21.03.2025

Insurance for Professional Disability: Protect Your Income

Insurance for professional disability (BU) is your financial safety net in times of uncertainty. Imagine your career as a carefully constructed house of cards, and an unforeseen event threatens to make it collapse. The BU is the invisible framework that protects you from falling. In this article, we will explore the importance of BU for your financial security and provide useful tips for choosing and concluding a policy. Our two chapters will guide you through the key aspects to ensure your financial future.

The Role of Professional Disability Insurance for Financial Stability

A worker with a protective umbrella as a symbol of financial security.

Professional disability insurance (BU) is an indispensable pillar for financial security, especially for those who directly depend on their income. This insurance intervenes when someone, due to an injury or illness, is unable to perform their profession for an extended period. It ensures that financial stability is maintained despite a potentially dramatic change in living conditions.

The central function of BU is the payment of a monthly pension. This is granted as soon as it is demonstrated by a medical certificate that a person cannot perform their profession for 50% or more due to health limitations. This highlights that timely coverage through BU is essential to maintain the usual standard of living even in times of crisis. While legal disability pensions often only provide minimal support, BU fills a crucial gap in assistance.

The necessity of this insurance becomes even more evident in light of statistics showing that one in four workers becomes disabled during their working life. Often, mental illnesses and physical disorders play a significant role. Therefore, it is important to address this insurance in a timely manner. Concluding a policy early can be advantageous, as insurance contributions at a young age are often lower due to reduced health risks.

An essential advantage of professional disability insurance is its flexibility. It can be tailored to individual life circumstances, either through the option to modify the amount of the pension or the contractual terms based on changes in personal situation. In this way, it offers not only security but also adaptability – a crucial factor in our dynamic world.

BU does not only cover physically demanding professions, such as those of craftsmen. Office workers, who are at risk due to stress or lack of movement, as well as self-employed individuals and freelancers, who do not have state protection, also benefit from this protection. Even for students, pupils, and apprentices, professional disability insurance makes sense, as they generally do not have rights to state pensions.

In general, professional disability insurance is an appropriate strategy to secure individual income and thus the standard of living. With prudent selection and timely adjustment of the insurance, you can ensure that you are adequately covered even in difficult times.

Individual Protection: Choosing the Right Professional Disability Insurance

A worker with a protective umbrella as a symbol of financial security.

When choosing professional disability insurance (BU), there are fundamental questions to consider: How do I ensure that the protection meets my financial needs? A clear understanding of selection criteria is essential. First, the pension payment should cover about 75% of the previous net income to ensure significant income compensation. This is particularly essential for singles, as they often lack other sources of income. Additionally, the duration of benefits is crucial: it should last until retirement age to avoid gaps in assistance.

Prudent planning is also based on dynamically structuring contributions. An annual increase in contributions of 3% to 5% can offset the effects of inflation and salary increases, ensuring that the payment in the event of a claim remains realistic. The assessment of health and risk should not be underestimated in this process. Pre-existing medical conditions and lifestyle-related factors significantly influence contribution costs.

The contract structure highlights the true flexibility of your BU coverage. Individual product variations, such as combining with investment options or attractive initial rates for young people, provide tailored solutions. Integrating a work incapacity clause into the contract can also ensure quicker payment in cases where continued disability is foreseeable. For example, the insurance pays after four months of work incapacity, provided that further incapacity of at least two months is anticipated.

Another essential feature is the reinsurance guarantee. This allows for an increase in the insured sum in case of significant life events such as marriage or birth, without having to undergo a new health assessment. However, attention must be paid to potential waiting periods. Avoiding abstract deferral is also important, as it allows the insurer to refer to other occupations, which could make it more challenging to recognize professional disability.

Additionally, business solutions offer advantages, such as fewer health questions, but are often limited in terms of amount and less advantageous from a tax and legal perspective. To make an informed decision, it is always advisable to refer to professional advice, supplemented by online tools such as rate calculators for estimating contributions and anonymous risk questions to verify insurability without any negative consequences for databases.

Frequently asked questions

Professional disability insurance (BU) is a financial safety net that provides coverage when someone, due to injury or illness, cannot perform their profession for an extended period. Its crucial function is the payment of a monthly pension, ensuring that the individual’s financial stability is maintained.

The monthly pension for BU is granted as soon as a medical certificate demonstrates that a person cannot perform their profession for 50% or more due to health limitations.

Early coverage through BU is beneficial as it can maintain the standard of living during times of crisis. Also, if the insurance is concluded at a young age, it often comes with lower contributions due to reduced health risks.

While choosing professional disability insurance, factors like pension payout amount, duration of benefits, dynamic contribution structure, contract structure, and reinsurance guarantee should be considered. The pension payout should ideally cover about 75% of the previous net income, and the duration of benefits should extend up to retirement age.

Yes, professional disability insurance offers flexibility and can be tailored to individual life circumstances. This could be done through modifying the amount of the pension or the contractual terms based on changes in the personal situation.