Whether you work or study in Germany, sooner or later you will have to deal with the topic of insurance.

There are different types of insurance, including health insurance, liability insurance, car insurance and so on.

Which insurances are a must and which ones can you take out depending on your needs? You can find this answer in this article.

Compulsory insurance

Health insurance

You've probably heard of health insurance. For foreign students who want to study at a German university, they must take out health insurance.

As a foreigner, I first took out health insurance with the DAK for my studies, but it was very expensive. That's why I switched to AOK Plus after a month.

Despite the increase in costs and the adjustment of the contribution rate, the contribution rate of AOK PLUS 2020 remains stable. That's why I've always stayed with AOK Plus ever since.

In addition, I go to professional tooth cleaning every year, the costs of which AOK Plus can reimburse up to 40 euros per year. I am very satisfied.

For those who are currently considering changing health insurance, you can find out more about the benefits by just clicking on the picture below.

If you have already decided, you only have to send a written notice of termination to your health insurance company, after which you will inform AOK Plus briefly. It does the rest completely for you (you are free:)

Liability insurance

I first got to know the term liability insurance during my work through colleagues.

In the conversation, the topic of insurance was addressed and I was asked whether I already have liability insurance. My first reaction was, "What is liability insurance?" My colleagues were surprised that I had never heard of it.

Maybe this is also a new term for you and you ask what this insurance does exactly?

Liability insurance is an insurance that will pay you if your actions cause damage to a third party.

For example, if you visit a friend and accidentally damage the TV or expensive decorations, this liability insurance can reimburse the damage, which is very helpful for you.

This is about whether you did everything by mistake. If everything happened on purpose, unfortunately, this liability insurance can't pay anything for you.

Therefore, you should also take out liability insurance in Germany.

If you are interested, you can first make a comparison and select the appropriate one (click on the image below for more details).

Additional insurance to choose from

Household

If you live on the ground floor or your residential area is not so safe, you can consider taking out home insurance.

Why? If a thief breaks through the door, breaks the window, or has stolen items, home insurance will usually pay you everything to you at the new purchase price.

Depending on what your insurance covers, you can even get money back if you lose your key or steal your bike.

When I lived on the first floor, I always took out home insurance for safety. It only costs a few euros per month, but that brings you great security.

Legal protection insurance

This insurance covers a wide range of areas, from legal protection for damages to disputes and employment contracts to criminal, consulting and tax matters.

A friend of mine, for example, got back 3 x monthly salaries as severance pay thanks to this insurance after he was terminated. And the costs for the lawyer were completely covered by the insurance.

If he had not taken out legal expenses insurance, he would only receive 1 x monthly salary and he would have to pay the high costs for the lawyer himself.

Car Insurance

The last insurance you might need is car insurance, especially if you own a car.

Since I don't have a car, I can't tell you which insurance is best. It is therefore worthwhile to make a comparison before graduation.

In short, if you live in Germany as a foreigner like me, we should rather "do" more for security than too little. Which other insurances you need, you can still find on the Internet.

At the end of the article, I would like to give you a short suggestion about electricity providers.

The price of electricity will become more and more expensive from 2020. It is also said that if you want to have a cheap tariff, you should change the electricity provider every year.

I really did that and therefore unfortunately I can't say which one is the best.

I can only recommend you to compare different electricity providers and choose the cheapest one. Sparstrom helps a lot, where you immediately get a list of different electricity providers after a few details.