Accident Insurance : Germany

Protection and assistance after accidents at work and in the case of occupational diseases is provided by the statutory accident insurance scheme. In Germany all employees and farmers are insured by law against accidents. Other self-employed people can join the insurance scheme voluntarily. Students, schoolchildren and kindergarten children are also covered.

The main providers of accident insurance are the employers’ liability insurance funds, each of which comprises all the firms in a given trade or industry in a specific district. Their funds come from contributions paid only by employers. Benefits can be claimed if the occurrence of an event insured against (accident at work, occupational disease) leads to injury, illness or death. Events insured against also include accidents which occur on the way to and from the place of work. If an insured person sustains accidental injury, the accident insurance fund bears the full cost of treatment. Injury benefits are also paid if the person is unable to work. If the person is incapable of earning a living or dies as a result of an accident or occupational disease, the insurance fund pays a pension or a death grant and a pension for surviving dependents, as the case may be. These pensions are adjusted annually. Vocational assistance under the accident insurance scheme above all covers retraining measures designed to facilitate the person’s reintegration into the work force. The employers’ liability insurance funds are furthermore required to issue regulations on prevention of accidents and control of occupational diseases and to monitor their observance.