# Accident insurance with premium refund: what the German UBR really gives back > In Germany some insurers sell accident cover that promises money back at the end of the term, known as Unfallversicherung mit Beitragsrückgewähr or UBR. You pay several times the premium of plain accident cover, and what comes back is the savings part with interest, not every euro you paid. This page explains how the product works, when it may still fit and how to assess a policy you already hold. Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-accident-premium-refund.php Updated: 2026-11-07 ## Is accident insurance with premium refund worth it? For most people, no. German consumer advice centres and the money guide Finanztip advise against it, because an expensive accident policy is tied to a savings scheme with low interest. Buying the same accident cover on its own and putting the difference into savings yourself keeps you flexible and usually ends with more. It can suit people who only save when a contract forces them to and who are sure to keep paying for the full term. If you already have one, find out the surrender value before you cancel. ## At a glance - **Mandatory?:** No - **Structure:** accident cover plus a savings part run like an endowment life policy - **Legal basis:** section 161 of the German Insurance Supervision Act: life insurance rules apply accordingly - **Premium:** often four to five times that of plain accident cover, according to insurers and comparison sites - **Term:** long, often 20 years or more - **Early cancellation:** surrender value only, usually below the premiums paid ## How a UBR works: two contracts under one name Every premium you pay is split. One part pays for the accident cover, exactly as with any accident policy. The larger part goes into a savings element that the insurer runs like an endowment life policy. German supervisory law says so directly: for accident insurers offering premium refund, the life insurance rules apply accordingly (section 161 VAG). At the end of the term the insurer pays out the agreed refund. That is the savings part with interest, not the total of your premiums. The share that paid for the accident risk and the running costs has been used up. Some policies also make the refund conditional on no accident benefit having been paid during the term. The German Association of Actuaries classified the UBR in a 2024 report as accident insurance with elements of endowment life insurance in the refund. In practice the savings part carries the same drawbacks as a traditional German life policy: a low guaranteed rate, costs loaded at the start and a surrender value well below what you paid in during the early years. ## The comparison that matters: UBR against a split solution The honest test is simple. Get a quote for plain accident cover with the same benefits, then put the difference to the UBR premium aside each month yourself, in a savings account or an investment plan. Compare what you would have on each side at the end of the term. Splitting the two has advantages that do not depend on interest rates. You can change or pause your savings without losing your accident cover. You can switch accident insurer each year when a policy with better terms comes along. And cancelling costs you no surrender penalty. What speaks against the split is human nature, not arithmetic. Someone who reliably spends any spare euro will genuinely save something with a fixed contract. That is a fair reason, but choose it deliberately rather than from the feeling that the insurance ends up free. ## Already holding a UBR? Do the numbers first Simply cancelling a running UBR is rarely the best move. The surrender value grows each year, and for contracts that have run a long time it can make more sense to keep them to maturity or make them paid up. On cancellation you only receive the surrender value, which is below the regular maturity benefit. Check the accident cover itself as well. Older UBR contracts often carry the terms of the year they were signed: short deadlines, a weak Gliedertaxe (the table that assigns a percentage to each body part) and early reductions where illness contributed. It can then be sensible to keep the savings part running and add a modern plain accident policy alongside. Which route pays depends on the contract, and that is exactly what we work through with you. ## What is covered - Accidents during leisure, at home, on holiday and in sport, as with plain accident cover - Lump sum for permanent impairment based on the Gliedertaxe, with progression if agreed - Death benefit, if agreed - Rescue costs and cosmetic surgery, depending on the policy - Payout of the savings part with interest at the agreed maturity date - Surrender value on early cancellation - Depending on the contract: making the policy paid up instead of cancelling ## What is not covered - Illness, including heart attack and stroke, as with any accident policy - Refund of all premiums paid: only the savings part with interest comes back - Full refund on early cancellation - In some policies, the refund once an accident benefit has been paid - Income replacement if you cannot work - Any promise about the level of future bonuses ## Who needs it - People who only save under a fixed contract and are sure to keep paying for the full term - Holders of a running UBR who want to know whether continuing, making it paid up or cancelling makes most sense - Families who have been offered a UBR for a child ## Who does not need it - Anyone who can save flexibly: insuring separately and saving yourself is usually cheaper - People on a tight or irregular income, because early cancellation costs money - Anyone whose real aim is to protect their income: that is what disability income insurance is for ## What it costs A UBR premium has three parts: the risk premium for the accident cover, the savings contribution and the contract costs. Because savings make up most of it, the total sits far above plain accident cover. Finanztip mentions policies costing four times as much, the insurer Württembergische speaks of four to five times. **What drives the premium:** - Size of the agreed refund and length of the term - Base sum for permanent impairment and progression of the accident part - Occupation and age at entry - Acquisition and administration costs of the savings part - Guaranteed rate and future bonus participation - Regular premiums or a single premium _We do not quote a premium range or a maturity amount, because both depend heavily on the policy, the term and future bonuses. Only the guaranteed benefit in the quote is binding._ ## The policy levels on the market - **Basic UBR:** Accident cover on standard terms, refund at maturity, cancellation only at surrender value. Expensive for what the accident part delivers. - **UBR with strong accident part:** Better Gliedertaxe, longer deadlines, reductions for pre-existing conditions only from a higher share, option to make it paid up. The savings part works the same as in the basic version. - **Split solution:** Plain accident cover on strong terms plus your own savings plan. Usually cheaper and adjustable at any time, but it takes discipline to keep saving. ## How to recognise a good policy | Criterion | Minimum standard | Strong policy | Why it matters | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Guaranteed maturity benefit | stated as an amount in the quote | shown clearly apart from non guaranteed bonuses | Only the guaranteed benefit is certain, bonuses are an expectation. | | Surrender values | table for every policy year | surrender value reaches the sum of savings contributions early | If you leave early this is all you get, and in the first years it is often well below what you paid in. | | Condition for the refund | refund kept after a claim | refund independent of claims, partial withdrawals possible | Some policies cut or cancel the refund once you have used the accident cover. | | Paid up option | possible above a minimum value | possible at any time, accident cover continues at a reduced level | When money is short it is often better than cancelling. | | Accident part: Gliedertaxe and deadlines | model values, 15 months | higher Gliedertaxe values, much longer deadlines | The accident cover has to stand up against good plain accident insurance on its own. | | Accident part: contributing illness | reduction from 25 percent | reduction only from 50 percent or more | Over a long term you age with the contract, and wear and tear increases with age. | | Cost transparency | effective costs in the product information sheet | costs of accident part and savings part shown separately | Only then can you compare the UBR with a split solution. | ## Insurers on the German market Few German insurers still sell a UBR. The comparison site Verivox calls the product all but extinct, ERGO has dropped it according to trade press reports, and Württembergische deliberately does not offer it. The list shows companies whose own documents describe a UBR or a related capital accident policy, plus two well known companies without one, because many existing contracts still run there. This is not a statement about which insurers we work with. - **R+V**: R+V-Kapital-UnfallPolice with premium refund, sold through cooperative banks - **Allianz**: accident policy with premium refund in which part of the premium builds capital - **Versicherungskammer Bayern**: UnfallSchutz Vario with premium refund (UBR), terms published - **ERGO**: UBR discontinued according to trade press, relevant for holders of older contracts - **Württembergische**: states that it offers no accident insurance with premium refund, only plain accident cover 123 insurers supervised by BaFin, the German regulator, are licensed for this class of insurance. (Unfall, Summenversicherung). Source: BaFin company database, 2026-09-18; EU insurers without a German office excluded. ## Typical claims and who pays - **Cancelled after five years** (surrender value often well below savings paid in): You receive the surrender value, not your premiums. A strong policy softens this with an early paid up option but does not rule out a loss. - **Bike fall, stiff wrist** (impairment benefit by Gliedertaxe: four to five figures): The accident part pays like plain accident insurance. Base sum and Gliedertaxe decide how much. - **Slipped disc while lifting** (surgery and lasting damage: four to