Does disability insurance pay if I already get sick pay (Krankengeld)?
In short
Yes. Private disability insurance (Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung, BU) pays even if you already get sick pay (Krankengeld) from your health insurer, because a private pension does not suspend Krankengeld. What counts is whether you are expected to be unable to do at least 50 percent of your job for six months or more. Krankengeld stops after 78 weeks at most.
What can flow side by side during a long illness, and what a BU costs.
Example
Typical range
Statutory Krankengeld 2026
70 percent of gross pay, at most EUR 135.63 gross per day
Duration of Krankengeld
up to 78 weeks per illness within three years
BU, age 30, office job, EUR 1,500 monthly benefit
about EUR 70 a month
Average length of a BU review
about 190 days
As of October 2026.
Krankengeld under the Social Code V, premium from published tariff examples,
review time from a market study of cases decided in 2023.
How long a tariff treats sick leave as disability,
and when a private daily benefit ends, differs by contract;
the six months are an indicative value from our quoting practice.
Worked example
Nurse with a slipped disc
Signed off from January. After hospital it is clear that lifting and long shifts will not be possible for the foreseeable future. She reports to her BU insurer in July.
January to mid February
continued pay from the employer
From mid February
Krankengeld, about 70 percent of gross pay
Disability began in March according to the medical report
BU pension from April
Claim accepted in December
back payment April to December plus refunded premiums
From April she receives Krankengeld and the BU pension side by side. When Krankengeld ends, the BU pension continues as long as she is disabled.
Sick pay and a disability pension do not rule each other out
Your statutory health insurer suspends Krankengeld only in the cases listed in section 49 of the Social Code V, for example while you receive wages, unemployment benefit or transitional allowance. A private disability pension is not on that list, so you can receive Krankengeld and BU payments at the same time.
The disability insurer does not reduce its pension because your health insurer pays either. The industry's model terms contain no offsetting clause. People who get both often have more money in this phase than before, and that is how the system is meant to work.
Unable to work is not the same as occupationally disabled
For Krankengeld, a doctor's sick note is enough. The BU asks more: can you no longer do your last job to at least 50 percent, probably for good or for the period named in your contract?
Many contracts add a second route. If you have already been unable to do at least half of your job without interruption for a set time, the continuation counts as disability. Each tariff sets that time itself, often six months. A long period on Krankengeld is therefore often exactly the moment to file your disability claim.
The timeline: continued pay, Krankengeld, BU
Your employer pays you for the first six weeks (Entgeltfortzahlung), then the health insurer takes over. Krankengeld for the same illness runs for at most 78 weeks within three years. After that, people without a BU often depend on unemployment benefit or the state reduced earning capacity pension.
If your earning capacity is at serious risk, the health insurer can give you ten weeks to apply for rehabilitation (section 51 SGB V). Miss the deadline and Krankengeld stops until you apply. That is a good moment to notify your disability insurer too.
Phase
Who pays
How long
Weeks 1 to 6
Employer, continued pay
six weeks
From week 7
Health insurer, Krankengeld
up to 78 weeks per illness within three years
From the onset of disability
Disability insurer, on top of Krankengeld
until the agreed end of benefits
After Krankengeld ends
Disability insurer, possibly the state pension
as long as the disability lasts
A trap with private daily sickness benefit
If you are privately insured or self employed, you usually get a daily sickness benefit (Krankentagegeld) from your private health insurer instead of Krankengeld. Many of these tariffs end the payment as soon as occupational disability is established.
That is no reason to delay the BU claim. But without a BU, or with too small a BU pension, you would be left with no income once the daily benefit stops. Check when your tariff ends payments and whether there is a transition period.
When you do not need to file a BU claim yet
For flu, an operation with a clear recovery or a short sick leave, a disability claim is not worth it. The insurer reviews carefully, on average about 190 days, and asks for detailed documents.
Once it is clear that you will manage at most half of your job for months, prepare the claim alongside Krankengeld. The earlier you report, the safer your backdated payments.
Step by step
Collect sick notes and medical reports, including the reason for the sick leave.
Ask your doctor whether your job will be restricted for six months or longer.
Notify the BU insurer in text form as soon as that is likely.
Keep paying premiums or ask for a deferral, do not simply stop.
Keep claiming Krankengeld from your health insurer regardless.
Checklist
Reporting deadline in your BU terms read
Period after which long sick leave counts as disability found in the contract
Description of your working day with time shares ready
End date of Krankengeld or daily sickness benefit noted
Health insurer's deadline for a rehab application in view
Common mistakes
Believing the BU pays only after Krankengeld has ended
Putting off the claim until the health insurer stops paying
Simply stopping premiums during the review
Treating a sick note as proof of disability and forgetting the job description
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Will my Krankengeld be cut if I get a BU pension?
No.
Section 49 SGB V does not list a private disability pension among the reasons for suspending
Krankengeld.
Do I have to tell my health insurer about the BU pension?
It does not affect Krankengeld.
If the insurer asks about income, answer honestly; what matters there is earned income.
When should I notify the BU if I am off sick for a long time?
As soon as it is likely that you will manage at most half of your job for months.
After half a year of sick leave at the latest, check your terms.
Does the BU pay if I am unemployed after Krankengeld ends?
Yes, if the disability began while you were insured.
What counts is the job you last did while healthy.
What is an incapacity for work clause?
An add on in some tariffs that pays during longer sick leave,
usually for a limited time and before disability has been assessed.
Your terms show whether you have it.
Do I get back the premiums I pay during the review?
