Important questions
Anyone wanting to study in Germany needs health insurance - without it you won't be able to enroll in a German university. If you are younger than 30 years, you are compulsorily insured in the statutory health insurance scheme, e. g. the DAK. If you wish, you can be exempted from this statutory insurance obligation and take out private health insurance, e.g. via VELA. However, as soon as you are older than 30 years, you must take out private health insurance. With VELA you can choose between three different tariffs.
The monthly premium for the tariff VELA Light is 27.50 € (1st – 12th month) and after that 49.00 € (13th – 60th month).
The monthly premium for the tariff VELA Basis is 34.50 € (1th – 12th month) and after that 60.00 € (13th – 60th month).
The monthly premium for the tariff VELA Optimal is 78.00 € (1th – 60th month).
The monthly premium for the tariff VELA Light is 28.50 € (1th – 12th month) and after that 39.00 € (13th – 60th month).
The monthly premium for the tariff VELA Basis is 34.50 € (1th – 12th month) and after that 47.00 € (13th – 60th month).
The monthly premium for the tariff VELA Optimal is 53.00 € (1th – 60th month).
The differences between the tariffs VELA Light, VELA Basis and VELA Optimal are listed here.
The monthly premium in tariff VELA compact is 6.00 €.
The monthly premium in tariff VELA comfort is 7.50 €.
The monthly premium in tariff VELA compact is 6.00 €.
The monthly premium in tariff VELA comfort is 7.50 €.
The main differences between the tariffs compact and comfort are listed here.
Yes, all VELA tariffs meet the requirements of the immigrations Department. After you have taken out insurance cover, you will receive proof for the immigrations Department.
The treatment costs for Covid-19 are covered. National quarantine and hygiene regulations must be observed if such are applicable.
Application
You can take out insurance if you live temporarily in Germany as a foreign citizen and when you are among of one of these groups listed below:
- enrolled students as long as they are not subject to compulsory insurance
- Ph.D. students
- participants of preparatory language courses
- holder of an approval notification that gives a person the right to start studies at a German university or a confirmation of participation that gives a person the right to start a language course in Germany. (When you are the holder of such documents, you receive insurance cover for the period of four weeks after entering the country. Within this period, the matriculation must take place and/or the preparatory language course must begin.)
- Graduates, who have successfully finished their studies or doctorates in Germany, and who are allowed under the framework of the immigration law to stay in Germany up to 12 months for the purpose of the commencement of work. (Prerequisite: they have been previously insured for the period of one year via the tariff SKV. Continuous insurance cover is only possible via the tariff SKV optimal.)
- family members who do not work and children of insured persons until their 18th year of age.
The application is made online. Please fill in the online-application.
You will receive the insurance certificate directly following the application for insurance. Please note that the insurance cover is only effective once your premium has been paid.
You can pay the amount monthly, quarterly or half-yearly. Please choose the desired payment option during your online application. Please note that the first premium must be paid within five working days.
As for the payment method, you may opt for 'direct debit', 'bank transfer' or 'PayPal'. As soon as a bank account has been opened under your name, we recommend the payment method 'direct debit' as you may rest assured that your insurer will debit the amount directly from your account. This method gives you absolute safety that your premiums will be paid on time, this way ensuring that there will be no problems with respect to payment irregularities.
Yes, you can! But please note that the maximum period of insurance does not exceed five years. This period begins with the date of your entry into Germany.
Until reaching the age of 45.
If you did not insure your children and spouse directly with your registration, you can still do it later. Please log into your login and fill in the contact form.
No, liability /accident insurance cover can be taken out separately.
No, the liability insurance is always combined with the accident insurance.
No, the accident insurance is always combined with the liability insurance.
Termination
Termination can be made at the end of the respective month of insurance. For example, if you have concluded your insurance contract on February 15, 2020, you can always terminate your contract effective the 14th day of the following month. You can let us have your termination notice conveniently easy via email. In addition, please send us proof for the termination, such as proof of leaving the country or of acceptance as a member in the statutory health insurance scheme. The email address is: info@vela.insure.
The insurance contract expires as soon as your stay in Germany ends. Should you leave Germany earlier than planned let us please have an email to info@vela.insure, so that we can terminate the insurance contract.
