Accident insurance

Statutory accident insurance cover applies

• upon enrolment
• whilst attending regular lectures and participating in official university events approved by the university administration (e.g. lectures, excursions, seminars, involvement in student self-government, laboratory work, etc.)
• upon deregistration

Officially approved university events are those that fall within the organisational and legal remit of the university and its facilities. This means that these events are directly linked to the university and its facilities in terms of time and location, and that accident prevention measures can be implemented and maintained for them by the university and the accident insurance provider.

Participation in university sports is also covered by accident insurance if the sporting activity falls within the organisational remit of the respective university.

This is generally assumed to be the case if

• the sporting activity is an official university event,
• the event is organised by the university itself (e.g. the Institute of Sports Science) or by a university-affiliated institution, and
• the sporting activity takes place within the framework of organised training sessions, i.e. at fixed times and under the supervision of an appointed instructor.

Furthermore, the individual events (e.g. multi-day skiing trips, competitions or sports camps, etc.) must have a substantial factual connection with the health-related, social and personal development objectives of university sport.

There is no statutory accident insurance cover if these are purely leisure events with no substantial factual connection to the health, social and personal development objectives of university sport, or if the

interests of the participants take precedence (e.g. practising snowboarding as a private hobby), as well as during unsupervised sporting activities outside organised training sessions on university premises and within the context of competitive sport in university sports clubs.

Students who take part in university sports programmes at another university are also covered by accident insurance subject to the above conditions, provided that the other university organises the sports programme in cooperation with the university of which the student is a member.

A prerequisite for statutory accident insurance cover whilst participating in exchange programmes such as Erasmus+ is that, in addition to the necessary contractual agreements, the period of study abroad must be formally, organisationally and in terms of content attributable to the course of study at the German higher education institution.

A formal link to the home institution exists if…

• the degree programme is to be continued after the stay abroad,
• the student remains enrolled at their home university, and
• the academic achievements obtained abroad are also fully recognised.

Organisational attribution must be assessed on the basis of the contracts underpinning the exchange programme and the bilateral agreements between the partner universities. Organisational authority remains with the home university if, in practical terms (e.g. the administration and content of the stay, the ability to intervene in the event of special circumstances, the achievement of the objective), it has the right to issue instructions or exercise control of any kind. This would be the case if it exercises this influence either through its own staff (e.g. a lecturer teaching at the partner university) in collaboration with the partner university, or by appointing a representative at the foreign university. There must therefore be concrete influence exercised by the home university ‘on the ground’. As a rule, this is not the case.

If the internships undertaken alongside studies are carried out as part of an official university course approved by the university administration, students are covered by statutory accident insurance through the university.

This is generally assumed to be the case for internships if the practical training components are integrated into the degree programme in terms of higher education law, content (in terms of training) and organisation; if the practical instruction is therefore carried out primarily for subject-specific reasons at institutions outside the university; and if the practical instruction is linked to the relevant educational, subject-specific and didactic courses.

Participation in internships is subject to the legal and organisational responsibility of the higher education institution if it, in practical terms, organises and supervises the activity with a significant degree of autonomy and, through its own or commissioned teaching staff, has extensive scope for practical intervention and the power to issue instructions regarding the time, place, form and duration of the activity, as well as the right to issue instructions and exercise control over the nature and execution of the activities. As a rule, this is not the case.

If, on the other hand, national internships are carried out outside the university’s legal and organisational sphere of responsibility, the interns may be eligible for insurance cover (Section 2(1)(1) of Book VII of the Social Code) through the relevant employers’ liability insurance association responsible for the respective internship company.

If, in accordance with the above, statutory accident insurance cover applies, it extends to all activities that are intrinsically linked to the relevant events (e.g. attending lectures), that form part of the official programme of events (e.g. on excursions) and to the direct commutes associated with them.

Commuting on the direct route is covered by accident insurance. Students are free to choose their mode of transport (e.g. by car, bicycle or public transport).