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You should know this rule of thumb for accident insurance

Sometimes all it takes is one careless moment and the damage is great. Accident insurance can at least mitigate financial consequences.

Whether during sports, at work or at home – accidents happen again and again. It may therefore make sense to protect yourself against the consequences. If you suffer lasting damage, it can sometimes lead to financial problems.

Private accident insurance reduces this risk. We will show you when the protection applies, for whom it is worthwhile and what insurance companies actually understand by an accident.

Private accident insurance is liable if you suffer an accident in your free time or at work. According to the consumer advice center, this occurs “if the insured person involuntarily suffers damage to their health due to an external event that suddenly affects their body.”

“Suddenly” means that the event occurred over a short period of time – for example, it was not the result of long-term physical exertion. “Acting on the body from the outside” means, for example, a collision or impact. And “involuntary” is anything that you did not cause yourself. Anyone who pulls a tooth themselves has not suffered an accident.

While private accident insurance pays for all accidents in everyday life, statutory accident protection is limited to work accidents and accidents on the way to work, school or university. If you deviate from the direct path, the protection is already gone.

Statutory accident insurance is part of statutory social insurance, but you can take out private accident insurance voluntarily. This text is only about private protection.

What benefits private accident insurance pays depends on your contract. The most important benefit is the so-called disability benefit, a one-off amount of money that you receive if your physical or mental performance is permanently restricted due to an accident. “Permanent” means that you are expected to remain impaired for more than three years and are not expected to improve.

The amount of disability benefit depends on the degree of your disability. It depends on which part of the body was damaged. This is regulated in the so-called link tax. The accident insurance then pays a percentage of the agreed insured sum, also known as the basic sum. This means that you have to set this amount high enough to be truly financially secure.