Health insurance
Health insurance is mandatory in Germany for all visiting academics and their accompanying family members. Before you leave, you should check whether your insurance at home would also be valid in Germany. EU citizens usually have the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which covers essential medical treatments, if you stay here temporarily.
If your insurance does not provide adequate coverage, you will need to take out an additional insurance policy. We recommend contacting insurance providers before entering Germany, so you can deal with potential problems in advance and be insured from the very start of your stay. Some insurance providers also require you to apply while still in your home country.
See the dropdown box below for a brief overview of the different types of insurance. For further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Welcome Center.
Helpful FAQs on health insurance in Germany can be found on the sites of EURAXESS. General information on the German social security system provides the website Reseach in Germany.
Please check whether your scholarship includes insurance. If this is not the case and you also cannot prove adequate coverage from your home insurance provider, you will need to obtain private health insurance in Germany.
In most cases, you will need to cover the medical costs up front and they will be reimbursed as soon as the health insurance provider receives your claim.
You can find a list of both short-term and long-term policies on the right.
If you are employed directly by the h_da, you will generally have compulsory insurance from a statutory health insurance scheme. You should research the insurance providers yourself (you can find a list of providers on the right) and choose the one that best fits your needs. You need to apply for insurance directly through the insurance providers but make sure to inform the h_da human resources department about which provider you have chosen.
The cost of statutory health insurance is calculated based on your gross income, and is currently about 15 %. The employer and employee both pay about half, and this fee is automatically deducted from your pay cheque.
You are exempt from compulsory insurance with a statutory health insurance scheme if your gross income is over € 54,900. In this case, you can choose either voluntary statutory health insurance or private health insurance.
If your stay does not involve working in Germany or you are only here for a short visit (for a business trip or a conference), your home insurance will be recognized. For longer stays, like for guest lectures or reseachs projects for one semester or year, or if you will plan to be employed, you are subject to compulsory health insurance. Please see the EURAXESS website for additional information and a comprehensive list of private and statutory health insurance providers.
Although not mandatory, we highly recommend getting additional accident and/or personal liability insurance for your stay in Germany. Prior to your trip, you should check with your home insurance provider to see whether you are covered in Germany. If not, you should consider applying for additional insurance. Most of the time, private providers offer combined rates that include health, personal liability, and accidental insurance. You can find a list of insurance providers on the right.