Here’s the deal
- Statutory accident insurance is mandatory, from the first euro and even for a mini-job (§ 2 SGB VII). It covers accidents at work and on the way to work.
- For a mini-job the Minijob-Zentrale registers it automatically; the contribution of 1.6 % is part of the roughly 14.6 % employer costs. Above 603 €/month you register with the responsible accident insurance fund.
- Health, pension, and unemployment insurance depend on the type of job: for a mini-job only pension insurance (exemption possible), for a job subject to social security all of them.
- If your helper falls ill or becomes pregnant, you keep paying the wage and get most of it back through the levies U1 and U2.
- Without registration there is no accident cover: if something happens, the accident insurance can bill the household for the treatment costs.
Insurance sounds like a stack of policies, but it is not. At its core there is one real duty, accident insurance, and a few points that depend on whether your helper works as a mini-job or subject to social security. According to the quitt Haushaltshilfen-Report 2026, 52.7 % of households that employ legally name exactly this accident cover as their main reason for registering. What is mandatory, what is optional, and who pays in an emergency is set out here.
Do I have to insure my domestic helper?
Yes. Statutory accident insurance is mandatory the moment someone works for pay in your household, from the first euro and regardless of the number of hours. That is set out in § 2 SGB VII. It covers your helper for accidents during work and on the direct way to work.
The other social insurances, that is health, pension, and unemployment insurance, are not a separate task for you. They follow automatically from the registration and the type of job, more on that in a moment.
What insurances are these?
Three levels, of which only the first is a duty of its own:
- Statutory accident insurance: mandatory, from the first euro. It pays for the treatment and consequences of accidents at work.
- Health, pension, and unemployment insurance: run through the social contributions and depend on the type of job. For a mini-job only pension insurance is included.
- Private liability insurance: not a must, but sensible. It steps in, for example, if your helper accidentally damages something.
So the only thing you have to register is the employment itself; the accident insurance is then included automatically.
How is my domestic helper covered by accident insurance?
Through the registration, and that runs differently depending on the wage. For a mini-job the Minijob-Zentrale handles the accident insurance registration automatically as soon as you submit the Haushaltsscheck. You do not have to do anything extra. The contribution is 1.6 % of the wage and is already part of the roughly 14.6 % employer costs. How the procedure works is in the blog post What is the Haushaltsscheck?.
If your helper earns more than 603 € a month, the job is subject to social security and no longer runs through the Haushaltsscheck. In that case you register her with the accident insurance fund responsible for you. The accident insurance itself remains mandatory in both cases.
Important: the cover applies to the work and to the direct way there and back. If your helper falls off a ladder at your place or has an accident on the way to work, the accident insurance steps in.
Who pays in the event of illness, pregnancy or an accident?
That depends on the case, and in many of them you get money back:
- Illness: You keep paying wages for up to six weeks. With a Minijob, the U1 levy (Umlage U1) reimburses you for most of it.
- Pregnancy and maternity protection: During the protection periods, your helper isn't allowed to work. You get the employer's contribution to maternity pay reimbursed via the U2 levy (Umlage U2).
- Accident: Statutory accident insurance kicks in here and covers treatment and any follow-up costs, with no recourse to you.
It's a different story if the employment isn't registered. In that case there's no accident cover, and if something happens, the accident insurer can bill the household for the treatment costs. An unregistered hour of cleaning can turn into an expensive problem fast.
What about health, pension, and unemployment insurance?
That depends on the type of job. With a mini-job your helper is not covered for health or unemployment through this job; she is insured for health elsewhere, for example through her family or another job. She is covered by pension insurance, though, with an employee share of 13.6 % that she can be exempted from on request.
If the job is subject to social security (over 603 €/month), your helper is fully insured, so for health, pension, and unemployment. The difference between the two routes is explained in the article Mini-job or midi-job
What does quitt take care of for me?
quitt is an app-based service that handles the employment of your domestic helper for you, insurance included. You enter the key details, quitt registers the employment, arranges the accident cover, and settles the contributions correctly. You need neither know which accident insurance fund is responsible nor fill in a form yourself.
Found a household helper? Start the registration and quitt takes over the insurance cover and the payroll. You can see what the service costs on the pricing page.
Register and insure in one step
quitt registers your domestic helper, arranges the statutory accident cover, and takes care of payroll and contributions. You stay the employer, we do the rest.
