Existenzschutz insurance (Existenzschutzversicherung) is a policy sold in Germany that pays a pension when a listed trigger occurs: losing basic abilities such as walking or seeing, certain serious illnesses, a need for care or severe accident consequences. Your job does not matter. For a EUR 1,000 to 2,000 pension it costs about EUR 30 to 140 a month. Mental illness is mostly not covered.
Net monthly premiums for multi-risk policies from a published market overview.
Example
Typical range
Office clerk, age 30, EUR 1,000 pension
about EUR 30 to 65 a month
Nursery teacher, age 28, EUR 1,200 pension
about EUR 30 to 60 a month
Roofer, age 35, EUR 1,500 pension
about EUR 60 to 110 a month
Self-employed consultant, age 42, EUR 2,000 pension
about EUR 80 to 140 a month
Figures from published example calculations, as of October 2026.
Your premium depends on age, job, health and pension amount; we obtain the exact offer.
Worked example
Roofer, 35, wants cover for a EUR 1,500 pension
A BU would be expensive. This is how it compares with Existenzschutz.
Occupational disability, EUR 1,500 pension
about EUR 200 to 250 a month
Existenzschutz, EUR 1,500 pension
about EUR 60 to 110 a month
Saving
about EUR 90 to 190 a month
The price for it
no benefit for mental illness and often none for back problems
Affordable basic cover for severe physical cases, but no replacement for a BU for the most common causes.
One name, different products
Existenzschutz is not a term from German law. Insurers and banks use it for policies that bundle several triggers in one contract. Specialists speak of multi-risk insurance. What exactly is covered is only found in the terms of the individual tariff.
Four building blocks are typical: losing basic abilities (Grundfähigkeiten) such as walking, seeing, hearing or gripping, a list of serious illnesses such as cancer or stroke, a need for long-term care from a certain care grade (Pflegegrad), and severe accident consequences. If a trigger occurs, you get a monthly pension or a lump sum.
Difference from occupational disability insurance
Occupational disability insurance (Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung, BU) asks whether you can still do your job to at least 50 percent, whatever the cause. Existenzschutz insurance only asks whether a trigger from its list has occurred. A slipped disc that ends your career in a trade often triggers nothing, because the threshold for losing an ability is not reached.
In return, Existenzschutz is usually cheaper and easier to get. For a roofer a BU quickly costs EUR 200 to 250 a month, a multi-risk policy with a EUR 1,500 pension about EUR 60 to 110.
Case
Occupational disability
Existenzschutz
Depression, unable to work for a year
pays at 50 percent disability
usually no benefit
Stroke with paralysis
pays
pays from the illness or ability module
Slipped disc in a manual trade
pays if the job is no longer possible
often no benefit
Care grade after an accident
pays if the job is no longer possible
pays from care grade 2, 3 or 4 depending on tariff
What to look for in the terms
Check from which care grade the policy pays. Consumer-friendly tariffs pay from care grade 2, weaker ones only from 3 or 4. Also check the list of illnesses and how strictly they are defined, for example how long a deficit after a stroke must last.
It also matters whether mental illness appears at all. Around a third of all occupational disability cases have psychological causes. Without this part, a large gap remains.
When Existenzschutz fits and when it does not
It makes sense for people in physical jobs who cannot get occupational disability insurance or cannot afford it, and as a supplement for self-employed people with high risks.
If you work in an office and are healthy, you will usually get a BU at a similar price and be covered more broadly. Then Existenzschutz is the weaker choice. So first check whether a BU is possible.
Step by step
First check whether you can get occupational disability insurance.
Read the list of basic abilities and illnesses in the tariff.
Check the care grade for payment and the rules on mental illness.
Choose the pension amount by your needs, not by the premium.
Answer the health questions completely and truthfully.
Checklist
Payment from care grade 2
Broad list of serious illnesses with clear definitions
Rules on mental illness checked
Pension until at least 67
Option to switch to a BU later, if offered
Common mistakes
Treating Existenzschutz as a full occupational disability policy
Looking only at the premium and not reading the triggers
Overlooking mental illness as a gap
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Is Existenzschutz the same as basic ability insurance?
Not quite.
Basic ability insurance (Grundfähigkeitsversicherung) only pays for lost abilities.
Existenzschutz usually adds serious illnesses, care and accident consequences.
Does it pay for burnout or depression?
In most tariffs not, or only very restrictively.
That is its biggest weakness compared with a BU.
Are there health questions?
Yes.
Answer them completely and truthfully,
because wrong answers put your cover at risk as with any income protection.
Until when is the pension paid?
The contract sets it, usually until the agreed end age, for example 67.
Is Existenzschutz sensible for office jobs?
Rarely.
In an office a BU often costs about the same and covers more causes.
