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Sickness benefit and incapacity for work

To ensure that you remain financially secure even in the event of a longer period of sickness, you receive sickness benefit from SBK

Sickness benefit from the SBK – ensuring your financial security

If the doctor treating you declares you unfit for work, you can start receiving sickness benefit from us. If you are employed, your employer will usually pay your salary up to the sixth week of sickness – this is called continued remuneration. In the event of prolonged illness that exceeds this period, we will provide you with financial coverage. If you become unable to work due to an accident at work, the responsible accident insurance company will generally take over the financial coverage. To make things easier and faster for you, we will pay the injury benefit on behalf of the accident insurance in this case.

When do I start receiving sickness benefit and how much will I receive?

How long can you receive sickness benefit for?

You can receive sickness benefit for a maximum of 78 weeks for the same illness. Times in which sickness benefit is suspended are counted towards this maximum entitlement. Examples of this include times during which you are receiving continued remuneration from your employer or you are claiming a transitional allowance from the pension insurance provider during rehabilitation.

Good to know:

You and any family members covered by the insurance will not be required to make contributions to SBK while receiving sickness benefit. During this time, SBK will also continue to pay your contributions for unemployment, nursing care and pension insurance. This means your retirement is safeguarded even in the event of a longer illness. 

Sickness benefit – your SBK benefits:

How to get your sickness benefit from SBK:

  1. In order for us to be able to pay out sickness benefit, your doctor will establish your incapacity to work with the indication that it is a so-called sickness benefit case (‘from the 7th week of incapacity for work or other reason’ or ‘final certificate’).
  2. From 1 October 2021, your doctor can use the electronic certificate of incapacity for work and will send us the required information directly and electronically. 
  3. If your doctor is not yet using the electronic method, you will still receive a paper copy. Please always send this certificate of incapacity for work to SBK, 80227 Munich, Germany, so that we can transfer the sickness benefit to you without delay and within a few days. You can also use the Meine SBK App and upload your certificate of incapacity for work digitally. 
  4. Payment will be made as soon as we receive your certificate of incapacity for work. We always pay sickness benefit until the day on which your doctor issued the certificate of incapacity for work. Submitting the certificate of incapacity for work to us or having it sent electronically by your doctor allows you to control when you want to receive your sickness benefit yourself.
  5. If you continue to be unfit for work, your doctor will issue you another certificate of incapacity for work. Important: Please ensure that there are no gaps in the certification of incapacity for work for all such times. Certificates for continued incapacity to work must be obtained at the very latest on the day after the current certified period of incapacity to work to avoid any loss of sickness benefit.