As far as accidents are concerned, many Germans are simply wrong or overinsured. It is a good accident insurance from 100 euros a year to have. But who wants to insure optimal, must know which services are important for whom - and what extras dispensable.

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An accident happens every six seconds

“An accident occurs about every six seconds in Germany at home and during leisure time” - with this quote from the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, insurance companies often advertise the need for accident insurance. What is often kept secret:

Only 2,6 percent of severely disabled people suffered their disability as a result of an accident, half of them as a result of an accident at work. Actually they are risks Statistically speaking, the risk of an accident at home or at leisure with serious permanent damage is not that high.

Accident insurance - does it make sense?

However, accident insurance can useful be: The professional associations in which employees insured only cover the consequences of accidents at work, on the way to work and the consequences of occupational diseases. Only private accident insurance also pays for physical damage caused by accidents privacy and leisure are emerging - not just in Germany, but everywhere in the world Welt and at any time.

It doesn't matter whether the accident happened while hiking on vacation, on a Sunday walk, while exercising or while cleaning. Accident insurance is also worthwhile for self-employed people who are not in a professional association and for everyone who does not receive occupational disability protection Alternatives: With the Money With the insurance, accident victims can, for example, renovate their apartment, pay for household help or have treatment carried out.

Insured - but right!

But if you really want to get the money from the insurance company after an accident, you have to be properly and sufficiently insured. That is not always the case: Many are insured somehow through a credit or customer card, an association or travel insurance, but unfortunately they are often inadequately insured.

And quite a few of the accident insurance policies you have taken out are simply unprofitable: Either they only apply to certain areas of life (only in Germany, only during leisure time, only during sport), only for certain people (e.g. children are not included), the conditions are not customer-friendly or the Claims benefits are simply too low.

The insurance companies make it yours customers but not exactly light, to keep an overview: Instead of clearly highlighting the important core services and prices, they advertise with unnecessary extras or offer a veritable jungle of tariff variants with different conditions, insured sums and progression variants, which can be combined with one another as desired. This confusion can selection Finding the right insurance makes it extremely difficult.

What does a private accident insurance do?

Accident insurance covers permanent physical or mental impairments, known as disability, as a result of an accident. Some insurance companies also offer extended insurance cover, for example for injuries to limbs or the spine (dislocations or tears of muscles, tendons, capsules or ligaments), even if the damage only occurs due to excessive exertion without any external impact (for example if you lift a heavy piece of furniture lift). Tick ​​bites and even some cancers typical of women are also treated as accidents by some insurance companies. Ask it's worth it!

When does the insurance not pay?

If an illness or an existing disorder triggered the accident, this will be taken into account in the insurance payment with a corresponding deduction. Accidents caused by particular dangers in professional or private life, for example extreme sports, are excluded from insurance cover, but can be insured additionally with a surcharge.

In general, accidents that occur while executing or attempting a criminal act, as well as accidents caused by war or civil war, civil unrest or nuclear energy are also excluded. No payment is made in the event of accidents caused by drunkenness, mental disorders or impaired consciousness, as well as strokes or other seizures. Accidents while using aircraft are also not covered.

How does accident insurance pay?

Depending on the contract, the insurance benefit is paid as a one-off lump-sum payment (useful if, for example, renovations have to be carried out) or as a pension benefit. In the case of a one-off payment, a monthly supplementary pension should also be agreed, which is usually paid in the event of a disability of 50 percent to be certified by the doctor.

Although this costs more, it guarantees a high level of performance Age the maintenance. As a rule, the insurance company only pays disability benefits twelve months after the accident. Until then, an additional transitional service can be agreed. Anyone who also protects surviving dependents should agree on a fixed lump sum in the event of an accidental death.

How much does accident insurance pay?

The high of Performance depends on the sum insured (at least 100.000 euros is recommended) and the degree of disability, which is determined by the limb tax; This is a table according to which the insurance company determines the degree of disability in the event of complete loss or complete inability to use certain limbs or sensory organs. According to the model conditions of the General Association of the German Insurance Industry, the disability for an individual limb or sensory organ starts at two percent (for the loss of a toe) and reaches a maximum of 70 percent (loss of an arm).

The link tax should by no means be lower than in these conditions, but can be cheaper with good insurance. Some insurers also offer special policies that insure individual parts of the body that are important to the profession at special conditions for professional groups such as doctors or musicians. It is also important that the insurance pays for accidents worldwide!

Agree on more performance

If the insurance benefits are not enough, you can agree on a progressive disability scale. This means that from a disability of 25 percent the percentage is doubled, from 50 percent it is tripled, etc. Of course, higher premiums are also due. However, these tariffs usually offer better value for money.

