Starting a Business in Berlin

78 79 Starting a Business in Berlin A Beginner’s Guide Nursing care insurance Insurance to meet your care needs is also compulsory. New entrepreneurs can again choose between private and statutory insurance. N.B.: If you leave the statutory insurance scheme, you will not be able to rejoin it again while you are self-employed. Pension insurance Entrepreneurs are personally responsible for ensuring that they have made adequate provision for their old age. They can choose to remain in the statutory Deutsche Rentenversi- cherung scheme or take out something along the lines of a life insurance policy instead. Some categories of self-emplo- yed people are, however, obliged to obtain statutory pension insurance. This might apply, for instance, to craftsmen, mid- wives, teachers, artists and journalists. A list of self-emplo- yed professions for which statutory insurance is required can be found in Art. 2 of Book VI of the Social Code. Additional information is available from Deutsche Rentenversicherung (DRV). Accident insurance/Employer’s liability insurance associations In some industries, entrepreneurs are obliged to join the German Statutory Accident Insurance scheme (Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung or DGUV). This accident insurance is provided by the employer’s liability insurance associations (Berufsgenossenschaften). The statutes of your particular association will indicate whether your members- hip is compulsory. This statutory insurance will only help PERSONAL INSURANCE This section contains information on which personal in- surance types are mandatory and which ones are voluntary in Germany. There are also differences between statutory and private insurances. Health insurance In Germany, every citizen must have statutory health in- surance. Whilst as an employee you were automatically a member of a statutory health fund (GKV), you now have a choice: you can either take the opportunity to remain with the GKV on a voluntary basis, or you can take out private in- surance (PKV). When it comes to sick pay, it may make sense to opt for a combination of the two. The cost of your premi- um with a PKV will depend on your age upon entry to the scheme, the state of your health, and the level of cover you require. No free cover will be available for family members, as is the case with the GKV. Preconditions for those seeking voluntary insurance with the GKV You must have had compulsory insurance with the GKV for at least twelve months before becoming self-employed, or for at least 24 months in the previous five years. Your period of self-employment must have commenced no more than three months previously. CHAPTER 7