What is the recovery allowance in German accident insurance?
In short
The recovery allowance (Genesungsgeld) is an add-on in German private accident insurance. After an accident with an inpatient hospital stay it pays, once you are discharged, for as many days as you spent in hospital, usually at most 100 days. At EUR 20 a day and 7 days in hospital that is EUR 140. It only pays together with the hospital daily allowance.
Documented rules on duration and tiering, plus worked values and the average length of a hospital stay in Germany.
Example
Typical range
Maximum duration under widely used terms
100 days, tied to the days with hospital daily allowance
Common tiering
days 1 to 10: 100 percent, days 11 to 20: 50 percent, from day 21: 25 percent
Hospital daily allowance as the reference
from EUR 10 a day
30 days in hospital, EUR 30 daily rate
EUR 900 without, EUR 525 with tiering
Average length of a hospital stay in Germany 2024
7.1 days
Extra premium for hospital daily allowance and recovery allowance of EUR 20 each
guide value about EUR 10 to 30 a year
As of October 2026.
Duration and conditions from published accident insurance terms (AUB 2011),
tiering and worked example from guides by insurers and a comparison site,
length of stay according to the Federal Statistical Office.
There is no documented price for the add-on alone:
the extra premium is a guide value from quoting practice and varies by plan;
we obtain the exact quote for you.
Worked example
Lower leg fracture after a fall, 12 days in hospital
Policy with EUR 20 hospital daily allowance and a recovery allowance of the same amount, tiered at 100, 50 and 25 percent.
Hospital daily allowance, 12 days × EUR 20
EUR 240
Recovery allowance days 1 to 10, 10 × EUR 20
EUR 200
Recovery allowance days 11 and 12, 2 × EUR 10
EUR 20
Recovery allowance without tiering, for comparison
EUR 240
EUR 460 in total from both add-ons. If a lasting impairment remains, the disability benefit pays on top, and it is usually much higher.
How the recovery allowance works
The recovery allowance is not a separate policy but a building block of private accident insurance (private Unfallversicherung). It is tied to the hospital daily allowance (Krankenhaustagegeld): only if you were treated in hospital as an inpatient after an accident and received hospital daily allowance for it does the policy pay money again for the time at home after discharge.
Under widely used German accident insurance terms (AUB 2011) the recovery allowance is paid at the agreed amount for the same number of calendar days as the hospital daily allowance, for at most 100 days. Spa treatment and stays in sanatoriums or convalescent homes do not count as hospital treatment there.
Some plans pay a one-off lump sum after discharge instead of a daily rate. What applies to you is in the policy terms, not in the marketing text.
Tiered rates: why long stays bring less than you think
Many plans do not pay the full rate every day. A common tiering is: days 1 to 10 at the full rate, days 11 to 20 at half, from day 21 at a quarter. After serious accidents with long hospital stays, this shrinks the payment considerably.
The table shows what a daily rate of EUR 30 brings.
Days in hospital
Without tiering
With tiering 100, 50 and 25 percent
7 days
EUR 210
EUR 210
14 days
EUR 420
EUR 360
30 days
EUR 900
EUR 525
60 days
EUR 1,800
EUR 750
What the recovery allowance does not do
It only pays after accidents. If you are in hospital after an illness, a heart attack or a planned operation, accident insurance pays nothing. Yet illness is the more frequent reason for a hospital stay and for lost earnings.
Nor does it pay if you are on sick leave for a long time after an accident but were never admitted as an inpatient, for example with a fracture treated as an outpatient. Permanent damage is covered by the disability benefit (Invaliditätsleistung), not by the recovery allowance.
When you need the add-on and when you do not
The German consumer advice centres (Verbraucherzentrale) consider hospital daily allowance, with or without recovery allowance, dispensable, because it is either superfluous or better covered by other contracts. We see it similarly: with an average hospital stay of 7.1 days, the add-on brings a few hundred euros.
It can make sense if it is already included in the plan or costs only a few euros a year, for children, for self-employed people without sickness daily benefit for the first days, and for people with risky hobbies. But a sufficient base sum with suitable progression and a good body-part schedule (Gliedertaxe) always come first.
Step by step
Check in the terms whether the recovery allowance is paid per day or as a lump sum.
Check whether tiering applies and from which day the rate is cut.
Read the maximum duration and how it is tied to the hospital daily allowance.
Ask for the premium for the add-on to be shown separately.
Weigh whether the same money does more in a higher base sum.
After an accident, keep the discharge report and the hospital certificate and send them in.
Checklist
Recovery allowance only agreed together with hospital daily allowance
Tiering and maximum duration known
Base sum and progression sufficient first
Sickness daily benefit for lost earnings through illness considered
Premium for the add-on known separately
Spa treatment and rehab not counted as hospital
Common mistakes
Treating the recovery allowance as a replacement for lost earnings
Assuming it also pays after illness or a planned operation
Choosing a high daily rate and keeping the base sum small
Overlooking tiering and counting on the full rate for a long hospital stay
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Does the recovery allowance pay without a hospital stay?
No.
It requires an inpatient stay after an accident for which hospital daily allowance was paid.
A sick note alone is not enough.
How long is the recovery allowance paid?
Usually for as many days as you received hospital daily allowance.
Widely used terms set the limit at 100 days, some plans pay for longer.
Does rehab count as a hospital stay?
Under widely used terms, spa treatment and stays in sanatoriums and convalescent homes do not
count as hospital treatment.
Whether inpatient rehab counts depends on your policy, so read that point carefully.
Can I take out a recovery allowance without hospital daily allowance?
As a rule, no.
The add-on builds on the hospital daily allowance and is agreed together with it.
Is the recovery allowance the same as the transitional benefit?
No.
Under widely used terms the transitional benefit (Übergangsleistung) pays once if you are still at
least 50 percent impaired six months after the accident, even without a hospital stay.
The recovery allowance depends only on the days in hospital.
Is a recovery allowance worth it for children?
More than for adults, because parents often have travel and care costs during a hospital stay.
A high disability sum still matters more.
What does it bring for an average stay?
With 7 days and a daily rate of EUR 20 it is EUR 140,
on top of the hospital daily allowance of the same amount.
