# Insurances in Germany



## Kent980 (5 mo ago)

Hello,

I come from UK and soon I should be in Germany...
In UK I have several insurances and I wonder how they would be replaced in Germany:

1. Employment insurance (in Germany is compulsory, it's all OK)
2. Critical illness?
3. Accident?
4. Sickness?
5. Life insurance (lump sump to my family, I think it's pretty standard in any country)
6. Private health insurance (as far as I know, in Germany they are private but compulsory, so, it should be all good, right? Do you have any specific suggestions about those?)
7. Car insurance (any remark?)
8. Bicycle insurance (really not urgent, but if anyone has any recommendations, it's all welcome)


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## *Sunshine* (Mar 13, 2016)

1. If you're employed in Germany, unemployment insurance contributions will be deducted automatically and you'll be eligible after 12 months of contributions. 

2. + 3. + 5. Consult a broker specialised in foreigners. 

4. What exactly do you mean? 

6. Health insurance is compulsory in Germany and Germany has both a public and private system. Opting out of the public system is generally a one way street. If you earn less than 64k you are required to have public health insurance. 

7. If you have a car it is compulsory.

8. It is usually an add on to your _Hausrat_ and _Haftpflicht_. 

You need an independent insurance broker. Unless your German is excellent and are able to read (and understand!) German legalese you should NOT try to buy insurance online.


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## Kent980 (5 mo ago)

*Sunshine* said:


> 1. If you're employed in Germany, unemployment insurance contributions will be deducted automatically and you'll be eligible after 12 months of contributions.
> 
> 2. + 3. + 5. Consult a broker specialised in foreigners.
> 
> ...


Thanks a lot.

Below you find the answers to your questions:
4. I mean sickness insurance, it's a generic insurance for sickness in UK, but not critical illnesses (it's like for more common diseases)... It may provide a salary up to 12 months or for life, depending of the insurance type. Do you have any resource to suggest with a full breakdown of coverage for Germany? I'll try to find one anyway  .
I know that the German system is complex, so I would expect a lot of different insurance types.


8. I don't think I'll be able to find a face to face insurance service, not only for the price, but also for eventual translation in English... If there isn't in the city where I'll go, then I'll need to rely on online translators anyway.


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## *Sunshine* (Mar 13, 2016)

Kent980 said:


> 4. I mean sickness insurance, it's a generic insurance for sickness in UK, but not critical illnesses (it's like for more common diseases)... It may provide a salary up to 12 months or for life, depending of the insurance type.


The first 6 six weeks are paid normally by the employer and after that public health insurance pays you 70% of your gross salary for 72 weeks. It is possible to buy supplementary cover.

It is not cheaper to buy insurance online (common misconception among foreigners) and since you don't have any idea of how insurance works here, you don't know what to choose. Car insurances have pretty much standardized definitions by law, but the rest very often have different definitions of coverage that makes it very difficult to compare policies.

I can read German contracts and actually read the various offers my insurance broker sent me and would really not recommend Google translate for this. 









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## Kent980 (5 mo ago)

*Sunshine* said:


> The first 6 six weeks are paid normally by the employer and after that public health insurance pays you 70% of your gross salary for 72 weeks. It is possible to buy supplementary cover.
> 
> It is not cheaper to buy insurance online (common misconception among foreigners) and since you don't have any idea of how insurance works here, you don't know what to choose. Car insurances have pretty much standardized definitions by law, but the rest very often have different definitions of coverage that makes it very difficult to compare policies.
> 
> ...


Thanks a lot for that.
That's encouraging, but what about terminal illnesses?
In UK we have something called "Permanent health insurance", so I wonder if there is anything similar in Germany, + all the others I asked  .


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