What insurance do I need as a student in Germany?

In short

What insurance do I need as a student in Germany? Only health insurance is compulsory: up to 25 often free through your family, otherwise as a student around EUR 145 to 152 a month including long term care. Liability and contents are often covered by your parents. Disability insurance is worth taking out early, at 20 about EUR 48 to 83 a month for a EUR 1,500 pension.

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What it costs

What the key policies for students in Germany cost, guide values from published figures.

Example	Typical range
Student health and long term care insurance, no children, age 23 or over	around EUR 145 to 152 a month
Family insurance through your parents	EUR 0, up to 25 while in education
Own personal liability, single tariff	about EUR 3 to 10 a month
Contents insurance for a WG room, basic tariff	from about EUR 1.84 a month
Disability insurance, age 20, EUR 1,500 pension	about EUR 48 to 83 a month depending on subject

Guide values as of October 2026 from published contribution figures and tariff examples.

The totals in the worked example are calculated from them.

Your premium depends on age, subject and cover;

Norman Nammert obtains quotes as an insurance broker.

Worked example

Student, 24, room in a shared flat, working student job

This is the bill if family insurance ends because of the job and the parents have a family liability tariff.

Student health and long term care insurance	around EUR 145 to 152 a month
Personal liability via the parents	EUR 0, first degree
Own contents insurance for the WG room	about EUR 2 to 5 a month
Disability insurance, EUR 1,500 pension, computer science	about EUR 50 a month

Around EUR 197 to 207 a month in total, of which only health insurance is compulsory. Guide values from our quoting practice.

What comes first for students

For students, what matters first is what could ruin you: illness, damage to other people and losing the ability to work. Everything else is optional. Many policies offered to you at the start of your studies are not needed as a student.

The table sorts the key policies into compulsory, important and optional. Details on liability, disability cover and shared flats are on the linked pages.

Insurance	For students
Health insurance	compulsory, via your family or as a student
Personal liability (Privathaftpflicht)	important, often via your parents
Disability insurance (Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung)	important, take it out early
Contents insurance (Hausrat)	usually via your parents, own policy with your own flat
Travel health insurance	important for trips and a semester abroad
Endowment life insurance	usually not needed
Term life insurance	only if someone lives on your income

Health insurance: family or student cover

Up to your 25th birthday you are covered by the family insurance of a parent in statutory health insurance while you are in school or vocational education, as section 10 SGB V sets out. Voluntary military service or a volunteer year can extend this limit.

Family insurance ends if your regular income exceeds one seventh of the monthly reference amount (Bezugsgröße). A mini job up to the marginal earnings limit is allowed. A well paid working student job can end family insurance.

After that you are compulsorily insured as a student, under section 5 SGB V until your 30th birthday at the latest, with exceptions for example for second chance education or family reasons. The contribution is based on the BAföG need rate and comes to around EUR 145 to 152 a month including long term care, depending on the health fund.

Liability and contents through your parents

During your first degree you are usually covered as a student by your parents' family liability tariff. Older policies often end at 25 or when you move out, so check the terms. A policy of your own costs about EUR 3 to 10 a month.

For your belongings in a student room, your parents' contents insurance often helps through its outside cover. Under the model terms VHB 2022, items are covered during education regardless of how long you are away, as long as you do not set up a household of your own. The payout is then usually limited to part of the sum insured.

Once you have your own flat and household, this route ends. You then need your own contents insurance, for a room in a shared flat (WG) from about EUR 1.84 a month.

Disability cover: cheapest now

Students usually have no claim yet to the statutory reduced earning capacity pension, because the qualifying period of five years of contributions is missing. If you become permanently ill while studying, you are left without income.

Disability insurance will never again be as cheap as at 20 and without pre-existing conditions. For a monthly pension of EUR 1,500 you pay about EUR 48 to 83 a month, depending on your subject. Starter tariffs lower the premium in the first years.

Accidents, going abroad and side jobs

At university, in the lecture hall and on the direct way there and back you have statutory accident cover, section 2 (1) no. 8 and section 8 SGB VII. This does not apply in your free time; private accident cover is a lower priority for students once disability cover is in place.

For a semester in another EU country, the European Health Insurance Card helps, but it pays no repatriation and no private doctors. Travel health insurance closes that gap, and outside Europe it is essential.

What students can skip

Endowment life insurance or a private pension plan ties up money that students are short of, and the costs rarely make it worthwhile. You only need term life cover once a partner or child depends on your income.

Phone or glasses insurance and trip cancellation cover for every journey usually cost students more than the damage they cover.

Step by step

Check whether family insurance still applies: under 25 and income below the limit.
Otherwise choose a health fund when you enrol and request the certificate for the university.
Ask your parents until when their liability and contents policies include you.
Look at disability insurance while you are young and healthy.
Take out travel health insurance before a semester abroad.
When you move into your own flat, rearrange liability and contents cover.

Checklist

Health insurance sorted, certificate sent to the university
Side job income watched because of family insurance
Liability via your parents confirmed or own policy
Contents via outside cover or own policy
Disability insurance checked
Travel health insurance for trips and a semester abroad

Common mistakes

Taking a well paid side job without telling the health fund
Assuming your parents' liability policy always covers you until 25
Putting off disability cover until health problems appear
Signing up for endowment life insurance at the start of your studies

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Do I have to take out my own health insurance as a student?

Only once family insurance ends, at 25 or if your income exceeds the limit.

Then you pay around EUR 145 to 152 a month.

What happens at 30?

Compulsory student insurance under section 5 SGB V generally ends at your 30th birthday.

After that most people continue on a voluntary basis; the health fund advises on the switch.

Am I covered by my parents' liability insurance as a student?

Usually yes, during your first degree and if your parents have a family tariff.

Older policies often have an age limit.

Do I need contents insurance as a student?

As long as you have no household of your own, your parents' outside cover often protects you.

With your own flat you need your own policy.

Is disability insurance worth it while studying?

Yes, students usually have no claim to the statutory reduced earning capacity pension,

and premiums are lowest when you are young.

Am I insured against accidents at university?

Yes, during studies at the university and on the direct way there and back through statutory

accident insurance, not in your free time.

Sources

NAMMERT insurance broker

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