PhD Handbook

17 Exceptions from the statutory insurance: • Freelancer • Civil servant (“Beamte”) • Judge • “mini-jobs” (income up to 450 EUR/month) • Scholarship holder (scholarships generally don’t count as income; but health and long-term care insurances are mandatory!) Situation for PhD students 1. PhD students with a regular contract of employment In this case, you are automatically insured within the statutory social insurance system and the contributions for all the insurance funds mentioned before are paid automatically from your gross income or solely by your employer (only the occupational accident insurance). But: As an employee you are only covered by the occupational accident insurance (1) in the workplace, (2) on the direct journey to or from work, and (3) on the job during business trips. During research expeditions (mostly), a private accident insurance is highly recommended, to cover also risks off the job. 2. PhD students without a regular contract of employment (e.g. scholarship holder, guest status) As a scholarship holder you are not subject to the statutory social insurance system, meaning that you don’t have to pay for the insurance funds mentioned before (but you are also not insured in most cases!). Only exceptions are the health and the long-term care insurances, these you have to pay (yourself)! Health/long-term care insurance: There are two options for these insurances for scholarship holders: you can (1) choose a statutory health insurance, in which you are insured voluntarily (“freiwillig versichert”), or (2) a private health insurance (“private Krankenversicherung”). There are several aspects to be taken into account when choosing one of these options. For more information, please contact the personnel department. Occupational accident insurance (“Berufsunfallversicherung”): It is very important to check whether your accident insurance is covered by your employer or university. Scholarship holders and guests are often only covered by the occupational accident insurance in the workplace. The prerequisite is often registration at a domestic or foreign university. But: It is likely that you are not covered by occupational accident insurance (1) on the journey to or from work, (2) on the journey between different places of work or (3) during business trips in general. Conclusion: A private accident insurance is highly recommen- ded for scholarship holders and long-term guests to cover all these unassured risks! Further important insurance – the personal liability insurance (“Privathaftpflichtversicherung”) In Germany, persons can be made liable for damages inflicted to third parties, i.e. damages can be sued for. The personal lia- bility insurance covers all typical risks of everyday life (with some exceptions). Parents are liable for their children. These policies are not expensive (some around €60 - €100 per year) and it is therefore highly recommended that you also take out a private liability insurance policy in order to protect yourself in the case that you accidentally inflict damages to a third party.

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