Disability Insurance (Berufsunfähigkeit)

Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung (BU, disability insurance) pays a monthly pension if you cannot work in your profession due to illness or injury at 50% or more. State support for loss of work capacity is minimal, making BU a key element of income protection for workers in Germany.

Why State Support Is Insufficient

When losing work capacity, the state pays Erwerbsminderungsrente (reduced earning capacity pension), but only under strict conditions [1]:

• Full disability: can work less than 3 hours per day in any profession (not just your own)
• Partial disability: can work 3-6 hours per day
• Minimum tenure: 5 years in pension system, of which 3 years contributions in last 5 years

Average Erwerbsminderungsrente in 2024 — €963/month (full disability), €481/month (partial) [2]. For immigrants with short tenure, amounts are even lower.

Critical difference: the state pays only if you cannot work at all. BU insurance pays if you cannot work in your profession — for example, a programmer after hand injury can physically work but cannot program.

Key BU Insurance Parameters

Parameter	Typical Values	Explanation
BU-Rente (monthly pension)	70–80% of net income	Amount received each month when unable to work
Endalter (term)	Until retirement age (67 years)	How long insurance pays pension
BU definition	Cannot perform your profession at 50%+	When payments begin
Nachversicherungsgarantie	Option to increase pension without health check	When income rises, marriage, birth of child can increase coverage [3]
Abstraktes Verweisung (abstract profession referral)	Must be excluded in contract	If included, insurer can deny payment by referring to other professions

BU Insurance Cost

Cost depends on four factors:

Factor	Impact on Cost
Profession (Berufsgruppe)	Office work — group 1-2 (cheapest). Physical labor — group 4-5 (expensive)
Age at signup	At 25 years — 2-3 times cheaper than at 40 years
Health condition	Chronic conditions increase cost or lead to denial
Pension amount	Higher desired monthly payment, more expensive insurance

Approximate cost for office workers (IT, finance, consulting):

• Age 30, pension €1,500/month, until 67: €80–120/month
• Age 40, pension €2,000/month, until 67: €150–220/month

For physical professions (construction, logistics), prices are 2–3 times higher.

Critically Important: Honesty When Signing Up

Gesundheitsfragen (health questions) — contract foundation

When signing up for BU, you fill out detailed health questionnaire for last 5-10 years: all doctor visits, diagnoses, treatments, sick days. If you hide information, insurer will deny payment even years later — this is called Anfechtung (contract contestation due to intentional concealment of facts) [4].

What to do:

• Request medical records from doctors before filling questionnaire
• List everything you remember — even one-time visits
• If uncertain — list it: better clarifying question from insurer than denial in 10 years
• Work with independent broker who checks questionnaire

Alternatives if Denied or High Price

If denied BU or price too high, there are three alternatives with lower requirements:

Option	Payment Condition	Cost	Suitable For
Erwerbsunfähigkeitsversicherung (EU)	Cannot work at all (under 3 hours/day)	~40% of BU cost	Physical professions with high BU denial risk
Grundfähigkeitsversicherung	Loss of basic abilities: walking, seeing, hearing, using hands	~50–60% of BU cost	Office workers with health issues
Dread Disease (Schwere Krankheiten)	Diagnosis: cancer, heart attack, stroke, MS, etc.	~30–50% of BU cost	Supplement to BU or only option if denied

Critical distinction: BU pays monthly pension when unable to work in profession. All alternatives have stricter conditions — either full disability, or specific diagnoses.

When to Sign Up for BU

Optimal time: 25-35 years, before chronic conditions appear. Each year of delay increases price and denial risk.

Factor	Why Time Is Critical
Price	At 30, BU costs ~€100/month. At 40 — ~€180/month. At 50 — often denial or €300+/month
Health	Questionnaire asks for last 5-10 years. Older you are, more doctor visits accumulated
Denial risk	Before 30 — denial ~15%. After 40 — denial ~40-50%
Accumulated protection	If signed at 30 and disabled at 45 — receive pension until 67. If signed at 45 — insurance much more expensive

For immigrants: sign up in first 2-3 years after relocation, while still healthy and questionnaire hasn't accumulated many German doctor visits.

Statistics: Why BU Matters

One in four workers in Germany becomes unable to work before retirement age [5]. Main disability causes in 2023 [6]:

Cause	Share of Cases
Mental illness (depression, burnout, anxiety)	36%
Musculoskeletal diseases (back, joints)	18%
Cancer	17%
Cardiovascular diseases	6%
Accidents	7%

Average age of disability onset — 47 years. This means potentially 20 years without income until retirement.

FAQ

Not legal or financial advice.

I recently moved to Germany and have worked less than 5 years. Does it make sense to get BU now?

