Retirement provision benefits companies and employees – savings pot for medium-sized companies

  More than ever before, every German citizen is responsible for his or her own retirement provision. The benefits of the statutory pension are by far not sufficient to even come close to maintaining the accustomed standard of living at retirement age. Even the Retirement Assets Act (AVmG) passed on 11 May 2001 is only […]

When are insurers no longer obliged to pay benefits or can reduce benefits?

– Liability traps and gaps in coverage in the daily sickness benefit insurance – In its ruling of July 6, 2016 (Case No. IV ZR 44/15), the Federal Court of Justice decided that regulations in the model terms and conditions (Section 4 IV MB/KT 2009) which regulated a compulsory reduction of the insured daily sickness […]

When the passing on of commission, material and services are prohibited special benefits

The Administrative Court of Frankfurt/Main (VG Ffm, Az. 7 L 3307/18.F) decided in its decision of 28.09.2018 – completely in line with the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) – that even regular payments by an intermediary (VM) to the policyholder (VN) declared as a reduction in premiums are prohibited as a commission fee, § 48b […]

Private health insurance: emergency tariff ensures benefits in acute cases – even without payment of contributions.

Contribution saving in the private health insurance (PKV) with relief fund* – How not only standard and emergency tariff of the PKV must be improved. – Around 5% of those insured with private health insurance (UN) are in social tariffs (standard tariff, emergency tariff, basic tariff), with an upward trend.   In the emergency tariff, […]

When employers are liable for reductions in pension funds

– How advisors, brokers and pension funds are taken into recourse in time –   A daily newspaper from southern Germany misleads its readers with the title “Erste Pensionskasse reduces company pensions”. For neither are company pensions reduced if the pension fund cuts its benefits. This is still the first pension fund where pensions and […]

Reduction of liability and plausibility check for investment advisors for closed-end fund offers – Part I

The liability risks of insurance brokers, investment brokers and consultants, but also of distributors and financial planners, differ depending on the customer (advice suitable for investors), capital investment (advice suitable for the property) or the risk involved (advice following property inspection and risk analysis). Obligation to disclose commissions – or reverse the transaction: This first […]

Act to ensure stable and fair benefits for life insurance policyholders (LVRG)

– Why life insurance works collectively –   The new law to ensure stable and fair benefits for life insurance policyholders (Life Insurance Reform Act – LVRG) leads to noticeable benefit cuts for insurance customers and is intended to strengthen the risk-bearing capacity of insurers. Life insurers already had up to one and a half […]

Claims to daily sickness benefits despite partial retirement and also without loss of income

– Judgment of the Regional Court (LG) Nuremberg-Fürth confirms claims even without monetary need –   Also with the conclusion of a sickness daily benefit (KT) insurance as so-called sum insurance, insurers try in many concrete cases to refer to the fact that the insurance customer had no damage by the inability to work, and […]

So-called guaranteed benefits in the pension scheme are absolutely not guaranteed

– What life insurance companies and pension funds are hiding from premium payers –   Life insurance policies for occupational (bAV) and private (pAV) pensions, but also pension schemes, can provide far fewer benefits than promised or promised on paper. However, policyholders often have a claim for damages against the intermediaries and advisors or product […]

Retirement benefits: Is it getting down to the wire?

Cancellation of valuation reserves Topic after the Bundestag elections / Losses of up to more than 15 percent   For more than ten years, life insurance returns have suffered from low capital market interest rates. As a result, reductions of up to more than 30 percent compared to the expectations that were still being raised […]