What insurance do judges and public prosecutors need in Germany?
In short
What insurance judges and public prosecutors need in Germany barely differs from other civil servants: first health insurance with Beihilfe, then cover for unfitness for service while there is no pension, in higher service at 35 from about EUR 118 a month for a EUR 2,500 pension. Judges are liable for judgments only if they commit a crime, yet duty liability still makes sense.
Guide values from publicly quoted tariff examples, 2025 and 2026.
Example
Typical range
Unfitness cover, higher service, age 35, EUR 2,500 pension
from about EUR 118 a month
Health insurance with Beihilfe, age 30, 50 percent Beihilfe
about EUR 250 to 400 a month
Private liability with duty liability for administration and justice
about EUR 90 a year
Raising financial loss cover from EUR 3,000 to EUR 250,000
about EUR 105 a year extra, net
Legal expenses cover, private and employment, one person
about EUR 250 a year
Premiums from publicly quoted tariff examples;
the legal provisions and model terms have been checked.
The worked example uses guide values from our quoting practice.
Your premium depends on age, health and employer; we obtain the exact quote for you.
Worked example
Judge on probation, 31, state service
Two years in service, single, healthy, tenure still pending.
Health insurance with Beihilfe
about EUR 260 to 400 a month
Unfitness cover, EUR 2,500 pension
about EUR 105 to 125 a month
Private liability with duty add-on, EUR 90 a year
about EUR 7.50 a month
Legal expenses cover, EUR 250 a year
about EUR 21 a month
About EUR 395 to 555 a month in total. After tenure, the unfitness pension can be reduced over the years.
Judges and public prosecutors under civil service law
Public prosecutors (Staatsanwälte) are civil servants. Judges have their own service relationship under the German Judiciary Act (Deutsches Richtergesetz). Under section 46, federal civil service law applies accordingly to federal judges, and under section 71 the Civil Servants Status Act to state judges.
For insurance this means that Beihilfe, pay and pensions work much like for civil servants. Judges and public prosecutors need private health insurance to top up Beihilfe, and a pension for unfitness arises only after five years of service under section 4 of the Civil Servants Pension Act.
Judicial privilege and its limits
If a judge breaches an official duty in a judgment, section 839 paragraph 2 of the Civil Code (BGB) makes them liable only if the breach is a criminal offence. This largely protects judicial decisions themselves.
The privilege expressly does not apply to a wrongful refusal or delay in performing the office. It also does not apply to prosecutors or to tasks outside a judgment, such as court administration or handling files, keys or equipment. There normal liability for gross negligence applies, for state prosecutors under section 48 of the Civil Servants Status Act.
Probation: the years with the highest risk
Under section 12 of the German Judiciary Act, judges on probation must be given tenure at the latest five years after appointment. Until then, section 22 allows dismissal without further reason at the end of the 6th, 12th, 18th or 24th month, and later for lack of suitability.
If you fall ill and leave during this time, there is no pension. Disability cover with a genuine unfitness for service clause that includes judges on probation closes this gap. Check that the tariff expressly names judges, because they are not civil servants in the narrow sense.
Legal expenses cover for judges and public prosecutors
Under the German insurers association model terms (ARB 2012), employment legal cover also includes public law service relationships for claims under service and pension law, such as assessments, promotion or pensions.
Disciplinary and professional legal cover is often more important; under the model terms it has no waiting period. Standard criminal legal cover helps little with offences in office: perversion of justice (Rechtsbeugung) carries at least one year in prison and is therefore a felony, which is not covered. Offences that can only be committed intentionally, such as obstruction of prosecution in office, are excluded too. The model terms offer extended criminal cover as an option, which pays retroactively if you are not convicted of intent.
Order of priority for judges and public prosecutors
The table ranks by urgency; premiums are guide values.
Rank
Insurance
Guide value
1
Health insurance to top up Beihilfe
about EUR 250 to 400 a month at 30
2
Disability cover with unfitness clause
from about EUR 118 a month for EUR 2,500 pension at 35
3
Private liability with duty liability
about EUR 90 a year
4
Legal expenses cover with disciplinary and extended criminal module
about EUR 250 a year for private and employment, modules extra
later
Accident insurance for free time
about EUR 60 to 180 a year
What judges and public prosecutors rarely need
An expensive financial loss liability policy with high limits hardly pays off for pure judicial work, because judicial privilege applies there. After many tenured years, unfitness cover also matters less, as the pension grows.
If you work as an arbitrator, expert or lecturer on your own account, you need separate cover for that. There are pages for self-employed people by type of business.
Step by step
Take out health insurance with Beihilfe, using the opening campaign for pre-existing conditions.
Choose unfitness cover that expressly names judges on probation.
Add duty liability, including tasks outside judgments.
Check legal expenses cover with a disciplinary module and extended criminal cover.
Review pension amount and modules after tenure.
Checklist
Unfitness clause applies to judges, not only civil servants
Clause also pays on dismissal during probation
Duty liability covers keys and equipment
Legal expenses cover includes disciplinary and extended criminal cover
Side activities on your own account insured separately
Common mistakes
Relying on judicial privilege although it does not cover delays and administrative tasks
Choosing a tariff that names only civil servants
Postponing unfitness cover until tenure
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Are judges liable for wrong judgments?
Only if the breach of duty in the judgment is a criminal offence.
The privilege does not cover delays or administrative tasks.
Are judges civil servants in Germany?
No, they have their own service relationship.
Civil service law applies accordingly, for example for Beihilfe and pensions.
How long is probation for judges?
At most five years, after which judges on probation must be given tenure.
Until the end of the second year, dismissal without reason is possible.
Do prosecutors need duty liability insurance?
It makes sense, because judicial privilege does not apply to them and they are liable to their
employer for gross negligence.
Does legal expenses cover pay if I am accused of perversion of justice?
Standard criminal cover does not, because it is a felony.
Only extended criminal cover can help; it pays retroactively if you are not convicted of intent.
