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What is the difference between statutory and private accident insurance in Germany?

In short

Statutory accident insurance (gesetzliche Unfallversicherung) only covers you at work, at school or nursery, in voluntary work and on the direct way there. It pays treatment, rehabilitation and a monthly pension from 20 percent reduced earning capacity, and your employer pays the contribution. Private cover applies around the clock worldwide and pays a lump sum, from about EUR 60 to 180 a year.

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What is the difference between statutory and private accident insurance in Germany?

What it costs

Private premiums from published tariff examples, plus the size of the statutory benefit and the statutory contribution.

Example	Typical range
Private, office job, EUR 100,000 basic sum, 350 percent progression	about EUR 60 to 180 a year
Private, manual trade, EUR 100,000 basic sum, 350 percent progression	about EUR 120 to 260 a year
Private, simple tariff, 225 percent progression, no accident pension	about EUR 44 to 215 a year
Statutory pension at 20 percent MdE on annual earnings of EUR 45,000	around EUR 6,000 a year, so about EUR 500 a month
What employers pay for statutory accident cover	on average EUR 1.08 per EUR 100 of payroll (2025)

Guide values as of September 2026. Premiums come from publicly quoted tariff examples; the statutory pension is calculated as two thirds of annual earnings multiplied by the degree of reduced earning capacity. Your own premium depends on age, occupation and health; we obtain the exact quote for you.

Worked example

The same fall off a bike, once on Monday, once on Sunday

Employee, 38, gross annual earnings of EUR 45,000, private policy with a basic sum of EUR 100,000 and 350 percent progression. A lasting injury to the leg remains.

Case 1: falling on the direct way to work	a commuting accident, the statutory insurer is responsible
Treatment and rehabilitation	paid in full by the statutory insurer, no co-payment
Reduction in earning capacity	20 percent
Statutory pension	two thirds of EUR 45,000 is EUR 30,000, 20 percent of that: about EUR 6,000 a year, ongoing
Lump sum from the statutory insurer	none, it pays monthly instead of once
Private policy in case 1	pays on top, it does not ask where the accident happened
Case 2: the same fall on a Sunday ride	not a case for statutory accident insurance
Treatment	through your health insurance, with the usual co-payments
Statutory pension	EUR 0
Private benefit at 40 percent disability under the Gliedertaxe	about EUR 40,000 to 55,000 as a single payment, depending on the progression table

In the first case money arrives for life, but no capital for adapting a bathroom or a car. In the second case nothing arrives unless you hold a private policy: about EUR 40,000 to 55,000 once, and no monthly pension. The two systems do not replace each other, they close different gaps.

Scope is what everything hangs on

Statutory accident insurance does not insure your life, it insures your activity. It covers you at work, at nursery, school and university, in many forms of recognised voluntary work, and on the direct way there and back. It is run by the trade associations (Berufsgenossenschaft) for employees and by public bodies for pupils. When the activity ends, the cover ends, at your front door.

Private accident insurance never asks what you were doing. It applies around the clock, worldwide, on holiday, playing sport, in the garden and on the cellar stairs. That is where most accidents happen: the federal institute for occupational safety (BAuA) estimated 9.73 million injured people for 2015, 7.04 million of them at home or in leisure time. The trade associations counted 689,922 reportable accidents at work and 170,306 commuting accidents (Wegeunfall) for 2025.

The two systems point by point

Both measure the same physical damage with different yardsticks. The statutory system counts reduction in earning capacity (Minderung der Erwerbsfähigkeit, MdE): how much of the general labour market is still open to you. Private insurers count a degree of disability taken from a fixed table of body parts (Gliedertaxe).

So the two figures are not interchangeable. The same knee injury can be 20 percent MdE in the statutory system and 40 percent disability under the private table. Do not carry one number over into the other claim.

Feature	Statutory accident insurance	Private accident insurance
Scope	work, school, nursery, voluntary work, the direct way there	around the clock, worldwide, leisure and home included
Who pays the contribution	the employer alone, public funds for school and nursery	you
Type of benefit	treatment, rehabilitation, sick pay (Verletztengeld), monthly pension	lump sum, plus an optional monthly accident pension
When it pays	pension only once the MdE lasts beyond the 26th week after the accident	once the lasting disability has been established
Threshold	pension from 20 percent MdE, nothing below that	usually no minimum, some tariffs only pay above a set degree
Deadlines	report the accident to your employer, who reports on if you are off for more than three days	establish and claim the disability within the agreed period, often 15 months, 24 to 36 in good tariffs
Pre-existing illness	checked: the accident must be the essential cause	its share is deducted, good tariffs only from 50 percent upwards

Who pays the bill

Employers carry the statutory contribution on their own. On average that was about EUR 1.08 per EUR 100 of payroll in 2025, so roughly one percent of gross wages. Nothing is taken from your salary, and for children in nursery and pupils at school public funds pay.

In return you cannot configure statutory cover at all: no scope, no sum, no add-ons. Private cover you pay for yourself, and there you choose the basic sum, the progression and the extras.

What neither of them does

Neither helps with illness. A slipped disc, depression, a tumour: none of these is an accident. Yet these causes are behind most cases in which people permanently lose the ability to earn a living.

That is why accident insurance is no substitute for income protection (Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung), and we say so plainly. If you live on your own earnings and can only afford one policy, insure your ability to work first. The other order round feels cheap and leaves the most likely risk open.

When you do not need a private policy

If you are in permanent employment, already hold income protection, have no risky hobbies and could fund an adapted bathroom or car from savings, the extra value is small. A second policy is then habit rather than need.

It matters, on the other hand, for children, for the self-employed with no statutory cover, for people running a household, for pensioners and for anyone who cannot get income protection because of a medical history.

Step by step

Count how many hours of your day are work and how many are private.
Check whether you have statutory cover at all: the self-employed, people running a household and pensioners usually do not.
Insure your ability to work first if you live on your own earnings.
Then choose private accident cover, with a basic sum of at least EUR 100,000 and progression.
Compare the body part table, the treatment of pre-existing illness and the deadlines, not only the premium.

Checklist

Statutory position clear: employment, school, voluntary work or none of these
Income protection in place before accident cover
Basic sum of at least EUR 100,000, progression of 225 to 350 percent
Pre-existing illness only counted from a high share upwards
At least 24 months to establish the lasting disability
Every accident on the way to work reported to your employer, even a short absence

Common mistakes

Assuming statutory cover also applies in your free time
Treating accident cover as a substitute for income protection
Not reporting a commuting accident and later being unable to prove the link
Looking only at the basic sum and ignoring the body part table

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Can I have both at the same time?

Yes, and that is the normal case. After an accident at work both pay: the statutory insurer monthly, the private insurer once. Neither is offset against the other.

When does a statutory pension start?

From 20 percent reduction in earning capacity, and only once that lasts beyond the 26th week after the accident. Below that there is no pension.

Does the statutory insurer ever pay a lump sum?

As a rule no. It pays treatment, rehabilitation, sick pay and a monthly pension. An existing pension can be commuted on request, but that is the exception.

Am I covered when working from home?

Yes for the work itself, and for the way through your home to your desk. Private steps in between, such as going to the washing machine, are not covered.

Are children covered in their free time?

No. At nursery, at school and on the way there yes, on the playground in the afternoon no. That is the main reason for a private policy for children.

Do I get documents in English?

Some insurers offer English documents or service, many do not. The German wording decides a claim, so ask us when a clause is unclear.

Are the benefits taxable?

The statutory pension is tax free, and so is the lump sum from a private policy. A private monthly accident pension is treated differently, so ask a tax adviser.