Insurance for Expats in Germany: What Is Required and What Is Optional

Do not buy “expat insurance” as one package. In Germany, health insurance is compulsory. Motor third-party liability is needed if you register and use a car. Private liability, household contents, legal expenses, occupational disability and term life cover are separate choices that should protect a specific risk.

Solve compulsory cover first

Confirm your health-insurance route before comparing optional policies. Employment, income, student status, self-employment, family status and prior coverage can change whether statutory insurance (GKV), private insurance (PKV) or coordinated foreign cover applies. The federal government's health-insurance overview for newcomers explains the GKV/PKV distinction, while the Federal Ministry of Health's statutory-insurance guidance is the better checkpoint for compulsory, voluntary and family membership. Use the rule for your status rather than treating a product marketed to expatriates as proof of compliance.

Keep the membership or policy certificate, effective date, prior-insurance record, employment evidence and written decision for dependants. Short-term travel cover may bridge travel, but it does not automatically satisfy residence or employment requirements.

For a car, arrange motor liability before registration. Berlin's official vehicle-registration requirements list the electronic insurance confirmation number, or eVB, among the required records. An eVB is not permission to drive by itself; confirm the policy start and complete registration. See the separate car-insurance guide.

Add optional cover by exposure

After compulsory cover, list only losses the household could not comfortably absorb: liability to another person, destruction or theft of belongings, loss of earned income, death of an income provider, a defined legal dispute, or liability from independent work. For each retained risk, compare the insured people and activity, benefit or limit, deductible or waiting period, territory, exclusions and cancellation rule. Delete a product from the shortlist when it does not answer a named loss.

Landlord preference does not transform private liability into a universal legal requirement. Professional liability is also different from private liability.

Keep claims and exit evidence

For every policy, save the conditions, application answers, start date, payment proof, renewal and cancellation deadline. Never cancel compulsory cover until replacement cover is accepted in writing.

After an incident, protect people and property, notify the insurer promptly and preserve photographs, receipts, official reports and a factual timeline. Ask for any denial or reduction in writing and compare it with the actual policy clause.

Final portfolio check

Landlord, employer, association, credit-card and travel cover may protect only a narrow event or beneficiary. Ask for the clause before treating it as personal protection. The sensible portfolio is small and deliberate: mandatory health cover and motor liability when a vehicle is registered, followed only by optional protection tied to a loss the household could not absorb. Record why each policy remains, who it covers and which competing policy would otherwise duplicate it.

Turn the chosen cover into an arrival task list with the Germany pre-move and 90-day checklist, which separates mandatory registrations from optional policies.