As of: March 1, 2024, 4:00 p.m
By: Laura Hindelang
Comments
Press
Split
It is not impossible to take out occupational disability insurance despite psychotherapy.
Whether insurance comes into effect depends on the individual case.
Anyone who seeks help for their mental health may have problems taking out occupational disability insurance.
Psychotherapy is an exclusion criterion for many providers.
During psychological treatment, the chances of receiving occupational disability protection are very low.
But it's not impossible.
Whether psychotherapy actually leads to the rejection of the insurance application depends on the individual case.
Mental illnesses are the most common reason for occupational disability
Occupational disability insurance applies if you can no longer do your job for health reasons and therefore no longer have any income.
If the following criteria are met, the occupational disability insurance pays a monthly pension:
The occupational disability has a degree of at least 50 percent, meaning you can no longer do at least 50 percent of your work.
The disease lasts for at least six months.
A doctor confirms the diagnosis and predicts that the health problems will not get better in the near future.
According to an analysis by the
German Actuarial Association
from 2018, the probability of becoming unfit for work is on average 25 percent.
Statistically speaking, occupational disability affects one in four employees.
Psychological suffering is the most common reason for this.
According to the
General Association of Insurers,
30 percent of all cases in 2021 were due to mental illnesses such as depression and burnout.
These sufferings have been increasing among the causes of occupational disability for years.
Mental problems are the most common reason why people stop working before retirement age.
© Westend 61/Imago
People who are seeking or have sought psychotherapeutic help to combat their fears or gain more resilience are therefore a risk for insurers.
Information about mental health therefore plays an important role when applying for occupational disability insurance.
Even though it's not easy to get insurance when you're in therapy or just past therapy, there are still ways to get coverage.
Would you like valuable money-saving tips?
Merkur.de's “Clever Save” newsletter always has the best money-saving tips for you every Thursday.
My news
Turning down inheritance: Who will inherit and what you need to consider read
Tax return: When does it have to be submitted to the tax office in 2024 at the latest?
read
Apply for a certificate of inheritance: How to prove that you are an heir read
At what income do you pay taxes in Germany? read
Handwritten, otherwise invalid: What is important when making a will read
Divorce hurts?
How to get through the separation well financially
The insurers evaluate psychotherapy and the previous mental illness individually: This depends, among other things, on the reason for the treatment, the duration of the treatment and the end of the therapy, the
Finanz.de
portal lists .
Take out occupational disability insurance despite therapeutic treatment
You have the lowest chance of success if you are already undergoing treatment when you apply.
But here too it depends very much on the individual case.
For example, constant stress at work is classified differently than an addiction, reports the business magazine
Capital
.
In addition, not every conversation with a psychologist is psychotherapy, emphasizes André Salau, head of the Consumer Advice Center for Insurance.
Anyone who seeks one-off help after personal strokes of fate - such as the death of a family member - can often take out regular occupational disability insurance.
For people who have already completed therapy, the insurance may be linked to conditions that make the protection more expensive or limit it.
There are two variants, informs
Zurich Insurance
:
Risk surcharge
: From the provider's perspective, if you have been in therapy, the risk that you will no longer be able to work due to recurring symptoms increases.
Insurers can therefore demand a higher monthly premium.
Exclusion of benefits
: Mental illnesses and their consequences are no longer part of the insurance due to an exclusion clause.
The pension will not be paid if the insurer leaves work due to mental health issues.
After a certain period of time, the therapy no longer falls within the insurer's so-called query period.
That's usually five or ten years, writes
Capital
.
If you were previously receiving psychological treatment, the insurer theoretically no longer has any reason to reject the request.
However, the legal situation is not clear on this point.
Query your chances of obtaining occupational disability insurance anonymously
In all of these cases, it makes sense not to contact the insurance companies personally, but to inquire via an anonymous preliminary risk inquiry, advises
Zurich Insurance
.
This is because insurers use a common database in which they store rejections.
If you receive negative feedback, you would also have bad chances with other insurers.
According to Capital,
you should
contact an independent insurance broker for an anonymous risk query.
This can specifically determine for the interested party which providers have a chance of insurance coverage despite therapy.
Before you can take out occupational disability insurance, you must answer a questionnaire about your medical history, which also requires information about previous psychotherapy or previous illnesses.
This information must be provided because there is a pre-contractual obligation to disclose: if you conceal your medical history, your entitlement to benefits may expire in the event of an insured event,
Cosmos Direkt
informs .
If occupational disability insurance doesn't work out, you can think about alternatives.
According to
Finanz.de
, disability insurance, basic ability insurance, multi-risk insurance or dread disease insurance are ideal for this.
These usually include limited occupational disability protection: For example, they cover physical illnesses or disabilities as a result of accidents.
However, restrictions due to psychological problems are usually left out.