On the other hand, those who set dynamics increase their insured sum dynamically according to an agreed fixed percentage per year. Of course, the premiums also increase accordingly. This model with increasing contributions can be used, for example Young Professionals make sense for those who don't yet have a lot of money. However, if necessary, only a small amount of insurance is available. This can be particularly true for young people, who are often more active and therefore more prone to injury Problem You should therefore take out sufficiently high insurance straight away.

With multi-service tariffs, the service increases in stages. This means that an accident victim can, for example, receive double or even triple compensation in the event of 50 percent disability compared to 49 percent. In borderline cases, however, there is a risk Streit with the insurance, so this tariff is not optimal.

Note registration deadlines!

Anyone who has had an accident should see a doctor immediately and report the accident to the insurance company immediately. A fatal accident must even be reported within 48 hours. The accident report sent by the insurer must be filled out truthfully, and all medical orders must be followed. In the event of offenses, the insurance can refuse to provide benefits.

However, the doctor often cannot determine the disability immediately, because it often takes a long time to tell whether there is any permanent disability at all. As a rule, the disability must have occurred within one year of the accident and must have been established in writing by the doctor and reported to the insurance company within 15 months of the accident.

Is special insurance worthwhile?

Special insurance, such as passenger accident insurance for passengers in a car, only offers insurance cover for certain, clearly defined accidents. However, the risks of such additional insurance are also partly covered by the Health insurance or covered by motor vehicle liability insurance.

Therefore, such cut-out insurance is often not worthwhile, as it only covers very specific risks. Even if the contributions seem low at first, the value for money is usually poor.

Are extras worth it?

Accident insurance companies also like to advertise extra services - of course only at an additional cost. Examples of this are a daily hospital allowance or, after discharge from the hospital, convalescence allowance or a daily accident allowance, which is paid according to the degree of impairment of the ability to work.

Some insurance companies also offer to pay fixed lump sums (immediate benefits) or compensation for pain and suffering in the event of certain serious injuries. Payments for cosmetic operations in the event of disfigurement are also possible. Certain care services are also offered, such as shopping and housekeeping.

No diseases insured!

But: But the appropriate insurance cover only applies in the event of accidents, not illness. Many of these benefits are also covered by health insurance. Agreeing on a corresponding additional service is usually only worthwhile for self-employed people who have agreed a tariff without sickness benefit or daily sickness benefit with your health insurance company.

However, the corresponding health insurance rates are usually cheaper because they also provide money in the event of illness-related incapacity. Many additional services are therefore superfluous and only unnecessarily increase the premium. It is better to have as complete insurance as possible that covers the likely risks but not the unlikely extras.

How much does good accident insurance cost?

The insurance premiums are based on the agreed service and the risk group into which one is classified by the insurance company. Risk group A usually includes occupations with non-physical activity, such as office work.

Commercial employees in the office, for example, are classified in this risk group. Risk group B includes professions with physical and dangerous work. This includes, for example, drivers or craftsmen. The tariffs are correspondingly more expensive: Depending on the offer, the premium in group B can be more than twice as high as in group A.

When is the insurance good?

The guideline for good accident insurance is: With an insured sum of 100.000 euros and a progression of 350 percent, one should Ms. or a man in danger group A does not pay more than 180 per year. And if you, as a man in danger group B, have to pay more than 300 euros, you are paying too much.

The so-called premium refund that some insurance companies advertise is not worth it! Because here you pay clear higher contributions, part of which you will later earn interest at around four percent and get back minus various processing fees. Contrary to what the name would lead you to believe, the actual insurance premiums for accident protection are not paid back; the insurance is simply combined with a savings contract or an endowment insurance policy with low returns and often high and unclear processing fees. Better: invest your savings separately!

Who should be insured and how?

It is advisable to agree to six times as much as you are insured at the age of 30, five times as much as you are at 40 and four times as much as your monthly income when you are 50. Children are often already insured in kindergarten or school or already included in their parents' policy.

Therefore, the contributions for children and young people under the age of 18 are significantly lower than for adults. More than 100 euros for child accident insurance is too much. Many insurance companies offer discounts for policies for the whole Family to be completed – up to 30 percent. Group insurance contracts offered through clubs are often cheap, but not always comprehensive!

No accident insurance for certain groups

Some insurance companies simply exclude risky professions, such as roofers or scaffolders, demolition masters or circus performers, or only grant them leisure accident insurance. Other companies charge significantly higher contributions. Some insurance companies charge risk surcharges for certain hobbies such as motorcycling, mountaineering, diving, flying and horse riding. Other insurances reduce the benefits in the event of accidents caused by such hobbies.

In contrast, civil servants and public sector employees often pay a lower contribution. Generally not insurable Peoplewho are already severely disabled or in need of care. People with intellectual disabilities also usually cannot get insurance. People with previous illnesses and seniors over the age of 66 also have disadvantages and are happy to be insured with special, albeit worse, senior citizen tariffs.