Insurance cover also expires when the prerequisites for the health insurance no longer apply e. g. end of studies, already existing insurance cover of a statutory health insurance. Please send us an email including supporting evidence (e.g. Insurance certificate of the statutory health insurance) in case that one of these criteria apply to info@vela.insure
In the Event of a Claim
For the reimbursement of costs, you have to do the following:
You pay the medical bill directly and submit the original invoice to Advigon Versicherung AG. It is important to mention your policy number and your bank account details for reimbursements. The adress of Advigon is:
Advigon Versicherung AG
Claim-Services
20911 Hamburg
Alternatively, you can also use the online loss report of Advigon.
Only the tariff VELA Light includes a deductible of 50 € per insured event.
Apart from that, there are some maximum insurance limits for certain benefits, e. g. dentures, accident-related aids or visual aids. For this please read section I of the detailed insurance terms.
No, there are no general deductibles in the liability/accident insurance.
Only for damages under the terms of the liability insurance for damages to rented properties and key loss there are deductibles of 20% and a minimum of 50,00 € is charged.
Insurance cover does not start when the contract begins; it begins after the so-called waiting period. Even though the health insurance does not provide any insurance cover for expenses for health costs during the first months, the premium needs to be paid. (For exceptions please see below). Therefore the policy holder is required to wait for insurance cover.
The general waiting period for all services lasts 3 months.
The special waiting period for deliveries lasts 8 months.
The general waiting period does not apply:
- with accidents
- When you have been insured by the statutory health insurance at least for three months without interruption immediately before this new insured period.
- When you applied for insurance cover within 30 days after you entered Germany and you paid the contributions.
Insurance cover is not provided for example for:
- Treatments that were the only reason or one of the reasons to enter the Federal Republic of Germany and for treatments that were planned and firmly scheduled to take place in Germany except to the extent the journey was undertaken due to a death of a spouse or first degree relatives.
- Withdrawal treatments including cures that include withdrawal measures, detoxification measures and cessation treatments.
- Treatments due to a HIV infection (AIDS) of the insured person that was identified before the commencement of the insurance.
- Treatments by a homeopath
- Treatments due to disturbances or damages of the reproductive organs, abortion or treamtents causing a pregnancy
For the exact listing please throw a glance at the insurance terms.
Insurance cover is not provided for example for
- Holder or operators of vehicles and aircraft and watercraft vehicles
- Holder or keeper of animals
- The exercise of a profession
- Participation of horse races, car and bicycle races, boxing and wrestling fights, martial sports of all kinds including the training classes therefore.
For the exact listing please throw a glance at the insurance terms here.
Insurance cover is not provided for example for:
- Accidents caused by mental derangement or disturbances of consciousness also when these are brought about by drunkenness or drug consumption.
- Accidents that happen to the insured person because he/she has willfully committed or tried to commit a criminal offence.
- Accidents that happen to the insured person while exercising a profession.
- Pathological disturbance following a psychological reaction no matter whereby they were caused.
- Poisoning as the result of taking solid or liquid materials through the throat.
For the exact listing please throw a glance at the insurance terms here.
Insurance Benefits in Detail
Health Insurance
The outpatient medical treatment refers to the treatment of a patient who is not hospitalized overnight but who visits, for example, the practice of a general practitioner or a clinic or associated facility for diagnosis or treatment. This means that the insurer reimburses the costs for medical bills and medically prescribed medicine, bandages and remedies.
In the VELA Optimal and VELA Basis tariffs, up to a maximum of 30 outpatient psychoanalytic or psychotherapeutic treatments are reimbursed per insurance year.
Reimbursed are the expenses for medically prescribed aids which become necessary for the first time exclusively because of an accident and which serve as direct treatment of the consequences of an accident, for example walking aids, bandages or prosthetic devices.
Under the tariff Optimal, the costs for visual aids, such as eyeglasses, are covered up to the amount of EUR 100.00 every three years. Visual aids are excluded from insurance coverage under the tariffs Light or Basis.
The term inpatient treatment refers to the treatment of a patient in a hospital. Reimbursed are medical services, nursing care and lodging in a hospital.
Subsequent cure treatments following an inpatient stay may be, for example, a rehabilitation measure which can be realized whether on an inpatient or outpatient basis. Insurance cover for this is exclusively provided under the tariff Optimal and is subject to a prior written approval by the Advigon Versicherung AG.
Outpatient preventive medical check-ups refer to outpatient examinations for the early detection of diseases, which are executed in accordance with legally implemented programs in Germany. Insurance cover is exclusively provided under the tariff Optimal.
