Aid for surviving dependants under statutory accident insurance

If your wife, husband, registered partner or parent has died, you can receive financial support from the statutory accident insurance.

As a widow, widower, registered partner or orphan, you are entitled to a one-off survivor's allowance from the statutory accident insurance fund under certain conditions.

The conditions include

• the death must not be the result of an accident at work, commuting accident or occupational disease,
• the deceased person must have received one or more pensions from the statutory accident insurance due to a reduction in earning capacity of at least 50 percent,
• You are not entitled to a survivor's pension from the statutory accident insurance.

The amount of the allowance is 40 percent of the annual salary on which the deceased person's pension was calculated.

Instead of a one-off allowance, it is also possible to receive an ongoing allowance, i.e. longer-term, regular support.

The employers' liability insurance association or accident insurance fund will grant you an ongoing allowance if this is more favorable for you than a one-off allowance. Your employer's liability insurance association or accident insurance fund will check and decide this. An ongoing allowance cannot be higher than the survivor's pension.

• Death certificate

in the case of a spouse:

• Marriage certificate

as an orphan:

• Birth certificate
• Death certificate of the other parent

Forms available: No

Written form required: No

Informal application possible: Yes

Personal appearance necessary: No

Online services available: Yes

An entitlement to survivors' benefits exists if:

• an insured person was receiving a pension or several pensions with a total reduction in earning capacity of at least 50 percent from the statutory accident insurance at the time of death after a reduction in earning capacity of at least 50 percent and
• the death of the insured person was not the result of an accident at work or an occupational disease and
• there is no entitlement to a survivor's pension from the statutory accident insurance.

For widows, widowers and surviving dependants, registered partners:

• The marriage was not a pension marriage.

For orphans:

• There is a fictitious orphan's pension entitlement and
• the orphan was living with the deceased in the same household at the time of death and
• the orphan was mainly supported by the deceased person.

• Appeal
• Detailed information on how to lodge an appeal can be found in the notification from your employer's liability insurance association or accident insurance fund.

You do not have to apply for survivors' benefits. The entitlement is determined automatically ("ex officio") by the relevant employers' liability insurance association or accident insurance fund:

• Your employers' liability insurance association or accident insurance fund learns of the insured event or the death of your family member.
• Based on the insured event and the cause of death, the employers' liability insurance association or accident insurance fund will check whether you are entitled to survivors' benefits.

You can also contact your employers' liability insurance association or accident insurance fund online or by post.

Online service:

• Call up the online service.
• You will be guided through the procedure on the accident insurance service portal.
• You can log in.
  • If you would like to receive a reply from your Berufsgenossenschaft or accident insurance fund in the mailbox of your BundID account or My Company Account, you must have an account and authenticate yourself.
  • If you would like to receive the reply by post, you can continue without registering.
• Select your responsible employers' liability insurance association or accident insurance fund or find them using the industry search.
• Upload the required documents.
• Complete the online form and send it off.
• Your notification will be automatically forwarded to your employer's liability insurance association or accident insurance fund.
• You will receive feedback via the desired channel.

Online service of your employers' liability insurance association or accident insurance fund:

• If you have access to the portal of your employers' liability insurance association or accident insurance fund, you can also submit the notification electronically there if necessary.

Message by post:

• Send an informal letter to your employers' liability insurance association or accident insurance fund.
• Make sure you provide the required information and enclose the necessary documents.

There is no deadline.

There are no costs.