Disability insurance in Germany (Berufsunfähigkeit)

Disability insurance (Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung, hereinafter “BU”) will pay you a monthly pension, at a level you have set, when you are no longer able to carry out your current job due to ill health.

How disability insurance works

Disability insurance pays a monthly pension in the event that you can no longer do your current job. In a good policy it does not matter whether you can do any other job (the insurer waives the abstrakte Verweisung, its right to refer you to another occupation).

It does not matter what caused the disability: an accident or an illness. You will receive a BU pension if you have lost at least half of your working capacity and can no longer do what is required for work (or can only work part-time).

Accidents account for only about 7% of all causes of occupational disability in Germany.

Who is insurance suitable for

You should not rely solely on the state disability pension, as it is rarely enough to cover the cost of living. According to the German Insurance Association (GDV, 2025), the state disability pension is usually less than a third of your last gross salary, and it is paid only if your capacity to work is severely reduced. You get the full pension if you can no longer work even 3 hours a day in any kind of job, and the half pension (half the size of the full one) if you can work 3 to 6 hours. You also need five years’ Wartezeit (qualifying period) and, as a rule, three years of compulsory contributions in the last five.

Private reserves can only be dispensed with if you are already well-off and do not depend on your earned income.

Private disability insurance is particularly useful:

To everyone who cannot manage without earned income
For families where the main income comes from a single family member
For the self-employed, as they often do not have mandatory pension insurance
At the start of their career, because young and healthy people can get insured cheaply

Public servants can also take out disability insurance if they need more to live on than the state pension provides.

Simply putting money aside for a rainy day is unlikely to be a worthy alternative to BU insurance. According to the GDV, insured people become occupationally disabled at 48 on average. If you want to use your savings from that point on to tide you over until retirement age, those savings would have to be very substantial. Few people will be able to save that much.

Causes of occupational disability

Someone is berufsunfähig (occupationally disabled) if they are expected to be unable to do their last occupation even at half capacity for at least 6 months, or have already been unable to for 6 months.

Anyone engaged in manual labour is generally at greater risk than someone who works in an office. However, one must not forget about depression or burnout: nowadays they are the most common cause of occupational disability.

According to Morgen & Morgen (M&M BU Rating 2026), the causes of occupational disability break down as follows:

Mental and nervous disorders – 39.32%
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system – 17.61%
Cancer – 16.30%
Accidents – 6.85%
Cardiovascular diseases – 6.08%
Other – 13.84%

How much does disability insurance cost

The cost of disability insurance varies from insurer to insurer. The most significant factor is your current job: the riskier the insurer considers it to be, the higher the insurance premiums. Only the occupation you are engaged in at the time of application is taken into account.

Anyone engaged in hazardous or manual labour has a higher chance of becoming disabled, and their insurance will be more expensive. Anyone who loves playing rough ice hockey, rock climbing or horse riding also pays more due to their high-risk hobbies.

However, only risks known at the time of application are taken into account.

The cost also depends on your state of health. With certain medical conditions, such as type 1 diabetes or epilepsy, it is difficult to take out a policy at all.

BU insurance checklist before signing the agreement

Arrange BU insurance as early as possible. The healthier you are when you apply for disability insurance, the cheaper your insurance premium will be.

Try to submit your application before the end of the year, as many insurance companies change the insured’s age on New Year’s Eve rather than on their actual birthday. Consequently, immediately after the new year begins, the insured becomes a year older and insurance premiums will increase.

There are three ways to take out BU cover:

standalone BU insurance;
BU, as an optional add-on to life insurance (Risikolebensversicherung);
additional insurance for endowment life insurance or pension insurance.

We advise you to take out standalone BU insurance and, if necessary, a separate Risikolebensversicherung. The advantage of having two separate policies is that it allows you to remain flexible. You can always cancel one without affecting the other policy.

Choose a sufficient BU pension.

Many BU pensions are too low. Ensure that the insured pension will be sufficient to fund your current expenses for family, housing, insurance and groceries.

We recommend setting your BU pension at 60–80% of your net income.

Make sure the policy waives the abstrakte Verweisung: the insurer then does not check whether your knowledge and skills would allow you to work in another occupation.

Choose insurance companies with experience and high financial stability. The insurer needs to be around in 20 or 30 years’ time. We do not recommend companies that have been on the market for only a few years.

Disability insurance: comparison

The answer to the question of which disability insurance is best is individual to each person. Disability insurance is a very individual product. The choice of insurance company and policy depends on your age, profession and state of health. For example, a high-performance and low-cost policy might not suit you if you have had health issues in the past.

In this complex matter of selecting an insurance tariff for disability, an individual consultation is indispensable. An insurance broker can make anonymous preliminary risk enquiries for you with various companies, and find one that offers the most favourable terms for your specific case.

We offer services in selecting the best tariff for your individual situation.

To ask a question, write to us by Email or on Telegram and we will get back to you promptly.

Can I get insured after a serious illness?

