Which insurance soldiers in Germany need depends on their status. Fixed term soldiers (Soldaten auf Zeit) are discharged if unfit for service, so they need service incapacity insurance first. Add official liability and deferral cover for health insurance after service. Private accident insurance usually does not pay for war events.
Published tariff examples, with guide values where no published figures for soldiers exist.
Example
Typical range
Service incapacity, intermediate service, 25, 1,500 euros pension, administration for comparison
from about 48 euros a month
Service incapacity for soldiers in troop roles, 25, 1,500 euros pension
about 60 to 90 euros a month
Official liability add on for soldiers
about 30 to 70 euros a year
Small deferral cover in private health insurance
about 5 to 10 percent of the later premium
Private accident insurance, office work for comparison
about 60 to 180 euros a year
As of October 2026.
The administration value, deferral cover and office accident premium come from published tariff
examples; the legal provisions and the war clause of the model conditions have been checked.
The soldier values for service incapacity and official liability and the notes on deployment
policies and declined roles are guide values from our quoting practice.
We obtain the exact quote for you.
Worked example
Fixed term soldier, 23, twelve year commitment
He has signed up for twelve years and is healthy. This is the basic package.
Service incapacity insurance, 1,500 euros pension
about 60 to 90 euros a month
Personal liability with official liability
about 5 to 10 euros a month
Small deferral cover for a tariff after service
a few euros a month
Accident insurance including deployments
on request
The core costs about 65 to 100 euros a month. Service incapacity matters most, because an illness in leisure time would otherwise end career and income at once.
Fixed term soldier or career soldier
Fixed term soldiers serve for a set number of years, career soldiers (Berufssoldaten) until the age limit. For insurance this difference is crucial, because it decides what happens on illness, incapacity and after service.
Civilian civil servants or employees of the Bundeswehr are not soldiers. The rules for administrative civil servants or employees apply to them.
Risk
Fixed term soldier
Career soldier
Illness in service
military medical care
military medical care
Illness after service
own health insurance needed
in retirement Beihilfe plus private top up
Incapacity from illness
discharge
own retirement rules
Service related injury
Soldiers Compensation Act
Soldiers Compensation Act
Damage to employer through gross negligence
you are liable
you are liable
First priority for soldiers: service incapacity
Under section 55 (2) of the Soldiers Act a fixed term soldier must be discharged if unfit for service. An illness unrelated to service, such as a slipped disc in leisure time, then ends the career, and the Bundeswehr pays no lasting pension for it.
Soldiers therefore need disability insurance with a clause for service incapacity as a soldier. Many insurers have their own rules or decline certain roles, such as combat divers or pilots. State your role precisely.
Health cover during and after service
In service, soldiers are entitled to free military medical care (truppenärztliche Versorgung) as long as they receive pay. They do not need their own health insurance for themselves during this time. Family members are not included.
When service ends, military medical care ends too. Anyone who wants private cover later, or receives Beihilfe as a retired career soldier, benefits from deferral cover. It secures the tariff without a new health check; the small version costs about 5 to 10 percent of the later premium.
Liability and official liability cover
Soldiers are liable to their employer under section 24 of the Soldiers Act if they breach their duties intentionally or through gross negligence. Typical cases are damage to vehicles, equipment or lost gear.
Official liability as an add on to personal liability protects against such claims. Check that the tariff names soldiers expressly and how damage to service vehicles and weapons is handled.
Accidents and deployments abroad
A health injury suffered in service brings benefits under the Soldiers Compensation Act. Private accident insurance can add to this, but has an important limit: the model conditions exclude accidents caused by war and civil war, and the exception for surprised travellers expressly does not apply to active participation.
For deployments abroad you need a tariff that expressly includes Bundeswehr deployments, or a special deployment policy. Get the clause confirmed in writing before you deploy.
What soldiers rarely need
Daily sickness benefit is unnecessary during service. If you start your own business after service, we have separate pages by type of business.
Step by step
Clarify status and role: fixed term or career, troops, flying duty or staff.
Take out service incapacity insurance with a soldier clause and state your role precisely.
Add official liability and check vehicles and weapons in the contract.
Arrange deferral cover for health insurance after service.
Before a deployment abroad, check the war clause in your accident insurance.
Checklist
Service incapacity as a soldier expressly insured, also for fixed term soldiers
Role and deployments fully stated in the application
Official liability names soldiers as an insured group
Deferral cover for the time after service
Deployment clause in accident insurance confirmed in writing
Common mistakes
Relying on state benefits although fixed term soldiers are discharged if unfit
Buying accident insurance and only finding out on deployment that war events are excluded
Ending service without health insurance or deferral cover
Describing your role too harmlessly in the application
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Are soldiers health insured?
In service soldiers receive free military medical care.
It is not health insurance in the usual sense and ends with pay.
What happens if a fixed term soldier becomes unfit for service?
He is discharged under section 55 Soldiers Act.
If the incapacity results from a service related injury,
there are benefits under the Soldiers Compensation Act, otherwise not.
Does my accident insurance pay on deployment abroad?
Only if the contract expressly includes deployments.
The model conditions exclude war events and active participation in them.
Do soldiers need official liability cover?
It is useful, because soldiers are liable for gross negligence for damage to vehicles and
equipment.
What about family members?
Military medical care only covers the soldier.
Partners and children need their own health insurance.
