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Cover around the clock — because statutory accident insurance only covers accidents at work and on the way to work.
Private accident insurance provides financial protection for accidents in your free time, at home or while doing sport. In Austria, statutory accident insurance (AUVA) only covers you for accidents at work and on the way to work. Yet around three quarters of all accidents happen at home or in leisure time (2025 according to KFV: 615,200 of 824,400 injured people), so private accident insurance closes a decisive gap in cover.
A serious accident can change your life in an instant. Private accident insurance protects you against the financial consequences:
A one-off lump sum for permanent impairment after an accident — depending on the degree of disability.
A monthly pension in case of severe permanent disability — supplements the statutory pension and secures your standard of living.
A payment for every day in hospital — helps to cover running costs during your stay.
Covers search, rescue and repatriation costs — especially important for accidents in the mountains.
Payment of the agreed sum to your loved ones in the event of death resulting from an accident.
Covers the cost of cosmetic treatment after accident injuries such as scars or tooth loss.
The disability benefit depends on the degree of permanent impairment. With progression, the payout rises disproportionately in severe cases. By how much is set by each tariff in its own table; the model below is a simplified example.
Assumption: sum insured €100,000; example progression: degrees of disability up to 25% count once, from 25 to 50% twice, and above 50% three times (maximum benefit 225%). Tariffs with a progression of 300% or more, as recommended above, pay out correspondingly more in severe cases.
| Degree of disability | without progression | with example progression |
|---|---|---|
| 20 % | €20,000 | €20,000 |
| 50 % | €50,000 | €75,000 |
| 80 % | €80,000 | €165,000 |
| 100 % | €100,000 | €225,000 |
It is precisely in serious accidents — when money for adaptations, care or lost income is needed most — that progression makes the biggest difference. Which degree of disability applies, for example, to the loss of a hand is set out in the impairment table (Gliedertaxe) of your tariff.
Simplified example calculation with sample values — not a substitute for an individual offer.
Switching pays off when your accident insurance no longer suits your everyday life or better benefits are available for the same price. The following rules apply:
Before every cancellation we check that the new contract starts without a gap in cover and, if you wish, we handle the switch for you.
Legal basis: Austrian Insurance Contract Act (VersVG), as of October 2026.
Contract term: accident insurance is usually taken out for 10 years. It is therefore worth making sure right at the start that the sum insured and benefits will still suit you in a few years’ time.
Private accident insurance makes sense for almost everyone, but especially for:
These details determine the premium: age, occupation, leisure activities and sports, the desired disability sum and additional benefits. Having them to hand means you get an offer that can really be compared more quickly.
Why accurate information matters: an offer is only as good as the information it is based on. Anyone who omits or misstates pre-existing conditions or risky sports, you risk the insurer withdrawing from the contract or refusing to pay in the event of a claim (§§ 16 ff. VersVG). That is why we prefer to calculate on the basis of complete information — the offer may then not be the cheapest, but you can rely on it.
Good to know: some insurers offer accident insurance entirely without health questions – an interesting option, e.g. with pre-existing conditions. We will show you which tariffs are suitable.
Statutory insurance only covers accidents at work and on the way to work. Accidents in your free time, at home or during sport are not covered — only private accident insurance applies here.
Yes, the disability benefit is paid according to the degree of permanent impairment and is usually the most important element of the contract.
That depends on the tariff — many policies also cover recreational sport, and there are usually separate add-ons for extreme sports.
With progression, the benefit rises disproportionately with the degree of disability — in severe cases you receive a multiple of the basic sum.
Yes, private accident insurance usually applies worldwide, 24 hours a day — at work and in private life.
Usually for 10 years. As a consumer, however, you can cancel a contract concluded for more than three years at the end of the third and every subsequent insurance year (§ 8 para. 3 VersVG) – the insurer may then charge back the discount granted for the long term.
Yes, some insurers offer tariffs entirely without health questions. This is particularly interesting with pre-existing conditions. We will gladly compare which tariffs are suitable and what they offer.
By law only in the compulsory nursery year before starting school – and only at nursery, on outings and on the way to nursery. Before that and in their free time there is no statutory cover, so we recommend private accident insurance for children.
Content reviewed by: Agnieszka Valenta, insurance broker · As of October 2026
We compare disability benefits, progression and add-ons and find the tariff that suits your everyday life, occupation and sport.
Personal advice in Breitenwaida – for clients from the Hollabrunn district, the whole Weinviertel region, as well as Vienna and Burgenland. We advise in English, German, Polish, Serbian and Bosnian.