Please note the following points:

Be honest when answering all health-related questions
In some cases, it might be worth waiting until you no longer have to disclose critical medical treatments. For example, if you underwent psychotherapy four years ago, it makes sense to take out the policy only in a year’s time: many application forms ask about outpatient psychotherapy only for the last 5 years. Answer every question on the form fully and truthfully.
It is important to review your medical records and speak with your doctor so that you do not forget any treatment received in previous years.

If it becomes clear that obtaining disability insurance will be difficult due to health problems, make preliminary anonymous enquiries regarding risks with as many insurance companies as possible. How a condition is assessed can vary significantly between them.

What to look out for when taking out a policy

To ensure your pension will be sufficient in 20 or 30 years’ time, it is important to be able to adjust its amount in response to changing life circumstances or rising inflation. Consider the option of annual dynamic growth in pension payments, for example by 1-3%.

Take into account the insurance period—the period during which occupational disability must occur for the insurance company to pay a pension. If this period ends at the age of 50 and you become disabled at the age of 51, you will not receive any money.

Take note of when your children are likely to become financially independent of you.

What to do if insurance is too expensive

Speak to your insurance broker about an anonymous preliminary risk enquiry. Your personal data will not be shared, and you will avoid the risk of being turned down by an insurer.

If your work does not fit the standard description, a more specific and detailed description will help you get a lower rate.

A shorter insurance period will also bring savings.

Some companies offer so-called introductory tariffs for the first 3 to 5 years, only increasing them afterwards. This will be useful if you temporarily have a low income, for example, while studying.

Conclusions

Choose an experienced consultant and a well-rated tariff.

Select the pension level that will provide for you if you can no longer work.

For the pension to be enough in 20 or 30 years, it is important that its amount can be adjusted afterwards.

Frequently asked questions about disability insurance in Germany

What is disability insurance in Germany, and what is it called in German?

This is neither sick pay nor a state pension. In Germany, disability insurance means the Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung (BU), a private policy that is separate from the state disability pension. If illness leaves you unable to work in your last occupation even at half capacity, the insurer pays the monthly BU pension you agreed. Usually this must be expected to last at least six months, or that period has already passed. While you are simply ill, your employer pays first, then your Krankenkasse (statutory health insurer) pays Krankengeld (statutory sickness benefit), or a private Krankentagegeld (daily sickness allowance) applies. The state Erwerbsminderungsrente (disability pension) works differently.

Is there a state alternative to disability insurance in Germany?

There is state protection, but it works differently: the Erwerbsminderungsrente (state disability pension) assesses you against any kind of work, not your own occupation. You get the full pension if you can work less than three hours a day, and the half pension, which is half the size of the full one, at three to under six hours. If you are unemployed because there is no suitable part-time job, the full pension can be paid in that case too. You also need five years’ Wartezeit (qualifying period) and, as a rule, three years of compulsory contributions in the last five; self-employed people without compulsory contributions often fail on this.

How much does disability insurance cost in Germany?

There is no single price: it depends on your occupation, age, health, the end date of the policy and your hobbies. As a guide, the Verbraucherzentrale (consumer advice centre; page dated 2 January 2025) gives these figures for an insured BU pension (the monthly benefit) of €1,000: a 30-year-old office clerk with a policy running to 67 pays about €50 with a cheaper insurer and more than €100 with an expensive one; a 20-year-old roofer with a policy to 65 pays about €100 and more than €200. Had the same roofer taken out the policy while still at school, the cost would be only a half to a third as much. For identical cover, the prices of insurers sometimes differ by 200%.

Can I still take out disability insurance at 50 or 55?

You can try, but not with every insurer and not on the terms of a 30-year-old. Some companies accept applications only up to 52 or 55, many up to 60 and a few up to 64 or 65 (overview by a broker portal, July 2026), and premiums are clearly higher than for younger applicants. The application asks about treatment in recent years, and insurers rate it differently. I usually advise starting with an anonymous preliminary risk enquiry through a broker at several companies; your name and address are not passed on. Then compare a policy to 65 instead of 67 (cheaper, but the payments end sooner) and a somewhat lower pension.

How high should the BU pension be, and can you be over-insured?

Many people worry about over-insuring, but in consultations I more often see the opposite: people pick a pension that is too low. A rule of thumb is 60–80% of your current net income; the Verbraucherzentrale (consumer advice centre; page as at January 2025) writes that 80% is often a good guideline. Work from your fixed costs: housing, insurance contributions, loans, groceries. The ceiling is set by the insurer, which checks “financial adequacy” when you apply; at some companies it is up to 60% of gross or 75% of net income. At the time of a claim, however, there is no over-insurance any more: the agreed pension is paid. If your income rises, look for a Nachversicherungsgarantie (guarantee to raise cover later): it lets you increase the pension without a new health check.

Does disability insurance pay out if I have a severe disability (GdB 50)?

The “50” is misleading. In disability insurance (BU) the 50% threshold means you cannot work in your last occupation even at half capacity, and the insurer decides that under the policy terms and your medical records. A recognised Schwerbehinderung (severe disability) starts at a GdB (Grad der Behinderung, degree of disability) of 50, but it is a separate assessment under different rules and does not trigger a BU pension on its own. If you have no policy yet and the disability is already recognised, getting one is harder. Answer every question in the application fully and make anonymous preliminary enquiries with several insurers first.