This article contains key information about accident insurance and associated notifications.

General

What is statutory accident insurance?

Statutory accident insurance forms part of social insurance and is organized by industry. Accident insurance is provided by employers' liability insurance associations and accident insurers. All employees are covered by accident insurance; all contributions are payable by employers alone.

Accident insurance aims to protect employers from compensation claims in the case of work-related accidents, commuting accidents and occupational diseases. Benefits include preventive care, rehabilitation and financial compensation for injured employees and their surviving dependants.

Accident insurance is covered by the German Social Security Code VII. The employer receives information about which institution is responsible for the coverage from the Regional Association of the Statutory Accident Insurance Institutions. Since 01.01.2023, companies have been using a new 15-digit company number.

Purpose and benefits of accident insurance

Statutory accident insurance offers a wide range of benefits and serves important purposes to ensure that both employees and employers are protected. Its main areas of responsibility are:

Who is insured?

In accordance with S. 2 (1) (1) SGB VII, statutory accident insurance covers all employees covered by S. 7 (1) SGB IV, as well as other social insurance groups such as: 

• People in vocational or professional training or development 
• Employees in marginal employment
• People responding to accidents, and blood and organ donors
• Volunteers
• School and university students, and children attending day-care (preschool, private or public day-care)
• Farmers, farming contractors, and their spouses or partners

Businesspeople who are not automatically covered by statutory accident insurance can take out voluntary insurance in accordance with S. 6 SGB VII. This applies to:

• businesspeople and their spouses or partners, 
• self-employed people working in corporations or partnerships; and 
• certain volunteers. 

Voluntary insurance can only be taken out on application. It begins at the earliest on the day the application is received by the responsible employers' liability insurance association and ends if a contribution is not paid.

How is accident insurance funded?

Statutory accident insurance is funded by employer contributions. The insured do not bear any costs, except in the case of voluntary insurance. The amount of contributions is based on the remuneration paid to employees up to the maximum annual earnings limit and the company's accident risk. Surcharges or discounts may apply in case of high or low accident risks. After the end of the financial year, companies are required to submit an annual accident insurance report and salary statement to the responsible employers' liability insurance association.

Calculation of contributions to accident insurance 

Calculation of contributions

The basis for calculating the statutory accident insurance contributions is set out in S. 153 SGB VII. The calculation considers the following: 

• Employees' salaries
• Financial requirements (apportionment quota)
• The company's risk classes and risk rate positions

Employees' wages are taken into account up to the amount of the maximum annual earnings limit. This limit is set individually by each accident insurance provider; it is currently between €84,840.00 and €120,000.00 per insured person and year. 

The apportionment quota shows the accident insurer's financial requirement for a past fiscal year. It is based on the annual accounts and includes all expenditure incurred to cover costs, such as medical treatments and pensions.

Risk rate and risk classes

Risk rate 

Accident insurance contributions are calculated based on the risk level of the industry. The risk rate in accordance with S. 157 SGB VII:

• Is a tool for determining the risk of accidents and the resulting contributions.
• Is valid for a maximum of six years in accordance with S. 157 (5) SGB VII to ensure regular adjustments in line with current developments.

The meeting of representatives from the employers' liability insurance associations uses risk rates to define risk rate positions (Gefahrentarifstellen/GTS) and risk classes (Gefahrenklassen). These then represent different levels of risk to ensure that contributions can be staggered appropriately. 

Risk classes

Risk classes compare the relative accident risks between individual industries. A risk class of 10 may mean, for example, that the same salary is subject to double the contribution compared to a risk class of 5.

Review assessment notice

Employers should review their assessment notice regularly, as it sets out the relevant risk rate position and risk class. Changes to a company's purpose may affect the assessment and therefore the accident insurance contributions. Employers must immediately notify the employers' liability insurance association of any changes.

Income statement

S. 165 SGB VII requires employers to submit an annual salary statement to the competent employers' liability insurance association This statement is the basis for calculating the accident insurance contribution. Since 2017, salary statements have been transmitted digitally via the social security reporting portal or payroll accounting software. 

Submission deadline

• 16 February of the following year at the latest

Required data

• Company registration number of the accident insurance provider
• Employer's company number
• Employees' salaries that are subject to contributions
• Hours worked by employees
• Number of employees

Annual accident insurance report 

Since 01.01.2016, employers have been required to file an annual accident insurance report for each employee who is subject to mandatory insurance, stating reporting reason 92 in accordance with S. 28a (2a) SGB IV. The annual report is created and submitted via electronic master data retrieval via the social security reporting portal or certified payroll accounting software. In the process, the risk rate positions that are relevant for calculating accident insurance contributions are confirmed.

Parameters of the accident insurance annual report

• Master data retrieval: from 1 November at the earliest for the following year
• Submission deadline: 16 February of the following year at the latest
• Recipient: Employees' health insurance funds, which forward the reports to the German Federal Pension Insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung)

Required data

• Calendar year of mandatory accident insurance (reporting period)
• Employer's company number
• Company registration number of the relevant accident insurance provider
• Employee's salary subject to contributions
• Assignment to the respective risk rate position

This information serves as a basis for audits by the German Federal Pension Insurance.