Insurance · Germany
Income protection in Germany
Short-term illness, occupational disability and reduced earning capacity use different tests. Match the question to the type of protection.
Fabian BeiningFinanz2Go · 6 min readOfficial sources reviewed 15 October 2026
Start with these three questions.
Temporary absence
Understand sick pay and sickness-benefit arrangements.
Your occupation
Read the private policy’s occupational-disability definition.
Wider work capacity
Keep the statutory reduced-earning-capacity test separate.
Five layers
Do not treat these protections as interchangeable
Employer sick pay
Eligible employees can generally receive continued remuneration for up to six weeks. Employment status and the statutory conditions matter.
Statutory sickness benefit
For eligible statutory-health-insurance members, Krankengeld can follow defined incapacity-for-work or inpatient-treatment rules. Not every membership or employment status creates the same entitlement.
Private daily sickness allowance
Krankentagegeld replaces contractually defined loss of earnings during temporary incapacity for work. The agreed waiting period, daily amount and termination rules apply.
Private occupational disability cover
Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung is contract-based long-term protection linked to the occupation last performed while healthy, subject to the policy definition and evidence.
Statutory reduced earning capacity pension
Erwerbsminderungsrente tests remaining capacity under the usual conditions of the general labour market and also requires statutory insurance periods.
Accident and basic-abilities cover
These use different insured events: accident consequences or loss of specifically named abilities. Neither is automatically equivalent to occupational disability cover.
Private occupational disability
The last occupation is central—but the contract completes the test
Legal starting point
Section 172 VVG starts from the occupation last performed, as it was structured without the health impairment. Illness, bodily injury or an age-exceeding loss of strength may be relevant.
The percentage threshold and prognosis period are policy terms. A 50% threshold is common according to BaFin, but it is not a universal statutory rule.
Referral clauses
A policy may make payment conditional on whether another occupation suited to training and abilities and broadly consistent with the previous social position is performed or could be performed. Check whether the wording permits abstract referral, concrete referral or neither.
Never assume that every policy waives abstract referral.
Statutory pension
A different test: capacity on the general labour market
Under section 43 SGB VI, full reduced earning capacity generally means being unable, because of illness or disability and for an unforeseeable period, to work at least three hours per day under usual general-labour-market conditions. Partial reduced earning capacity generally means being unable to work at least six hours per day.
Hours alone do not establish entitlement
The standard rules also require the general qualifying period and, in principle, three years of compulsory contributions in the preceding five years. Exceptions exist. German Pension Insurance examines rehabilitation before pension.
This is not protection of the last occupation and not a freely chosen benefit amount.
Application
Health questions and disclosure require precision
Answer the questions asked
Section 19 VVG covers known risk circumstances material to the insurer’s decision about which the insurer asks in text form. Answer every written health, occupation and activity question completely and accurately.
Do not guess dates or diagnoses. Obtain records where necessary and keep a copy of the application and answers.
Consequences differ by case
An incomplete or incorrect answer does not have one automatic consequence. Depending on fault, causation, questions, statutory notices and deadlines, withdrawal, termination, amended terms or loss of benefits may be relevant.
A disclosed condition can lead to ordinary acceptance, a specific exclusion, a risk surcharge or a declined application. No individual outcome can be predicted here.
Contract mechanics
Six terms to inspect before relying on cover
Occupation description
Document actual duties, working hours, physical and cognitive demands, travel, management responsibility and the period used by the insurer.
Threshold and prognosis
Read the required degree, expected duration, start of benefit, any waiting period and the treatment of partial disability.
Pension amount and end date
The monthly pension, premium waiver and benefit end date are contractual choices—not state-set entitlements.
Exclusions and surcharge
Check any condition-, cause-, activity- or country-specific exclusion and whether it affects only one diagnosis or a wider group of conditions.
Dynamisation
Increases before a claim and pension escalation during a claim are separate features. Neither should be described as inflation-linked unless the wording supports that.
Territory and relocation
Do not assume unchanged worldwide claims handling. Check residence, territory, governing law, examinations, evidence, payment and notification rules before moving.
Claims
Evidence connects health to the real occupation
Medical evidence
Expect reports about diagnosis, treatment, functional restrictions, prognosis and relevant medical history. The insurer may request records and examinations within the contractual and legal framework.
Occupational evidence
A job title alone is not enough. A detailed description of the last occupation, typical working week and material duties is central.
Recognition and review
Sections 173 and 174 VVG regulate recognition and later review. A later end to recognised benefits requires a reasoned notice in text form and does not take effect immediately.
No automatic payment promise
Benefits are due only if the contractual requirements are met. This guide cannot decide an application, exclusion or claim.
Neutral checklist
Build an income-risk map before comparing contracts
Measure the household gap
List essential monthly spending, dependable household income, emergency savings and the period those resources could bridge.
Map existing rights
Employer sick pay, statutory Krankengeld, pension record, employer or pension-scheme benefits and existing private contracts.
Define the occupation accurately
Record duties and workload rather than relying only on a job title.
Compare definitions, not headlines
Trigger, prognosis, referral, exclusions, pension amount, term, evidence, review and relocation rules.
Protect sensitive records
Send health, identity and employment documents only through the official secure channel requested by the insurer or responsible institution.
Official sources
Law, supervision, pension and health-system guidance
These sources support the visible system boundaries. Individual policy terms remain necessary for contract-specific answers.