Yes, and the sooner the better. BU insurance doesn't depend on tenure in the pension system — it's private insurance that works from the moment the contract is signed. Unlike the state Erwerbsminderungsrente, which requires at least 5 years of contributions [1], BU starts paying when the insured event occurs regardless of tenure. For immigrants, this is especially important: in the first years you have no right to Erwerbsminderungsrente, and BU is the only income protection. An additional advantage of early enrollment: the health questionnaire (Gesundheitsfragen) covers the last 5-10 years, and in the first years after relocating to Germany, few visits to German doctors have accumulated.

I saw a psychologist 3 years ago. Should I hide this when applying for BU?

Absolutely not. Visits to psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists are among the most verified items, as mental illness is the #1 cause of disability (36% of cases) [6]. If you hide the visit and file a claim 10 years later, the insurer will request medical records, discover the concealment, and deny payment through Anfechtung [4]. What to do: (1) disclose honestly; (2) if the visit was one-time with no diagnosis — attach an explanation; (3) if a diagnosis exists — work through an independent broker who sends anonymous inquiries (Risikovoranfrage) to multiple companies; (4) some companies accept with exclusion of mental health conditions from coverage — this is better than having no BU at all.

BU costs €120/month — that's 5% of my net income. Is this normal?

A common benchmark is 2-5% of net income on BU [3]. At net €2,400, that's €48–120/month. €120 is the upper end of this range. If budget is tight, options for reducing cost: (1) reduce BU pension to 60% of net instead of 80%; (2) choose payment start after 6 months instead of 1 month (Karenzzeit/waiting period); (3) consider Grundfähigkeitsversicherung (basic ability insurance) — costs 50-60% of BU with narrower coverage. Trade-offs to evaluate: shortening the term to age 60 leaves 7 years without coverage before retirement, and a contract with abstract profession referral (Abstraktes Verweisung) allows the insurer to deny payment by referring to other professions.

I was denied BU due to back problems. What alternatives actually work?

BU denial is not the end. Three levels of alternatives in decreasing protection: (1) Erwerbsunfähigkeitsversicherung (EU) — pays if you cannot work less than 3 hours per day in any profession; lower health requirements, cost ~40% of BU; (2) Grundfähigkeitsversicherung — pays upon loss of specific abilities (walking, seeing, using hands); with back issues it may be difficult to obtain, but covers other risks; cost ~50-60% of BU; (3) Dread Disease — lump-sum payment upon diagnosis of serious illness (cancer, heart attack, stroke); doesn't cover back problems, but supplements protection; cost ~30-50% of BU. Combinations are possible — for example, EU + Dread Disease.

I'm a freelancer (Freiberufler). Is BU different for the self-employed?

There are no fundamental differences in BU conditions for the self-employed — the insurance evaluates occupational disability the same way as for employees. But there are nuances: (1) income is verified through tax assessments (Steuerbescheid) for the last 3 years, not a salary statement; (2) when filing a claim, freelancers face more difficulty proving inability to work — the insurer may argue that you can adapt your activities; (3) BU pension amount is limited to ~80% of average net income over the last 3 years; (4) self-employed individuals without mandatory pension insurance receive no Erwerbsminderungsrente — BU remains the only protection [1]. For self-employed individuals with growing income, Nachversicherungsgarantie (option to increase coverage without a new health check) is one of the key parameters when evaluating contracts [3].

Sources

1. Deutsche Rentenversicherung — Erwerbsminderungsrente: Voraussetzungen und Leistungen https://www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de/DRV/DE/Rente/Erwerbsminderungsrente/erwerbsminderungsrente_node.html (as of January 2025)

2. Deutsche Rentenversicherung — Erwerbsminderungsrente payment statistics 2024 https://www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de/DRV/DE/Ueber-uns-und-Presse/Zahlen-und-Fakten/zahlen_und_fakten.html (data for 2024)

3. Bund der Versicherten — Nachversicherungsgarantie bei Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung https://www.bundderversicherten.de/Berufsunf%C3%A4higkeitsversicherung/Nachversicherungsgarantie (as of January 2025)

4. BaFin — Anfechtung von Versicherungsverträgen wegen Verletzung der vorvertraglichen Anzeigepflicht https://www.bafin.de/DE/Verbraucher/Versicherungen/Lebensversicherung/Anfechtung/anfechtung_node.html (current as of 2025)

5. Deutsche Rentenversicherung — Risiko Berufsunfähigkeit: Jeder Vierte betroffen https://www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de/DRV/DE/Rente/Erwerbsminderungsrente/erwerbsminderungsrente_node.html (statistics as of 2024)

6. Deutsche Rentenversicherung — Ursachen für Erwerbsminderung 2023 https://www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Statistiken-und-Berichte/statistikpublikationen/rv_in_zeitreihen.html (annual report 2023)