Over the course of your life, you take out many different types of insurance. If life circumstances change, you must always check how this will affect insurance coverage. Insurance coverage should therefore be redesigned, especially when you retire.
It’s not always easy to find your way through piles of bureaucratic paperwork while still assessing which insurance coverage is worth it. However, it is particularly important to adjust your insurance coverage when you enter retirement and life circumstances often change drastically: Here is an overview of which insurance policies are still mandatory, which ones can be considered – and which should simply be canceled.
Mandatory by law: health insurance
Since 2007 and 2009, people of retirement age have also been legally obliged to have (private or statutory) health insurance. The health insurance center explains this on its website. Privately insured people with high contributions cannot generally switch back to statutory insurance, but they can still reduce their contributions, as Julia Alice Böhne from the Association of Insured Persons (BdV) explains to “ntv”. It is important to ensure that you always maintain comprehensive insurance coverage.
Legally mandatory for car owners: motor vehicle liability insurance
According to Section 1 of the Act on Compulsory Insurance for Motor Vehicle Owners (Compulsory Insurance Act), motor vehicle owners of all ages are obliged to take out motor vehicle liability insurance. However, from the age of almost 70, seniors often have to pay significantly higher premiums for motor vehicle liability and fully comprehensive insurance than younger drivers: The General Association of the German Insurance Industry recommends premium increases to its members, as studies show that people of this age are more often involved in accidents than younger drivers. Anyone who is financially restricted due to a low pension and does not use the vehicle much could think about a potentially worthwhile sale. Alternatively, spouses can have the insurance run on the younger of the two partners and thereby save on premiums.
By the way: The increase in the cost of motor vehicle insurance for people over the age of 70 is permitted under Section 20 of the General Equal Opportunities Act, as the online broker Verivox explains on its website.
Important: private liability insurance
People of retirement age should definitely keep private liability insurance, as insurance coverage often covers high costs that are difficult to afford out of their own wallet. But: For people who have been with the same insurance company for a long time and pay high premiums, it may be worth comparing with other offers. Because new tariffs are often cheaper than old policies, according to Simone Weidner from Stiftung Warentest in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. Some insurance companies also offer protection in the event of incapacity as a result of a crime as an additional policy. In particular – but not only – people with dementia should find out more about this.
International travel health insurance
If you travel a lot, you should take out travel health insurance abroad, as normal health insurance only covers limited costs abroad. However, people aged 60 to 70 should check whether they would rather cancel a comfortable long-term or annual insurance policy and instead take out short-term insurance for the actual travel period on their next trip. Similar to motor vehicle insurance, the premiums increase with increasing age: This is illustrated by the TravelSecure/Würzburger cost calculation form, where the prices increase according to the age of the customer.
Possible additional insurance
There are a number of other insurance policies that can be taken out, but are not required. This includes household contents insurance, additional hospital insurance and accident insurance. Attention: According to Stiftung Warentest, many accident insurance companies increase premium payments for insured people aged 75 and over. The age at the time of taking out the insurance is crucial – so it may be worthwhile to take out accident insurance a little earlier so that you only have to pay lower premiums even when you are old. Another option is senior citizen accident insurance (also: assistance tariffs), which offer more comprehensive coverage – in any case, people of retirement age should find out more about this and compare the prices and services of the different types of insurance.
Advisable: supplementary nursing care insurance
At a certain point in their lives, more and more people need care – and statutory long-term care insurance often only covers a very small proportion of the costs for this care. It is therefore advisable to take out additional care insurance, although it is important to ensure that insurance coverage is already in place from care level 1 onwards. According to the information portal “Nursing Insurance Experts”, you can choose from different versions of supplementary nursing care insurance: There is nursing care cost insurance, nursing pension insurance and the so-called daily nursing care allowance insurance.
Cancel: occupational disability insurance
It’s actually self-explanatory: Anyone who has completely retired from working life no longer needs occupational disability insurance. Here you can save on contributions with a clear conscience – and perhaps invest the remaining money in additional care insurance.
Olga Rogler / editorial team finanzen.net
