Would you like to live in Berlin ? Then you will inevitably have to deal with some bureaucracy. Your main focus will be to look for a place to live, register at the Burgeramt, and get insurance. There are several types that you may need in Germany. Carry on reading to find out more about the different insurances and which ones you’ll definitely need.
Health insurance
In Germany, there are different types of health insurance. You have private or public, but it can also be used as a hybrid. All the companies, ‘Krankenkasse’ have contracts with the government. You have the distinction between private and public, but in Germany, you can also find: Gesetzlich, Freiwillig, and Privat. They all can differ a lot from each other so it is important to choose wisely. We also have recommended partners who can take care of your health insurance, Barmer is one of them or fully digital with TK.
Gesetzlich Versichert (GVK) is the health plan that most people have in Germany. In most cases, your employer will pay this insurance for you. This will be calculated in your salary as 14.6%. Since it is a percentage of your wage, it means that if your income is low, so is the percentage you have to pay. For people who earn a lot of money, it’s a disadvantage because they will pay more for the same service. In general, it is a big advantage to have this plan, as your children will also be covered without any extra cost.
Freiwillig Versichert is almost the same as Gesetzlich Versicherung, the only difference is that, you earn more than 56K a year. Most of the time those people are self-employed, but for them, it may be more beneficial to have private insurance. Read more below to find out why.
Privat Versichert is also a different way to be insured. This is also for people who earn more money than 56K a year. But, it is a bit different than public insurance. It is more luxurious, as you don’t have to wait to have an appointment with the doctor for instance. But there are also disadvantages. The public insurance will be selected by payment, but for the private, it will be selected based on your overall health. When you have health problems or a serious illness, you will end up paying more for your insurance than for someone who is healthy. Book a 15 min Video chat with an insurance expert.
Expat Health Insurance
For the new arrival to Germany. Works for the first visa application. Request yours here.
Household Insurance
The Hausratversicherung is the insurance that will cover you for any damage to household items such as furniture. When there is water damage or a fire in the house, you won’t have to pay for the cost of all new furniture. If you have a Hausratversicherung you will get money for what your furniture was valued at. If you own your house it is clear that you need insurance. But how is it managed when you rent a house or room? When you rent a house you need your own contract for a Hausratversicherung. Because then your own stuff has insurance. The landlord needs his own insurance for his furniture, but most of this stuff will fall under the Wohngebäudeversicherung. So it is important to know that you need your own Hausratversicherung.
Building Insurance
This insurance is for if you own a house or an apartment. When you are the owner you need this plan. For the German government, you don’t need to, but it will be a lot cheaper to have insurance when your house is damaged by fire, water, or a storm. The basics of this insurance are that your house is insured for the basic damage of fire, water, and storm. You can specialize your plan but then you will also pay more for the insurance. When you have a basic Wohngebäudeversicherung then you are covered for fire, lightning damage, explosions, storm, hail, pipe water, and for too high voltage. So be wise and get this insurance, because when you have to pay for a whole new house, you will be glad that you are insured.
Liability Insurance
A Haftplichtversicherung, what is it for and why do you need it? That’s a pretty good question! The Haftplichtversicherung insures you for accidents. For example, if you break an item belonging to someone else. So it is an insurance for all the accidents that could easily happen every day. Those accidents are likely to happen to everybody but sometimes have very expensive consequences.
However, insurances also have their boundaries. Because when you have a dangerous or risky hobby, it will not be insured by the Haftplichtversicherung. You will need special insurances for this. For example when you keep special animals, or when you play motorsport. This isn’t insured with your Haftplichtversicherung.
Of course, there are so many different types of insurances in Germany, and we have just chosen to show you the most important insurance for newcomers in Berlin. Get yours here.
