Disability insurance with endowment life insurance: Maximum protection or expensive compromise?
28 Apr 2025
Katrin Straub
Managing Director at nextsure
The combination of disability insurance with an endowment life insurance promises comprehensive protection from a single source. But is this solution really the best choice, or are you ultimately paying more? We shed light on the facts.
The topic in brief and concise terms
Combining an occupational disability insurance with a whole life insurance is usually more expensive and less flexible than having two separate contracts.
The loss of disability insurance protection when cancelling or suspending contributions to the savings portion is a significant disadvantage of the combined policy.
Experts mostly recommend separating income protection and retirement provision to be able to choose the best terms for each area.
Quick Facts: The Combo Policy Under the Microscope
The combination of occupational disability insurance and capital investment within a single contract, often structured as a disability insurance add-on (BUZ) to a capital life insurance policy, is a complex product. The main contract is the life insurance, and the disability insurance is just an add-on. A supposed advantage is often the premium waiver for the main insurance in the case of occupational disability, which, however, usually incurs additional costs. Experts often advise against this combination as separate contracts usually offer more flexibility and better conditions. The cancellation or adjustment of one part often affects the entire contract. This structure can lead to a coverage gap if the terms are not optimally aligned.
Practice Check: Costs and Flexibility Compared
In practice, it becomes apparent that a disability insurance combined with an endowment life insurance is often more expensive than two separate policies. One reason for this is the administrative costs, which can negate the advantage of lower initial costs. For example: A desired increase in the disability insurance pension by 200 euros per month can force an unwanted increase in the savings portion of the endowment life insurance in combined contracts. Lack of flexibility is a central issue: In times of financial difficulty, suspending the savings policy often leads to the loss of disability coverage. It is usually not possible to cancel the endowment life insurance separately without also losing the disability coverage. This can be particularly disadvantageous if your life circumstances change, such as through a job change or starting a family, and it would be sensible to adjust only one part of the contract. Selecting the ideal provider for both types of insurance at the same time is also a challenge, as hardly any insurer offers top performance in both areas at competitive conditions.
Example calculation: When is separation worthwhile?
Imagine paying 150 Euros monthly for a combined disability insurance (BU) with an endowment policy (KLV). Out of this, 70 Euros go towards the disability insurance and 80 Euros into the savings component. After ten years, you find that the return on the endowment policy, with only a one percent guaranteed interest rate, is disappointing. If you were to cancel now, to invest the savings portion elsewhere, you would often lose the essential disability insurance as well and might have to take out a new one at a potentially higher entry age and with new health questions, making it more expensive. With two separate contracts, you could easily cancel or make the endowment policy premium-free while maintaining your disability insurance for 70 Euros. The separate structure allows you to keep the disability insurance until retirement age, say 67 years, while the endowment policy might only be needed until the age of 60. Such differentiation is often not possible or hard to implement with combined policies. The long-term savings and flexibility of separate contracts usually outweigh the supposed advantages of a combined policy.
Expert Depth: Tax and Legal Aspects
The tax treatment of a disability insurance policy with an endowment life insurance is complex. Contributions to a private disability insurance can be claimed as other precautionary expenses, but the maximum amounts (1,900 euros for employees, 2,800 euros for self-employed individuals) are often already exhausted by health and care insurance contributions. When linked to a basic pension (Rürup pension), up to 100 percent of the contributions (up to a maximum amount of 29,344 euros for single assessments in 2025) can be deducted for tax purposes, provided the disability portion does not exceed 49 percent of the total contribution. In the event of benefits, the disability pension from private contracts is taxed on the earnings share, the amount of which depends on the remaining term of the pension (e.g. 13 percent for eleven years remaining term according to § 55 EStDV). With the Rürup combination, the pension is usually fully taxable later. Our expert tip: Carefully assess which tax structuring is most advantageous for your income situation and retirement goals in the long term. Advice on tax matters can provide clarity here. Legally, it should be noted that in combined contracts, the conditions of the main insurance (endowment life insurance) often dominate those of the supplementary disability insurance. The Insurance Contract Act (VVG) regulates general rights and obligations, but specific clauses in the contract are crucial.
Important considerations before concluding the contract:
How flexible does my insurance coverage need to be?
