FAQ Insurance

It is possible that your statutory health insurance from your home country will be recognized by a German statutory health insurance fund. This possibility exists especially for students from the EU or the European Economic Area.

Private health insurance from other countries may also be recognized in Germany under certain circumstances.

IMPORTANT: Before entering Germany, clarify with your health insurance company which documents are required and which benefits it will cover in Germany. For example, your health insurance in your home country may not cover all costs in Germany, such as dentures and psychotherapeutic counseling/therapy.

There are two types of health insurance in Germany: statutory and private. If you participate in a study-preparatory language course or attend a Studienkolleg, you must take out private insurance.

If you have finished the language course and start studying AND are younger than 30, you can change to the statutory health insurance.

IMPORTANT: For the application of the residence permit, please inform yourself at the responsible immigration office in which form the proof of health insurance should be provided.

That's right, you must have health insurance to enroll. There is a general obligation to have health insurance.

There are two types of health insurance: statutory and private.

If you have not yet reached the age of 25, you can be covered by your parents' health insurance. This is called family insurance and means that you are co-insured free of charge.

Please note: there are earnings limits for family insurance. If you regularly earn more than 485 Euro per month in total (if you have a mini-job, up to 520 Euro are allowed), the family insurance ends.

If you can no longer be family insured, you can be insured at a favorable rate in the statutory health insurance for students (KVdS). Because if you were previously family insured, you pay a favorable student rate. The amount of the monthly contribution is based on the development of the BAföG requirement rates. In addition, there is an additional contribution, which is determined individually by each health insurance company.

As an alternative, you can also opt for private health and nursing care insurance.

IMPORTANT: Once you have opted for private health insurance during your studies, you cannot switch to statutory health insurance for the entire duration of your studies.

End: The compulsory insurance for students usually ends with the completion of studies or when one is over 30 years old. This maximum period can be extended in individual cases, e.g. in the event of disability, birth and care of a child, acquisition of the university entrance qualification via the second educational path. As of January 1, 2020, the number of semesters of study no longer plays a role in the end of the KVdS.

IMPORTANT: It is also worthwhile to compare different health insurance companies and tariffs in advance.

In the case of accidents for which the statutory accident insurance is no longer responsible, the leisure time accident insurance takes effect. Insurance coverage exists for all accidents of daily life (24-hour coverage). Accordingly, it covers all accidents outside the university and all accidents outside the direct route between home and university.

This insurance may be worthwhile if you travel a lot, ride your bike frequently, enjoy participating in recreational activities, or are at risk for accidents due to other activities. In addition, the insurance can be useful for students if you are unable to take out occupational disability insurance due to a certain pre-existing condition or if it is too expensive.

The "movable property" can be covered by a household insurance. This makes sense only if these possessions are expensive/materially valuable.

This insurance covers everything that belongs to the household: furniture, clothes, electrical appliances. Some insurances also include the bicycle. If a laptop is stolen during a burglary in a shared apartment (WG), the household insurance will cover the cost of replacing it with an equivalent laptop.

IMPORTANT: The cause of the damage to the household goods is decisive for the question of whether the insurance takes effect or not. For example, whether it was theft, a burst water pipe, ..., or whether they were negligent, such as leaving a door open, ....

For many students, the bicycle is also particularly important. Homeowner's insurance also includes movable household goods. You should consciously check beforehand whether ferry bicycles are also insured when selecting insurance.

IMPORTANT: If you want to insure your bicycle against theft - check the insurance policy carefully beforehand to see if only theft from a locked room is covered, or how the bicycle must be connected. With an extension of the insurance policy you can insure the bicycle also at the university or in the city.

However, if you only want to insure the bicycle against theft, this would be possible through bicycle insurance.

Liability insurance is important for all these situations. It is a voluntary insurance, but the most important for students.

Personal liability insurance pays if you negligently cause damage to another person. For example: damage to a friend's laptop or damage in a shared apartment or apartment, such as damage to the floor. In case of loss of someone else's keys (e.g. WG keys), the private liability insurance can help - if key replacement is part of the range of benefits.

Personal injury, but also property damage can then quickly run into the hundreds of thousands. This is another reason why liability insurance is a good coverage.

If your parents have a private liability insurance, you are usually still insured through them. The protection exists for adult unmarried children, who are in a school education or directly following vocational training. After the end of the first vocational training or when reaching a contractually defined age limit (usually from 25 years), you need your own liability insurance.

IMPORTANT: Often insurance companies specify an age limit for students or expect them to still have their primary residence with their parents. Key replacement is not included in all insurance policies and the amount of damage covered also varies. It is therefore important to take a close look at the conditions.

In this case, a travel health insurance can be a useful addition to your health insurance. Because statutory health insurance does not cover all services abroad. This applies especially to countries that do not belong to the EU or the European Monetary Area. The duration of your stay abroad also plays a role.

With an international health insurance, both the treatment costs on site and the return transport home are covered.

IMPORTANT: Also check the range of benefits and necessarily the scope of the insurance. Some insurances exclude certain countries or regions where the costs for medical treatment are very high, such as the USA or Canada. It pays to compare.

An important insurance policy is occupational disability insurance. If you are no longer able to work due to illness or accident, occupational disability insurance secures your future income and thus your livelihood.

If students are/become unable to work, they usually do not even receive a small statutory pension for reduced earning capacity. This is because in order to receive a reduced earning capacity pension, one must have paid into the statutory pension insurance for at least 5 years.

An occupational disability insurance is therefore important for everyone, because without a regular income it can quickly come to financial problems. Basically, no one is safe from occupational disability, so the earlier the better. In addition, students have several advantages when taking out insurance:

• It is easier to get a contract.
• Due to an age one pays lower premiums.
• You always remain in a favorable occupational group.

IMPORTANT: The risk assessment of the occupational disability insurance is always based on the current occupation. As a student, the insurance company assesses your occupational risk as very low. As a result, students are placed in a favorable occupational group, which then applies to their entire working life.

The premiums for occupational disability insurance are initially quite high. To enable students with a smaller budget to afford this insurance, some insurers offer tiered models. This means that the premium is lower in the first few years and increases after a certain age limit.