Moving abroad brings many challenges, and insurance is no exception. The tricky part: most gaps only become visible once something has happened – and by then they can no longer be closed.
This checklist works through the points in the order in which they become relevant. I, Sebastian Krüger, accompany you as an independent insurance broker and make sure none of them is left open.
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Health insurance comes first with any move abroad. Depending on your destination country you need either international private health insurance or a locally valid policy.
To clarify specifically: does the cover also apply during home visits? Is the contract fixed-term or open-ended? How are pre-existing conditions treated? And what happens when you return? For an overview of providers see international health insurance; for the substance see health insurance abroad.
Important for the privately insured: do not cancel your German private cover too quickly. With a prospective entitlement you can suspend it and preserve your entry age and state of health. Anyone who cancels and returns years later often pays considerably more.
As a freelancer in particular, your income is your most important asset. Occupational or general disability insurance is therefore often more important than any property cover.
The catch: existing German policies frequently contain clauses on stays abroad, and taking out new cover from abroad is considerably harder. Check this before departure, not afterwards.
Wherever you live, liability insurance covers damage you accidentally cause to others. What matters is that your policy applies internationally – and that it continues after you change residence.
This is exactly where many German contracts end: some immediately on departure, others after a transitional period. Details at international liability insurance and emigrating: what happens to your liability cover.
Legal disputes abroad are expensive because unfamiliar law and an unfamiliar language come together. Most German legal expenses insurers, however, require a residence in Germany. What is possible instead is explained at legal protection for expats and legal protection without German residence.
Well-considered retirement planning decides what your later years look like. Abroad, two further questions arise: how does time outside Germany affect your statutory pension, and which contracts can you continue from abroad at all?
More at retirement planning abroad and net pension calculation.
The free family insurance of the German statutory health system is tied to a residence in Germany. Partners and children moving with you therefore need their own arrangement in the international plan – see protection for family members.
From an insurance perspective, returning is often more complicated than leaving. The rules differ considerably from those abroad, and automatic re-entry into statutory health insurance is not guaranteed in every constellation.
That is why this question belongs at the beginning: clarifying the way back before you leave saves trouble and money later.
Let us go through your situation together. Contact us on WhatsApp (+49 151 28937141) or via the contact form.
As early as possible, ideally several months before departure. Prospective entitlements, occupational disability policies and international health insurance with medical underwriting are considerably harder or impossible to arrange once you are already abroad.
Not without checking. If you have private cover, consider a prospective entitlement to preserve your entry age and state of health. If you are in statutory insurance, know the conditions for later re-entry before you give up your cover.
For temporary stays usually yes, for a permanent change of residence often no longer. Some contracts end immediately, others after a transitional period. Premium plans sometimes offer extended worldwide validity even after departure.
Entitlements already accrued remain in principle. During your stay abroad you generally do not pay in, so no new entitlements build up. Whether and how you can pay voluntarily depends on your destination country and on social security agreements.
No. The free family insurance of the German statutory health system requires a residence in Germany and ends with a permanent move. Partners and children need their own arrangement in the international plan.
Re-entry into statutory health insurance depends on conditions such as employment subject to social insurance. Without a prospective entitlement and without that entitlement, returning can become expensive. Clarify the way back before you leave.
Want to apply the checklist to your situation? Book a free initial consultation or start the insurance check.
We have accompanied emigrants since 1996 – from preparation to return. The checklist is only the start: what matters is what actually applies in your case.
Things usually get tight before departure. We are available via WhatsApp, video call or phone – at short notice too.
You see which of your existing contracts continues, which ends and which has to be adjusted.
Destination country, family status and employment change the checklist. We work through it with your figures.
After the move as well: on extensions, changes of country or a return to Germany we remain your contact.
