# Which insurance do I need in Germany? A guide by life situation > Germany has a reputation as a nation of insurance buyers, and newcomers are often sold far more than they need. Only a few policies are compulsory, and a handful more are genuinely important. This guide sorts them for ten common situations, starting with the one most readers are in: new to the country. Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/which-insurance-do-i-need.php ## Studying or training International students need health insurance to enrol, either statutory or a private plan recognised by the university. Personal liability is cheap and landlords of student flats often ask for it. If your parents live in Germany, you may already be covered under their family policy while in first training. - **Essential:** Personal liability - **Sensible:** Travel insurance, Occupational disability - **Optional:** Contents insurance, Bicycle and e-bike - **You can skip:** Phone insurance, Premiums over two years approach the value of the phone, and simple theft is usually excluded. - **You can skip:** Endowment or savings life policy, High upfront costs mean you lose money if you leave Germany and cancel after a few years. ## Single and employed With a German employment contract you are in statutory health insurance unless you earn above the threshold, which is 77,400 euros a year in 2026. Get personal liability first. Consider income protection early: German disability cover (Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung) is cheapest when you are young and healthy. - **Essential:** Personal liability, Occupational disability - **Sensible:** Contents insurance, Legal expenses insurance - **Optional:** Dental insurance, Supplementary health, Travel insurance - **You can skip:** Term life insurance, It protects people who depend on your income. Without dependants or a mortgage there is nothing to protect. - **You can skip:** Hospital daily cash, Your employer keeps paying salary for six weeks of illness, then the health fund pays sick pay. A daily payment for hospital stays fills no real gap. ## Couple without children When you move in together, merge contracts: one couple policy for liability and one contents policy for the shared flat replace two of each. Unmarried partners can usually be included if they live at the same address. If one of you depends on the other's income or you buy together, add term life. - **Essential:** Personal liability, Occupational disability - **Sensible:** Contents insurance, Term life insurance, Legal expenses insurance - **Optional:** Travel insurance, Dental insurance - **You can skip:** Two separate liability policies, A couple policy covers both partners in the same household. Keeping two is paying twice. - **You can skip:** Travel luggage insurance, Contents insurance covers burglary and robbery while travelling up to a limit. ## Family with children Children change the priorities: protect the income the family lives on, with term life and disability cover for the main earner. In liability insurance, check the clause for young children, because under German law children under seven are not liable and a neighbour's claim is otherwise refused. - **Essential:** Personal liability, Occupational disability, Term life insurance - **Sensible:** Contents insurance, Accident insurance, Legal expenses insurance - **Optional:** Dental insurance, Supplementary health, Travel insurance - **You can skip:** Education savings insurance, It combines saving and life cover, both at higher cost than separately, and cancelling early loses money. - **You can skip:** Child disability insurance before your own cover, Useful, but expensive. Secure the parents' income first, then consider it. ## Home owner Buildings insurance is not compulsory by law, but every mortgage lender requires it. Add natural hazard cover: heavy rain floods houses far from any river. In a flat, the owners' association insures the building, so check whether natural hazards are included there. While a mortgage runs, term life should cover the outstanding debt. - **Essential:** Buildings insurance, Natural hazard cover, Personal liability - **Sensible:** Term life insurance, Contents insurance, Solar panel insurance - **Optional:** Self-build insurance, Legal expenses insurance - **You can skip:** Bank payment protection insurance, Usually far more expensive than term life with the same sum, and often sold as part of the loan. - **You can skip:** Glass insurance, Unless you have large glass fronts or a conservatory, premiums over the years exceed the likely loss. ## Self-employed or freelancer Freelancers must organise health insurance themselves and usually have no statutory pension cover. Professional indemnity is compulsory for many regulated professions and essential for anyone who advises, designs or codes. Plan sick pay and retirement from day one. - **Essential:** Professional indemnity, Occupational disability, Personal liability - **Sensible:** Private pension, Business legal expenses, Cyber insurance, Supplementary health - **Optional:** Private health insurance, Business contents, Electronic equipment - **You can skip:** Hospital daily cash, Your real risk is lost income during long illness, which needs sick pay cover, not a small daily amount in hospital. - **You can skip:** Separate insurance for one laptop, One device is replaced from the