five figures): Without an external event this is no accident on basic terms. Strong terms cover own movements but still reduce for wear and tear. - **Heart attack at 55** (hospital, rehab, lost income: five figures): Illness is not covered by any accident policy, refund or not. The refund still only comes at maturity. - **Maturity after 20 years** (payout of the savings part with interest): You get the guaranteed benefit plus any bonuses earned. That is less than the total of all premiums. - **Claim paid, then maturity** (refund reduced or lost): Some policies only pay the refund if no accident benefit was paid. Strong policies keep the two apart. ## Myth or truth - „With premium refund, accident insurance ends up costing nothing." ✘ False. Only the savings part with interest comes back. What paid for the cover and the costs is gone, and your money was tied up for years. - „Cancelling early usually returns less than you paid in." ✔ True in most cases. On cancellation you get the surrender value, which is below the maturity benefit and in the early years often far below what you paid. - „Life insurance rules apply to the UBR." ✔ True. Section 161 of the German Insurance Supervision Act applies life insurance provisions accordingly to accident insurers offering premium refund. The savings part therefore works like an endowment policy. - „The bonuses in the projection are promised." ✘ False. Only the benefit expressly stated as guaranteed is certain. Bonuses depend on what the insurer earns in future. - „You should always cancel a running UBR straight away." ✘ False. For older contracts, continuing or making it paid up can be better than cancelling. Only the specific contract can tell. ## Common mistakes - Believing all premiums come back and the insurance is therefore free - Looking only at the refund and not comparing the accident cover with good plain accident insurance - Treating non guaranteed bonuses as a fixed promise - Cancelling a running UBR in the early years without knowing the surrender value - Cancelling when money is tight instead of checking the paid up option - Keeping an old UBR with weak accident terms as your only accident cover ## FAQ ### Do I get all my premiums back with a UBR? No. What comes back is the savings part with interest, not the total of your payments. The share that paid for the accident cover and costs is used up. The quote states how much is guaranteed. ### What interest does the savings part earn? Little. It is calculated like a German life policy, with a low guaranteed rate and bonuses the insurer does not guarantee. German consumer advice centres call it a poorly paying savings scheme. We therefore make no forecast of returns. ### What happens if I cancel early? You receive the surrender value. It is below the regular maturity benefit and, in the first years, often well below what you paid in. Check first whether you can make the policy paid up. ### Is the payout taxable? Investment gains in the payout can be taxable in Germany. How exactly depends partly on when the contract started. A tax adviser answers the individual question, we supply the contract details. ### Is the accident cover in a UBR weaker than in plain accident insurance? Not automatically, the benefits usually match normal accident insurance. But because few UBR policies are left, there is less choice on Gliedertaxe, deadlines and contributing illness than among plain accident policies. ### Does a UBR make sense for a child? Usually not. Children need strong accident or disability cover, and money for later can be saved more flexibly on its own. A fixed contract fits poorly with a life in which training, home and needs will change several times. ### I live in Germany but I am not German. Does that matter? Not for eligibility, German residents can take out a UBR like anyone else. Keep in mind that the contract runs for many years: if you may leave Germany, a long savings contract with surrender losses fits poorly, and a plain accident policy you can end each year is easier to handle. ### Should I replace my UBR with plain accident insurance? That depends on the surrender value, the remaining term and the quality of the accident part. It often makes sense to make the contract paid up or keep it to maturity and add a modern accident policy. We work through both routes with you. ## Legal basis and sources - [Insurance Contract Act (VVG, German)](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/vvg_2008/) - [BaFin company database (licensed insurers)](https://portal.mvp.bafin.de/database/InstInfo/) ## Request quotes We obtain quotes and come back with a comparison, free of charge. You can write in English. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-accident-premium-refund.php#anfrage --- Your broker: Norman Nammert, trading as NAMMERT. Insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act. Broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37. NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH is a separate company. It does not arrange your contract. NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, Karl-Marx-Straße 4, 15711 Königs Wusterhausen, +49 3375 29 12 77, info@nammert.com. Wikidata: Q141141479.