The term vaccination defines the administration of vaccines with the aim to immunize the body against infectious diseases. Among those are vaccinations against chickenpox, polio or pertussis otherwise known as whooping cough.
The pain-relieving dental treatment includes the conservative (prophylactic) and pain-relieving treatment of an affected tooth including dental fillings in simple form. A maximum of EUR 750.00 per insurance year is reimbursed under the tariffs Light and Basis.
Coverage is provided for repairs of existing dentures, which, for example, become necessary due to a fall or the like. Dentures include crowns or inlays up to the indicated maximum amount insured.
Dentures such as crowns, inlays, implants as well as preparatory measures are covered under the tariff Optimal.
Under the precondition that the pregnancy has not existed at the time of inception of the insurance contract, the expenses for medically indicated treatment caused by ailments are reimbursed. In addition, coverage is provided for costs for treatments in the case of miscarriage, premature birth and medically indicated abortion.
Insurance cover exists for prenatal care examinations e.g. ultra sound diagnostics and for the delivery itself. Please note that these insurance benefits are subject to a waiting period of 8 months from the inception date of the policy.
When a medical treatment cannot be provided in Germany, and a return transport into your home country has been medically ordered and is medically necessary, the insurer will reimburse the costs for a return transport to the hospital nearest to your home town. Before the return transport can take place, the approval by Advigon Versicherung AG must have been received in writing.
In case of death of the insured person, the insurer reimburses the necessary additional costs for the return transport to the permanent residence of the deceased person, or, as an alternative, takes over the expenses for a funeral in Germany.
Liability and accident Insurance
The HanseMerkur Versicherung examines for you whether compensation claims can be asserted against you and if you can be held liable for that. If so, the insurer will compensate the claims, meaning he will pay the claims for you. If not, the insurer will dismiss the claims for you. In other words you have here a so called passive law inforcement mission integrated with your liability insurance.
Should you be obliged to provide by law securities for a payable pension plan due to an insured claim or you are granted to prevent enforcement of a court judgement by providing securities or a deposit, the HanseMerkur is obliged to provide this security or deposit.
If between you and another injured party a legal dispute concerning claims arises HanseMerkur Versicherung will then refund the relating legal costs for you.
In daily life you entertain or do many things by which others may get harmed even though you were acting out of inadvertency or without the purpose to harm others. Therefore insurance cover reaches from activities like biking, sports, horseback riding or the use of model aircraft or boats (without motor).
For your time in Germany you will surely rent an apartment or a room. For this reason insurance cover also includes damages you may inadvertently cause towards your landlord.
Attention, please!
Not included are damages to objects such as paintings, furniture, televisions and damages due to wear and tear and excessive strain.
Insurance cover exists for the case that foreign keys which are used and carried by you on a regular basis get lost, e.g. the keys to your apartment. Reimbursed are the necessary exchange of locks and locking systems.
Attention, please!
This insurance cover only exists in tariff Komfort.
After an accident it can happen that you are physically or even mentally impaired for a very long time or maybe permanently. When these impairments remain prospectively longer than three years they are defined as disability. Depending on which body parts are affected you receive a certain percentage sum of the agreed insurance sum.
If an accident leads to sustained impairments of the physical or mental functions of more than 25 %, the following applies:
- For each percent point that exceeds the accident related disability degree of 25 % the HanseMerkur pays 2 % from the insurance sum in addition.
- For each percent point that exceeds the accident related disability degree of 50 % the HanseMerkur pays further 2 % from the insurance sum.
- These additional benefits are limited for each insured person up to maximal 150,000.00 €.
In the worst case an accident can lead to death. For this case the insurer pays the sum payable at death of 10,000.00 € (Tariff Kompakt) or 20,000.00 € (Tariff Komfort) to your heirs.
Rescue costs include for example the costs for search, rescue and recovery operations. The transport of the injured person to the nearest hospital is also insured.
After an accident it can happen that the outer appearance of your body is long-term impaired. The HanseMerkur pays as a one-off benefit the expenses for one surgery and clinical treatment.
The event of an accident is defined when you suffer a health impairment that happened to you suddenly and unwillingly due to an event that came from outside and affected your body. Insured are also health damages that are typical for diving e.g. Caisson Disease or injuries of the eardrum.
Some accidents do not have the aspect of something from the outside affects your body. Therefore insurance cover exists when limbs or the spine, a joint or muscles, tendons, ligaments and capsules are strained or torn due to increased physical exertion.
Death due to drowning or suffocating under water when diving is also rated as an accident.