Basic skills insurance

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As a basic ability insurance risk insurance is called, which is to offset the loss of certain defined basic skills such as walking, climbing stairs, standing, senses such as vision, speech, hearing or skills such as driving or cycling by paying a monthly pension. Basic skills insurance is calculated like life insurance. The often compared multi-risk or functional disability insurance is calculated like accident insurance, which is why it is cheaper, but also easier to adapt or even cancel by the insurer. As with any life insurance policy, subsequent adjustments are only permitted under certain conditions, e.g. B. according to §§ § 163 VVG or § 314 VAG, possible. It can only be taken out in this form as an independent insurance.

General

This type of insurance comes from the Anglo-Saxon insurance market and was first offered on the German market in 2000. It can be seen as an alternative to occupational disability insurance as well as long-term care insurance or serious illness prevention. The comparison with occupational disability insurance is difficult, because the GFV has no relation to the respective profession. It would be pure coincidence if the loss of income coincided with the loss of an insured basic ability. However, since both insurances pay a pension and the basic skills insurance is affordable in the professions that can no longer afford a BU insurance, the insurance industry in particular propagates this inaccurate comparison. However, it is possible to construct an intersection of both benefit triggers if I compare the activities of my daily work with the triggers of GF insurance.

The comparison to serious illness prevention or dread disease corresponds most closely to the original idea of ​​basic skills insurance. However, the trigger here is not the occurrence of the insured illness, but the restriction caused by the illness. The comparison to private long-term care insurance also fits very well. However, the insurance period is currently only possible up to the age of 67. And in about 50% of cases, the need for care only occurs after the age of 67.

Depending on the provider, a monthly pension is paid out if certain basic skills are lost or if there is a need for care / dementia . The question of whether the insured person can or will continue to work in the event of a benefit does not matter, as long as the impairment persists, the pension is paid. Causes for the loss of basic skills can be: B. accidents, loss of strength and illnesses. The basic skills insurance enables a cost-effective protection of the workforce. It has not been finally clarified whether the contributions are tax deductible as pension expenses. There are different legal opinions on this in the market.

Insured risks

Basic skills include sensory (e.g. seeing, hearing), motor (e.g. walking, kneeling, lifting and carrying), fine motor (e.g. writing, using keyboards) and everyday intellectual skills. The first products on the market divided into 2 skill sets:

Skills catalog 1 with exemplary formulations

See The insured person cannot see in both eyes. The remaining vision per eye must not be higher than z. B. 1/25 of normal vision.
Speak The insured person cannot speak. That is, she is incapable of pronouncing any intelligible word.
Orient yourself The insured person is not able to orientate himself in time, place or himself.
Use hands The insured person is not able to use a pen or keyboard with either his left or his right hand.

Skills catalog 2 with exemplary formulations

Listen The insured person cannot hear. That is, it is unable to perceive any sound.
Go The insured person cannot walk 200 meters over level ground without stopping to support himself or to sit down.
climb stairs The insured person cannot go up or down stairs without taking a break or holding onto the banister.
Kneel or stoop The insured person is unable to kneel down or bend down enough to pick up a light object from the floor and then straighten up again.
Sit The insured person is unable to sit in a chair without armrests for twenty minutes.
Stand The insured person is unable to stand for ten minutes without using support.
To grab The insured person is unable to open a bottle with a screw cap with either his right or his left hand.
Move arms The insured person cannot put on a jacket without assistance. The ability to open or close a jacket is not important.
To lift and to carry The insured person is not able to lift an object weighing two kilograms from a table and carry it five meters away with neither his right nor his left arm.
drive The insured person is of legal age and for medical reasons it is not possible to issue a driving license for cars; if a driver's license was issued to her, it must be proven that it has been returned or withdrawn from her for medical reasons.

In the meantime, a catalog of skills has become the market standard on the German insurance market. The number of insured basic skills, but also their definition, varies greatly depending on the selected insurance product. In addition to sensory, motor, fine motor and intellectual skills, "derived" basic skills such as B. the use of local public transport, driving a truck or cycling is insured. A pension is also paid in the event of dementia or certain illnesses (e.g. depression).

The number of individual basic skills is not decisive for the quality. Because some insurers have the "kneel and stoop" trigger, while others have the two "kneel" and "stoop" triggers. In terms of content, the triggers are the same, but one insurer has twice as many triggers.

It should also be noted that some triggers make others superfluous. For example, the sense of "seeing" is achieved when I only have residual vision of less than 5%. I already receive my pension from the skill "driving a car" if I lose my driver's license or can't do it. This is already the case with impaired vision of 50%. Seeing is then superfluous.

Many additional triggers, such as B. the use of local public transport, screen activity or smartphone use are for illustration purposes only, but have no benefit compared to other triggers.

All skills can be summarized in a restriction of the joints of the musculoskeletal system, effort, fine motor skills and independent action. The individual triggers only disintegrate these 4 basic skills in order to better explain the product to the customer.

Occurrence of the insured event

The insured event occurs when the insured person has been unable or will probably not be able to exercise one of the basic skills for a defined period of time, usually between 6 and 12 months. The market standard is now (04/20) at 6 months. Since some insurers introduced the shortening of the forecast period for the portfolio as well and without increasing the premium, it could be concluded that this improvement does not bring any great advantage. In fact, there are few cases such as B. a minor stroke or a minor heart attack that temporarily led to the loss of a basic ability. On top of that, however, the margins for the insurers have to be very high at the moment, as there are still no significant number of claims.

The claim processing takes place at the desk. The clear description of the performance triggers, such as B. walking 400 m or screwing a screw into the wall suggests that the customer would have to assert his claim through a demonstration. That's not the case. As in the BU insurance, the claimant must provide evidence of the illness that leads to the restriction. There is no pension without medical evidence. And on the basis of the illness, the insurance company's performance assessor checks whether the alleged loss of a basic ability can be plausibly explained. If so, there is money; if not, the claimant must provide further evidence.

Tax treatment

It is controversial in the insurance industry whether contributions to basic capacity insurance according to § 10 EStG can be claimed for tax purposes as pension expenses. The later pension payments are only taxable with the special income share according to § 55 ESTDV. The rough rule of thumb here is: The remaining term in years corresponds to the portion that has to be taxed. So, suppose I lose a basic skill at 37 and the contract runs until 67, then I have a remaining term of 30 years. So I have to pay tax on 30% at my personal tax rate. If I have no other income, it should usually be below the tax exemptions. That is why many insurers and their intermediaries claim that the pension from a private BU or GF insurance is tax-free. This is theoretically incorrect, but in practice it is often the case.

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Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Versicherungsbote.de: The essence of basic ability insurance - retirement provision - Versicherungsbote.de. March 6, 2020, accessed April 13, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Philip Wenzel: A market comparison for basic ability insurance. In: Worksurance - Portal for worker security. March 13, 2020, accessed on April 13, 2020 (German).