Social Insurances

Anyone is eligible for Statutory health insurance (GKV) and up to a certain income limit, it is compulsory. If you earn a higher income, you can also apply for a private health insurance.  Your statutory health insurance covers visits to the doctor, many types of medicine and therapeutic measures.

Your monthly contribution rate is dependent on your gross income. When you are employed, the contributions are automatically deducted from your salary. If you are self-employed, you must pay the contributions yourself. If you are registered with the employment agency, the Jobcenter will pay the monthly contributions. With the statutory health insurance, children and life partners can be additionally insured without extra charges ("Familienversicherung").

You are free to choose your insurance provider. The existing companies differ slightly in their fees and service. Some certain basic services, however, are required by law and should be provided by all of them. After you submit your application to an Insurance company, you will receive an electronic health insurance card. You should always take it with you during visits to the doctor or hospital. Your personal data is recorded on a microchip inside the card.

It may sometimes happen that your doctor recommends a treatment that is not covered by your insurance. You should decide for yourself whether you want and can afford the treatment or not. Your doctor should always inform you when there would be any additional expenses.

Unlike its statutory counterpart, private health insurance (PKV) is not a viable option for everyone. As an employee, you must have earned more than 57,600 Euros per year ("Annual Working Wage" or JAEG). How much you pay monthly depends on your age, health condition and the desired insurance coverage.

When you go under a Private health insurance once, usually you cannot go back to the statutory health insurance. For singles or childless couples, applying for a private health insurance may make sense. Contrary to statutory health insurance, with a private health insurance, your children or lifetime partners without income will not be covered free of charge.

If you are permanently dependent on nursing care because of a severe or chronic illness, you will be eligible for basic security benefits from your statutory long-term care insurance. If you are covered by statutory health insurance, you will automatically be also covered by a long-term care insurance. But if you are a member of a private health insurance, you will have to separately apply and pay for the private care insurance to benefit from the benefits.

If you are too old to work or your employment chances are lessened as a result of your age; you would be eligible for pension insurance. Pension insurance will also protect you while recovering after a period of illness. Even if a person is deceased, his or her surviving dependants, like widows, widowers and orphans, will benefit from the pension insurance payments.

If you are working and eligible for social insurance, you will be automatically covered by statutory pension insurance. To retire and receive the insurance money, you must have reached a certain age and had paid the monthly contributions for a certain period. The more and the longer you deposit into the pension insurance, the higher your pension will be later. If you have taken some time out to raise children or to care for a family member, this will be calculated as  "non-contributory time" (“Beitragsfreie Zeit”). In principle, your pension is lower than your salary during the professional activity. Therefore, in Germany, it is recommended to think of an additional private or company pension policy.

When you lose your job, unemployment insurance supports you in your job hunting through counselling sessions and placement services through the Employment Agency (“Agentür der Arbeit”) . Under certain conditions, Jobcenter will cover your basic costs while you are searching for a job. To benefit from such coverage, you must have made monthly contributions to the unemployment insurance for a certain period of time (usually at least 12 months) and inform the Federal Employment Agency three months before you actually stop to work. In order to meet the deadline, you can first register online and then personally go to your local employment agency later.

Whether you will receive the benefit and if so, for how long, depends on your age and the length of the period you have been working. If you have previously worked in an EU country or Switzerland, these working years would also be calculated. You can consult the employment agency for more advice and information. The money you will receive from Jobcenter during your job-hunt is usually 60 percent of the net income you’ve received while working.

If you have an accident or an occupational health issue, the statutory accident insurance covers the costs of your medical treatment and reintegration into the working life. While you are unable to work, instead of your employee, your insurance will pay you monthly. In case of permanent health damage, you will receive pension. There is also a "surviving dependant's care" for widows, widowers and orphans.

As soon as you start to pay for social insurance in Germany, you will be automatically covered by accident insurance as well. The employer is in charge of reporting work accidents. Your doctor should diagnose any work-related diseases and conditions. Then the insurance company should analyse and verify your claims. Here the relevant contributions are made solely by the employer. You can find out more about the accident insurance on the website of the German Statutory Accident Insurance (DGUV) in German and English.

Normally, you are insured in the country where you make monthly insurance contributions, but there are also international and bilateral social insurance agreements. Within the European Union, for example, healthcare is guaranteed for the EU citizens. There are also agreements with a few non-EU countries, but Syria, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan are not among them. On http://www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de/ you can find a list of the countries with which Germany has a social insurance agreement regarding pension insurance. Further information can be found on the website of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

Without health insurance, you cannot study in Germany. As a student, you can choose between private and statutory health insurance companies, but the statutory health insurance is usually cheaper. If you are privately insured, you cannot switch back to the statutory health insurance during your studies. In Germany, an international health insurance can be recognised under certain circumstances.

If you have a statutory health insurance, you can simply submit your membership certificate to the university to enrol. If you have a private or foreign health insurance, you first have to submit this certificate to a German statutory health insurance company. They can then certify in a document that you are exempt from the insurance obligation. You can then submit the certificate to the university.