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What is the transitional benefit (Übergangsleistung) in German accident insurance?

In short

The transitional benefit (Übergangsleistung) is a fixed lump sum in German private accident insurance. It pays if, six months after the accident, you are still at least 50 percent impaired without a break. You usually have to claim it within seven months of the accident, with a medical certificate. What it gives you is money long before the disability payment is settled.

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What is the transitional benefit (Übergangsleistung) in German accident insurance?

What it costs

Documented sums from policy terms and premium ranges for the whole contract, as of 2026.

Example	Typical range
Whole contract, office job, EUR 100,000 basic sum, 350 percent progression	about EUR 60 to 180 a year
Whole contract, manual trade, same sum and progression	about EUR 120 to 260 a year
Cap on the transitional benefit in one set of policy terms	up to 5 percent of the disability sum, at most EUR 30,000
Improved version with full impairment after three months	50 percent of the sum in advance, the rest after six months
Recommended amount according to a guide	3 to 6 monthly salaries
Extra premium for EUR 10,000 transitional benefit	guide value EUR 10 to 30 a year

As of October 2026.

Premium ranges from publicly quoted tariff examples,

conditions and caps from the policy terms listed.

The extra premium for the transitional benefit and the figures in the example are guide values

from our quoting practice.

Your premium depends on age, job and scope; we obtain the exact quote for you.

Worked example

Self-employed graphic designer, serious bike accident in March

Complex fracture of elbow and wrist, two operations, long rehab. She can hardly work for months. This is how the transitional benefit works.

Disability basic sum	EUR 200,000
Agreed transitional benefit	EUR 10,000
Impairment after six months, per certificate	60 percent, without interruption
Claim with certificate	in month six, before the seven months run out
Payout	EUR 10,000 in the autumn
Disability payment	later, once the permanent damage is medically confirmed

With fixed costs of about EUR 2,500 a month, the EUR 10,000 bridge roughly four months. Without the add-on she would have lived on savings until the disability payment.

What the transitional benefit pays and when

The transitional benefit is an add-on in German private accident insurance (Unfallversicherung). It pays a fixed amount that you choose when you sign the contract, regardless of how high the disability later turns out to be. The yardstick is not the limb table (Gliedertaxe) but your normal physical or mental capacity at work or in daily life.

The usual clause requires three things at once: six months after the accident you are still at least 50 percent impaired, this impairment lasted the full six months without a break, and no illness or prior condition contributed. Your claim with a medical certificate must reach the insurer no later than seven months after the accident.

Condition	Usual rule	What to watch
Degree of impairment	at least 50 percent	overall capacity counts, not the value of one body part
Duration	six months without interruption	a few good weeks in between can cost you the claim
Contribution of illness	must not be involved	disclose prior conditions at the injured spot early
Claim	no later than seven months after the accident	ask for the certificate in time, not in month seven
Amount	the agreed sum as a lump sum	check caps in the policy terms

Why it exists: the gap until the disability payment

The main benefit, the disability payment (Invaliditätsleistung), only comes once a doctor has confirmed the permanent damage. Many contracts allow 15 months or more for this. More than a year can pass before money arrives.

Employees keep their pay for up to six weeks, then the statutory health insurer pays sick pay of 70 percent of regular earnings, capped at 90 percent of net pay. Self-employed people without daily sickness benefit often have no income at all while rent, loans and running costs continue. This is the gap the transitional benefit is meant to close.

Who should take it and who can skip it

The threshold is high. A simple fracture that has healed after three or four months will normally not meet the 50 percent after six months. The transitional benefit only applies after really serious accidents, and then it is valuable.

If you have good daily sickness benefit, you rarely need it. If you are self-employed, have high fixed costs or might need to adapt your home or car after a serious accident, it puts money in your hands early.

Situation	Assessment
Employed, with daily sickness benefit	usually not needed, pay and sickness benefit bridge the gap
Self-employed, no daily sickness benefit	worth it, set the sum at three to six months of fixed costs
Home owner, adaptations possible after a serious accident	worth it, costs arise before the disability payment
Children and pupils	rarely needed, the basic sum and progression matter more
Retirees	better choose services such as household help

Transitional benefit, immediate benefit and Übergangsgeld

Some tariffs offer an immediate benefit (Sofortleistung) instead of or alongside the transitional benefit. It pays an amount after specific severe injuries listed in the policy terms, without waiting six months. Check whether that amount is later deducted from the disability payment or comes on top.

The Übergangsgeld of the German statutory accident insurance is something else. It is paid when you take part in vocational rehabilitation, such as retraining, after a work accident or occupational disease. It has nothing to do with your private policy.

Step by step

Check whether continued pay, sick pay or daily sickness benefit already cover the first months.
Add up your fixed monthly costs if you are self-employed.
Set the transitional benefit at three to six months of those costs.
Read degree, duration, deadline and cap in the policy terms.
After a serious accident, ask for the certificate early and submit it before month seven ends.

Checklist

Basic sum and progression set before adding extras
Transitional benefit only if a real loss of income is likely
Seven month deadline noted in your calendar
Version with part payment after three months checked
Difference between transitional and immediate benefit understood
Deduction from the disability payment checked in the policy terms

Common mistakes

Missing the deadline because the disability is not yet settled
Expecting a payment for minor injuries that heal within a few months
Buying an expensive add-on and saving on the basic sum instead
Confusing the private transitional benefit with the statutory Übergangsgeld

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

When is the transitional benefit paid?

In the usual version after six months, once the conditions are met and the certificate is in.

Improved versions pay half after three months if you were fully impaired until then.

Do I have to pay it back if I recover?

The usual clause looks only at the situation after six months and contains no repayment rule.

Advances that are deducted from the disability payment can be different.

Your policy terms decide.

How high should the transitional benefit be?

As a rule of thumb, three to six months of your fixed costs or income.

Many tariffs set a cap, for example a share of the disability sum.

Does a prior condition count against me?

Yes, the impairment must exist without illness or prior conditions contributing.

If one did, the claim can fail.

Is it the same as daily sickness benefit?

No.

Daily sickness benefit pays per day of inability to work, also after illness.

The transitional benefit is a one-off sum and only after an accident.

Do I need it as an employee in Germany?

Usually not.

Six weeks of continued pay and then sick pay cover the first period.

It becomes useful if high costs arise before the disability payment.

Sources

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