Who is covered by the gesetzliche Unfallversicherung? What does the Berufsgenossenschaft pay when you have a work accident, an occupational disease or get hurt on your way to the office? Here are the answers, in plain English, with the relevant SGB VII paragraphs.
Last updated: 25 May 2026meinetarife24 Editorial TeamAbout 8 minutes read
Key takeaways
Tip for newcomers
If you are employed in Germany, you are covered from day one. No signup, no payment. After a work accident, see a Durchgangsarzt (D-Arzt) instead of your GP. You can find one at dguv.de.
Figures: DGUV statistics 2024 (cases reported in 2024)
Reportable work accidents (-3.8%)
Commuting accidents (-6.0%)
Cost for employees (§ 150 SGB VII)
Berufsgenossenschaften and Unfallkassen
These are the words you will see in BG forms, doctor reports and official letters.
The gesetzliche Unfallversicherung is one of five branches of German social insurance, alongside health, pension, long-term care and unemployment insurance. It has two jobs (§ 1 SGB VII): prevent work accidents and occupational diseases, and pay for the consequences when something goes wrong.
The list in § 2 SGB VII is longer than most people expect. Anyone working, training or studying in Germany is almost always on it.
Employees (full-time, part-time, mini-jobbers)
Cover starts from day one of work.
Apprentices and interns
Including vocational training and student internships with university supervision.
Pupils, university students, kindergarten children
From daycare and school through to higher education, including the way to and from campus.
Au pairs and working students
Covered via the host family or the university affiliation.
Volunteers, rescuers, first responders
Fire brigade, paramedics, anyone helping in an emergency. No contract needed.
Family caregivers
Care level 2 or higher, at least 10 hours of care per week.
Self-employed and freelancers
You can join a BG voluntarily, but few do.
Homemakers
No statutory cover for household accidents.
Pensioners without a side job
Those still working are covered for the job. Retirement alone is not.
Managing directors with veto rights
When you are essentially your own employer, the BG decides case by case.
If you fall in one of these groups, private accident insurance is worth a look. Otherwise a permanent injury is paid out of your own pocket.
Statutory cover applies in three clearly defined cases. Anything outside falls back on your private insurance.
§ 8 (1) SGB VII
An accident that happens during covered work. Falling from scaffolding, a burn in a commercial kitchen, slipping in a warehouse. Since 2021 the same applies in the home office (§ 8 (1) sentence 3 SGB VII), as long as the activity was work-related.
§ 8 (2) SGB VII
On the direct route to or from work. Dropping a child off at daycare is covered when daycare is on the usual commute. A stop at the supermarket interrupts the cover until you return to the standard route.
§ 9 SGB VII + BKV
Illnesses listed in the Occupational Diseases Ordinance (BKV). Classic examples: noise-induced hearing loss, chemical-related skin diseases, asbestosis. The BG verifies the causal link.
What is not covered
Sport in your free time, household chores, holidays, private activities during your break (eating, shopping, personal calls). For cover there, you need private accident insurance.
There are six core benefit types. Each comes with its own conditions.
§ 27 SGB VII
The BG covers all medically necessary treatment. From the Durchgangsarzt to the hospital, including medication and aids. No co-payment, no prescription fee.
§§ 45–47 SGB VII
80% of gross salary, capped at net income, for up to 78 weeks. The first six weeks are paid by your employer as ordinary sick pay, then the BG takes over.
§§ 26, 33 SGB VII
Medical rehab, vocational retraining, workplace adaptation, technical aids. The BG follows the rule "rehabilitation before pension": it explores every option to get you back to work first.
§ 56 SGB VII
If your earning capacity stays reduced by at least 20% beyond week 26 after the accident, you have a claim to Verletztenrente. The amount depends on your previous annual income and the MdE rate.
§§ 63–71 SGB VII
If someone dies from a work accident: funeral grant, widow or widower pension, orphan pension. Parental pensions may also apply.
§§ 35–38 SGB VII
Retraining, further education, mobility aids and integration support. When the old job no longer works, the BG helps you start again.
Three steps that decide whether the BG pays without questions later.
Step 1
Even if the injury seems minor. A few days later no one remembers exactly what happened, and the BG can question the link to work.
Step 2
For work accidents the D-Arzt is the first stop. They document for the BG and set treatment and rehab in motion. Find one at dguv.de.
Step 3
For more than three days off work or in case of death, the employer must file the Unfallanzeige with the responsible BG within three days (§ 193 SGB VII). Keep your copy.
If you want cover in your free time, when you do sport or while on holiday, private accident insurance does what the statutory cover does not. Comparison is free and non-binding. We earn a commission when you sign up. The price does not change because of that.
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Answers with SGB VII references, checked May 2026.
The GUV is part of German social insurance. It covers employees, apprentices, pupils, students and certain other groups for work accidents, commuting accidents and occupational diseases. The premium is paid by the employer. Legal basis: SGB VII.
A Wegeunfall is an accident on the direct route between home and work (§ 8 (2) SGB VII). Direct means no private detour. A drop-off at daycare on the usual commute is covered. A stop at the supermarket interrupts the cover until you return to the standard route.
The way to the canteen, bakery or restaurant is covered. Eating itself is not. A fall in the canteen is not a work accident, because eating counts as private. On the way back to work the cover applies again.
Since 2021, working from home is treated the same as working on company premises (§ 8 (1) sentence 3 SGB VII). A trip to the toilet or to the coffee machine is covered when it would be in the office. Cooking or doing laundry stays uncovered.
Tell your employer immediately, see a Durchgangsarzt (D-Arzt) instead of your GP. The employer files the formal notification with the BG within three days for more than three days off work (§ 193 SGB VII).
First six weeks: ordinary sick pay from the employer. After that the BG pays Verletztengeld: 80% gross, capped at net, up to 78 weeks (§§ 45-47 SGB VII). If your earning capacity remains reduced by at least 20% beyond week 26, a Verletztenrente may follow (§ 56 SGB VII).
Yes. University students are covered during academic activities, internships with university supervision and on the way there (§ 2 (1) no. 8 SGB VII). Au pairs are covered through the host family. Both are free of cost.
The statutory cover only applies to work, commuting and occupational illness. Leisure, sport, household and holidays are not covered. Families, people who play sport and the self-employed often benefit from private cover, because it pays 24/7 worldwide and offers a lump-sum payout for lasting injuries.
This article explains German law and does not replace individual advice. For specific cases, contact the responsible Berufsgenossenschaft or a consumer advice centre.
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