German Social Accident Insurance

The German Social Accident Insurance is a dedicated part of the German social insurance system. The concept was “invented” by Otto von Bismarck in 1885. Together with statutory health, retirement pensions, nursing care and unemployment insurance, it forms the basis of social security in Ger- many. Like the other elements in this system, the accident insurance is compulsory. In accordance with the German Social Code (Volume VII), the German Social Accident Insurance covers around 79 million people against the consequences of E occupational accidents and E occupational diseases. These include around 17.1 million children in day care facilities and schools and students at institutes of higher education (E German Social Accident Insurance for students). Over 4 million companies and institutions are members of the individual German Social Accident Insurance Institutions.

The key features of the German Social Accident Insurance are:

• E Indemnification against liability:
  The German Social Accident Insurance assumes E liability on behalf of employers for occupational accidents and diseases suffered by their employees.
• The principle of social protection:
  This provides insured individuals with an entitlement to E benefits even in cases in which the company is not at fault, or when an accident occurs on the journey to or from work.
• The principle of services “from a single source”:
  This means that the German Social Accident Insurance takes care of both prevention, and rehabilitation and compensation.
• The principle of “prevention before compensation”:
  If effective prevention work results in occupational accidents and diseases being avoided, it benefits the insured individuals and their employers alike, and compensation is not necessary. For this reason, the German Social Accident Insurance pro- motes measures for prevention and preventive care.
• The principle of “rehabilitation before pensions”:
  This means that priority is always given to the best possible medical care for the insured individuals, and to their occupation- al and social re-integration. Since successful rehabilitation is the best solution for insured individuals, all suitable means are used to attain it.

Source: https://publikationen.dguv.de/widgets/pdf/download/article/2865

Documents for download

In good hands. Your German Social Accident Insurance

In guten Händen. Ihre gesetzliche Unfallversicherung

Geschäfts- und Rechnungsergebnisse 2017

DGUV-Statistiken für die Praxis 2019