Berufsgenossenschaft: One Week to Register for Accident Insurance

Berufsgenossenschaft: Employers' Accident Insurance

The Berufsgenossenschaft (BG) is Germany's statutory accident insurance carrier for employers. Registration is mandatory, and the clock starts the day you found the company.

One week to register

Every company registers with the BG responsible for its industry within one week of founding. Your Gewerbeanmeldung usually handles the initial notification, but you still have to answer the BG's follow-up inquiries and report changes, typically within four weeks.

What it covers

The BG insures your employees against workplace accidents and occupational illness:

• Treatment, hospital stays, and medication
• Rehabilitation
• Accident pensions for lasting injury or death
• Prevention support and safety training

Coverage centers on employees. Owners and managing directors are covered only if they opt in, so check your BG's rules.

The cost formula

Contributions = Arbeitsentgelt (payroll) x Gefahrenklasse (hazard class) x Beitragsfuss / 100.

Three things drive it:

• Hazard class: how risky your industry is. Low-risk office work sits far below construction.
• Annual payroll: more wages, higher contribution.
• Premium rate (Beitragsfuss): set per industry. For scale, the examples given put construction around 0.42% and healthcare around 2.07%, but figures vary by BG and year.

A solo founder with no employees still registers, though contributions may be minimal until you hire.

Report serious accidents within three days

Any workplace accident that keeps an employee off work for more than three days must be reported to the BG within three days.

Watch these

• Skipping registration saves nothing. The BG registers you retroactively, demands back contributions, and can add fines.
• Report new hires and payroll changes on time. The BG assesses contributions on what you declare.
• Do not confuse the BG with the IHK. Different institutions, different bills.

Register in week one and keep the correspondence. It is one of the easiest deadlines to miss and one of the least pleasant to fix later.