business account. Equipment cover pays off only for expensive kit. ## Dog or horse owner Dog and horse owners are strictly liable for damage their animal causes, even without fault. Personal liability does not cover this. Berlin, Hamburg, Lower Saxony and other states require liability cover for every dog. Vet bills after surgery quickly reach thousands of euros. - **Essential:** Dog and horse liability - **Sensible:** Pet health insurance - **Optional:** Legal expenses insurance - **You can skip:** Full health cover for an older pet, Premiums rise sharply with age and existing conditions are excluded. Surgery-only cover or savings are often more sensible. ## Retired Income protection falls away in retirement. Long-term care and dental costs move up: statutory care insurance pays only part, and the resident's own share in a care home is often several thousand euros a month. Keep personal liability, especially with grandchildren around. - **Essential:** Personal liability - **Sensible:** Contents insurance, Long-term care, Dental insurance - **Optional:** Accident insurance, Travel insurance, Funeral insurance - **You can skip:** Disability insurance, Without earned income there is nothing left to protect. - **You can skip:** Term life without debts, If your partner is provided for through pension and savings, the premium at this age is high for little benefit. ## Small business with staff With employees you are liable for their mistakes at customers' premises, so business liability comes first. Then contents and business interruption, because a fire costs months of revenue. Statutory accident insurance through the trade association (Berufsgenossenschaft) is compulsory and not arranged by brokers. - **Essential:** Business liability - **Sensible:** Business contents, Business interruption, Cyber insurance, Business legal expenses - **Optional:** Company pension (bAV), Company health insurance, Group accident insurance, Trade credit insurance, D&O insurance - **You can skip:** Separate policies per device, Contents or electronic equipment cover with one overall sum handles all equipment in a single contract. ## New in Germany Health insurance is compulsory from the day you live here, statutory through your employer or private if you earn above the threshold or are self-employed. Personal liability is the next step, and many landlords ask for it. Bring written proof of claims-free driving years from your home insurer; some German insurers credit them towards your no-claims class. - **Essential:** Personal liability - **Sensible:** Contents insurance, Occupational disability, Travel insurance - **Optional:** Private health insurance, Supplementary health, Legal expenses insurance, Car insurance - **You can skip:** Travel or expat health plan as permanent cover, Such plans usually do not meet the German legal requirements for health insurance and often end after a fixed period. - **You can skip:** Savings life insurance if you may leave soon, Most costs fall in the first years, so cancelling after a short stay returns much less than you paid in. ## FAQ ### Which insurance is mandatory in Germany? Health insurance including long-term care for everyone living here, motor liability for every registered vehicle, dog liability in several states, liability for drones and professional indemnity for some professions. Personal liability is voluntary but almost universal. ### Should I choose statutory or private health insurance? Employees earning below 77,400 euros a year (2026) have no choice and join a statutory fund. Above that, or when self-employed, private cover is possible. Think long term: returning from private to statutory insurance is difficult and after 55 generally impossible. ### What is Haftpflichtversicherung and why does everyone have it? Personal liability insurance pays if you damage someone else's property or injure someone. German law has no upper limit on liability, so one accident can cost millions. It costs little, which is why nearly every household has it. ### Can I keep my car insurance from home? Once your car is registered in Germany it needs German motor insurance. Ask your previous insurer for a claims history letter; some German insurers accept it for a better no-claims class, others start you as a new driver. ### Do I need insurance to rent a flat in Germany? No insurance is legally required for tenants, but many landlords ask for proof of personal liability. It also covers damage to the rented flat, which the deposit alone would not. ### Is my insurance from home valid in Germany? Health cover from another EU country applies only in certain cases, for example posted workers. Contents, liability and motor policies are usually tied to your home country address. Check each contract once you register your address here. ### When should I review my insurance? At each major change: first job, moving in together, children, buying property, going freelance, and before leaving Germany. Older contracts often have weaker terms than current ones at the same price. --- NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act, broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37. For boat and yacht insurance we act as underwriting agency, not as broker. NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, Karl-Marx-Straße 4, 15711 Königs Wusterhausen, +49 3375 29 12 77, info@nammert.com. Wikidata: Q141141479.