What are the optimal terms for disability insurance and endowment life insurance respectively?
Can I afford the contributions even with income fluctuations?
Does the insurer offer top benefits for both components?
What are the short- and long-term tax implications?
What happens in case of cancellation or premium waiver of a part?
These questions help you identify the disadvantages of a combination policy.
nextsure Conclusion: Why separate paths are often the better choice
The combination of occupational disability insurance with an endowment life insurance policy may initially seem practical, but it carries significant disadvantages. The lack of flexibility, potentially higher overall costs, and the difficulty in finding optimal conditions for both types of insurance with a single provider generally argue against such bundling. A policy term for occupational disability until the age of 67 is essential, which often causes problems with combined contracts if the endowment life insurance ends earlier. The risk of losing all coverage due to payment difficulties is another compelling reason for separate policies. At nextsure, we recommend viewing your working capacity and your retirement provision as two separate yet equally important pillars of your financial planning. Individual advice will help you find the right components for your situation. Request your personalised risk analysis now: Have your insurance situation reviewed for free and receive specific optimisation suggestions.
More useful links
Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft (GDV) offers seven facts about disability insurance.
Statista provides statistics on the ownership of disability insurance in Germany.
Statista shows the likelihood of disability until the retirement age of 65 years.
Deutsche Rentenversicherung provides information about the disability pension.
Wikipedia offers a comprehensive article on disability insurance.
Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft (GDV) provides a press release on the life insurance figures for 2024.
Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft (GDV) offers a publication on German life insurance figures 2023 (PDF).
Wikipedia provides an article on life insurance in Germany.
FAQ
Was passiert mit meiner Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung mit Kapitallebensversicherung, wenn ich die Beiträge nicht mehr zahlen kann?
Wenn Sie die Beiträge für eine kombinierte Police nicht mehr zahlen können und den Vertrag kündigen oder beitragsfrei stellen, verlieren Sie in der Regel auch Ihren Berufsunfähigkeitsschutz. Dies ist ein wesentlicher Nachteil gegenüber getrennten Verträgen.
Sind die Leistungen einer BUZ in der Kapitallebensversicherung genauso gut wie bei einer selbstständigen BU?
Häufig ist der Leistungsumfang einer Berufsunfähigkeitszusatzversicherung (BUZ) im Rahmen einer Kapitallebensversicherung reduziert oder die Bedingungen sind weniger vorteilhaft als bei einer eigenständigen Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung (SBU).
Warum wird die Kombination aus BU und KLV überhaupt angeboten?
Ein Argument ist die vermeintliche Bequemlichkeit nur eines Vertrages und Ansprechpartners. Manchmal wird auch mit einer einfacheren Gesundheitsprüfung geworben. Diese Vorteile wiegen die Nachteile wie mangelnde Flexibilität und höhere Kosten jedoch selten auf.
Kann ich die Laufzeiten von BU-Schutz und Kapitallebensversicherung in einer Kombi-Police flexibel gestalten?
Die flexible Gestaltung unterschiedlicher Laufzeiten ist bei Kombi-Policen oft schwierig. Eine BU sollte idealerweise bis zum Renteneintrittsalter (z.B. 67) laufen, während eine Kapitallebensversicherung vielleicht andere Ziele und Laufzeiten hat. Eine Nichtübereinstimmung kann zu Deckungslücken führen.
Welche Rolle spielt die aktuelle Niedrigzinsphase für Kapitallebensversicherungen in der Kombination?
Die anhaltende Niedrigzinsphase schmälert die Renditechancen von Kapitallebensversicherungen erheblich. Das macht den Sparanteil einer kombinierten Police oft unattraktiv und verstärkt die Argumente für eine separate, potenziell renditestärkere Kapitalanlage.
Ist eine Kombination von BU und Risikolebensversicherung sinnvoller als mit einer Kapitallebensversicherung?
Ja, die Kombination einer BU mit einer Risikolebensversicherung kann in bestimmten Fällen sinnvoller sein, insbesondere wenn ohnehin eine Hinterbliebenenabsicherung benötigt wird und der Versicherer gute Konditionen für beide Teile bietet. Die Kombination mit einer Kapitallebensversicherung wird aufgrund der genannten Nachteile meist kritischer gesehen.
