Glasses insurance

A spectacle insurance is an insurance product of private health insurers and other insurance companies belonging to the group of Individual Insurance . The private insurance industry in Germany reacted to the cancellation of a number of services in statutory health insurance in 2004 and offers various services at different rates. These are offered as separate individual insurance or as an additional option within a more comprehensive insurance package. Some German health insurance companies also offer their customers a corresponding offer. It is not uncommon for insurance to be taken out directly in optician shops that have concluded appropriate contracts with insurance companies. They are therefore an important instrument for customer loyalty and of high economic importance for the professional group.

Since most insurance companies have a corresponding offer in their portfolio, glasses insurance can be referred to as a standard product. With 64% of adult and 15% of young people wearing glasses, the potential customer base in Germany alone is over 45 million and is therefore of considerable economic relevance.

power

The services usually consist of either the free or discounted purchase of frames and lenses of a certain quality group or the additional payment of an agreed amount of money to the purchase or reimbursement price . The insured event can occur due to a change in the glass thickness or loss or damage. Some contracts restrict entitlement to a specific period of time. There is no standardization of the services in terms of scope and period, which makes a comparison and assessment of their benefit more difficult.

reception

Brigitte Mayer, insurance expert at the Hessen Consumer Center , advised against HanseMerkur's zero-tariff insurance in 2009 , which the optician chain Fielmann offers, because it is not worthwhile to insure glasses. In addition, the services are limited due to the specification of certain glasses and frames as well as the commitment to Fielmann, and new glasses are only approved after a certain change in diopter.

In 2011, Stiftung Warentest came to the conclusion that it was often cheaper not to take out glasses insurance and instead to build up reserves for acute needs in order to cover the costs yourself.

The consumer advice center of North Rhine-Westphalia advises to check whether they are necessary before taking out additional insurance to statutory health insurance, such as glasses insurance or additional dental insurance .

Situation in Switzerland and Austria

Glasses insurances with different conditions and services are also offered in Switzerland and Austria, in particular by German companies that operate internationally or by large retail chains.

Web links

• Eyeglass insurance from the perspective of a publicly appointed and sworn expert for the optician trade of the Cologne Chamber of Crafts
• HanseMerkur press release on business development with eyeglass insurance, 2013

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Glasses insurance - AOK Rheinland / Hamburg: Expensive glasses protection
2. ^ Report of the Opticians and Optometrists Association of North Rhine-Westphalia
3. ↑ Allensbach study by the Kuratorium Gutessehen , 2011
4. ↑ Eyewear insurance - zero number with cash register , Focus , May 11, 2009
5. ↑ Insurance: Which you can do without , test special from September 22, 2011
6. ↑ Supplementary insurance to statutory health insurance , www.vz-nrw.de
7. ↑ geldmarie.at - Independent finance portal