The time has finally come: the training will start shortly, so nothing stands in the way of starting your professional life. If it weren’t for the tiresome topic of insurance, which is somehow part of growing up. But what do trainees and students have to take care of immediately? And which insurance company can safely wait a little longer? The Lower Saxony Consumer Advice Center helps young professionals to gain perspective.
Indispensable: health insurance
Once you have your degree in your pocket, you have free family insurance through your parents. That changes, however, when an apprenticeship or degree is pending. For students, family insurance is valid up to their 25th birthday – after that there is the possibility of inexpensive student health insurance. Trainees, on the other hand, are obliged to take out health insurance themselves. “When making a selection, it can be worthwhile to compare the service, additional benefits, bonus programs and tariffs among the health insurance companies,” advises Rotraud Mahlo, health expert at the consumer center in Lower Saxony.
Also a must: private liability insurance
With private liability insurance, trainees and students are usually co-insured via their parents’ contract without making a contribution. You only have to sign your own contract when you start your career – and that is very important. Because private liability insures personal injury, property damage and financial loss in the private sector. “This doesn’t just apply to the small scratch in the paintwork of the car that someone accidentally caused on their bike. Anyone who causes an accident is also insured,” explains Rotraud Mahlo, advisor to the Lower Saxony consumer advice center, and adds: “If I cause damage to others through carelessness or carelessness, I have to pay the full amount for it. And that can sometimes be very expensive – in the worst case, I have to pay for the rest of my life.”
Important: Disability insurance
For trainees, professional life is just beginning. So why think about the ending right away? “The issue of occupational disability can also affect young people. Suddenly they are left with no income because of a serious illness, for example,” Mahlo knows. In the first five years of employment, there are no entitlements from statutory pension insurance. Until then, only the consequences of accidents at work are insured. But even after that, the statutory disability pensions are rather low. “Young people are on the safe side with disability insurance,” says Mahlo. This is expensive, but those who take it out early enough can secure low premiums. Tip: Maybe the parents will take over the costs for this protection to begin with.
Nice to have: household contents insurance
Not necessary for the start of your career, but very useful when you move into your first apartment: household contents insurance. It pays for damage to the furnishings caused by fire, a burst water pipe or burglary. Bicycles can also be insured here.
Tips from the Consumer Center Lower Saxony
Visiting an insurance agent or broker or even having them come to your home to find out about offers sounds like a simple solution. However, everyone should keep in mind that they make their money by signing contracts. However, there are big differences in contributions and insurance conditions. It is therefore better to seek independent advice. Anyone who nevertheless seeks advice from an intermediary or insurer does not have to feel obliged to sign immediately on the spot. Therefore: It is better to check documents carefully and calmly before signing them.
Basically, when choosing the right insurance, consumers should take their time and consider in advance what services the insurance company has to offer them. Various offers can then be obtained and compared with one another.
If you have any questions, the advice from the Lower Saxony consumer advice center will help – on site and by telephone: www.verbraucherzentrale-niedersachsen.de/beratung
PR
–
