Accidents happen everywhere. Often, those affected are injured so severely that their lives are fundamentally changed.

If your health is permanently impaired, you can no longer pursue your usual leisure activities and sometimes even your job.

Legal protection rarely helps
Of course, no one likes to think about a possible stroke of fate that calls their previous life plans into question. Without private accident insurance, however, you are poorly protected in the event of an emergency, because statutory accident protection only applies if the accident occurs at work or school, for example. However, more than 75 percent of all accidents happen in the private sphere.

Private accident insurance covers all accidents in daily life, regardless of whether they happen at home, while travelling, at work, during leisure time or in road traffic. It applies around the clock and everywhere.

Most accidents happen during leisure time. Statutory accident insurance does not apply in this case. Self-employed and non-working people - including housewives and househusbands - bear one hundred per cent of the risk of suffering an accident themselves, because they are not covered by statutory accident insurance even during their working hours.

Moreover, people who are not employed cannot usually take out private occupational disability insurance. The same applies to older workers who already have health restrictions. Here, accident insurance is the only alternative. With only a few health assessment questions, it protects against the financial consequences of accidents.

Accident cover from birth
By the way: Payments from other insurers such as liability, life, health or pension insurance are not offset against benefits from private accident insurance - the benefits from private accident insurance are always provided in addition.

And: You can take out private accident insurance for your children right from birth. This means that all age groups have the opportunity to protect themselves against the financial consequences of an accident.

Single payment and accident pension
Private accident insurance protects you from the often existence-threatening financial consequences of a serious accident. The core of the accident insurance is the disability benefit: If health restrictions remain as a result of an accident, you receive the agreed capital sum.

This can be used to compensate for loss of income, to convert your house or flat to make it suitable for disabled persons or to finance retraining for a necessary change of profession. In most cases, a monthly pension is also agreed in the event of permanent health damage. The amount of these benefits depends on the degree of disability.

Daily allowance, convalescence allowance, death benefit
Especially if you are self-employed, an accident is often associated with loss of income. As a self-employed person, you should therefore agree a daily sickness allowance as part of your accident insurance. The daily allowance is paid for the duration of the inability to work up to one year after the accident.

A convalescence allowance for the first period after treatment can also be agreed. The convalescence allowance is paid for as long as the daily hospital allowance is paid, up to a maximum of one hundred days in total. If the accident leads to death within one year, there is an entitlement to the insured death benefit, so that the surviving dependants are at least relieved financially.

Of course, you should base your insurance needs on your individual private and professional situation. However, according to a common rule of thumb for calculating the sum insured in private accident insurance, you should insure at least three times your annual income.

To ensure that the benefits of your accident insurance keep pace with the constantly rising cost of living, the insurance can also be designed "dynamically". In this case, the insured sums and premiums are regularly adjusted by a fixed percentage or according to the development of contributions to the statutory pension insurance.

More benefits for severe accident consequences
Many insurers offer so-called additional benefit models. If the degree of disability is higher, more is paid than the actual degree of disability. For example, if you are 80 percent disabled due to an accident, you will receive 200 to 300 percent of the full disability benefit, depending on the agreement.

The idea behind the additional benefit models is that the financial needs of the person affected are particularly high in the case of higher degrees of disability.

About nine million people are injured in accidents in Germany every year, one million so seriously that they have to be treated in hospital. Around 24 percent of accidents occur at work, 30 percent at home, 23 percent during sports and games and 18 percent in traffic.

Typical "home accidents" are a fall from a ladder, an injury while gardening or simply a fall on the stairs. Injuries in home fires are also not uncommon.

Beware of sports accidents
Sports accidents are also common. Ever new trend sports are popular precisely because of the danger and thrill. Beginners who overestimate their strength and physical condition are particularly often affected by sports accidents.

Younger, agile people are particularly at risk because of their diverse leisure activities - for them, an injury, perhaps even with permanent damage, means a high loss of quality of life. For those under 30, accidents are also the main cause of occupational disability.

Private accident insurance and occupational disability insurance

In addition to accident insurance, private occupational disability insurance also protects against the financial consequences of permanent physical damage. 

Different benefits 
However, the two insurances cover different risks: Private accident insurance takes effect even at a very low degree of disability. It helps to bear the follow-up costs of the accident and compensates for the financial losses associated with the disability.

However, only about ten percent of all cases of permanent occupational disability are due to accidents. Occupational disability insurance therefore also pays out in the case of permanent illnesses that were not caused by an accident - but only if you are no longer able to carry out your profession due to illness. However, many professions can still be performed with a permanent health restriction.

Less strict health check
Before taking out private occupational disability insurance, a comprehensive health check is always necessary. If you already have pre-existing conditions or work in an occupation with a high health risk, you can expect above-average premiums or even rejection by the insurer.

Before taking out accident insurance, on the other hand, no or only a less stringent health check is required.