your contract and your own insurance.

Do I need private accident insurance because I work from home?

Not for the work. It is worth considering for leisure, housework and sport, where statutory cover pays nothing.

Sources

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