Insurance for a Voluntary Social Year (FSJ)/Voluntary service abroad
Reliable travel insurance for voluntary assignments worldwide

Voluntary service abroad(FSJ abroad) or a voluntary social year abroad offers motivated young people and young adults aged 16 and over the opportunity to gain experience abroad.
Volunteers are covered by statutory health insurance during their service abroad , but this is generally not sufficient. Any necessary repatriation, for example, is not covered. Volunteers are therefore responsible for taking out comprehensive insurance cover themselves (the sponsoring organization may cover the costs).
For this reason, international health insurance should always be taken out for the FSJ abroad, especially for non-European countries, and forms the basis of the insurance cover.

Germany: During a Voluntary Social Year (FSJ) in Germany, you can usually be insured through the family's statutory health insurance as long as you meet certain requirements, such as age (usually up to 25 years) and that you have no or only a low income.

Abroad: If you are doing your FSJ abroad, the possibility of being covered by German family insurance depends on various factors, including the regulations of the respective health insurance provider and the country in which you are doing your FSJ. In many cases, however, German statutory health insurance only offers limited cover abroad. It may therefore be necessary to take out additional health insurance abroad in order to be adequately insured during your FSJ abroad.

You can do an FSJ abroad in any country. The prerequisite is that you have to find a provider or a sending organization based in Germany that has a partner organization and a placement in the FSJ country you want to travel to. The voluntary social year should also be seen as a year of education, not just as voluntary service.

The most popular countries for an FSJ abroad are the USA, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
You can find important information about the FSJ in these countries in our blog:
FSJ abroad - These are the 5 most popular countries

The FSJ is generally funded by the state. However, volunteers usually have to pay for their own travel costs, local travel expenses and FSJ health insurance. An FSJ abroad is more expensive than an FSJ in Germany due to the travel costs. You may also have to pay part of the visa costs and pocket money yourself if these exceed the government grants.

There is a whole range of voluntary services, with different activities and tasks in many social institutions and other areas:

• Child and youth work: educational, pedagogical tasks (kindergarten, after-school care, school)
• Health and care: medical/nursing activities (e.g. in hospitals, geriatric care)
• in associations: e.g. sports clubs, environmental and nature conservation associations, etc.
• Politics, art, society: e.g. cultural and educational institutions

Voluntary service in Germany gives young people and young adults the opportunity to gain a wide range of enriching experiences. For example, in a hospital, caring for the elderly, working with people with disabilities or in housekeeping as well as in the administration and office of social institutions. Voluntary service in Germany also requires good insurance cover. The most important insurance for this is statutory health insurance, so extra insurance is not necessary.

As part of a Voluntary Social Year (FSJ), health insurance is usually covered by the sponsoring organization. During their FSJ, the volunteers are covered by health insurance through the assignment location and the costs are usually borne by the sponsoring organization.

However, it is advisable to find out about the exact conditions and regulations from the respective sponsoring organization before starting the FSJ. In some cases, additional insurance may be required, especially for assignments abroad.

The SMART tariff covers the most important basic benefits, such as doctor and hospital costs, medication and repatriation. The PRO tariff significantly extends the cover: no deductible (SMART: €30 per claim), higher reimbursements for dental treatment and dentures, additional benefits such as massages, physiotherapy and psychotherapy (up to €1,000), medication dispatch and sick visits as well as higher expense allowances and daily hospital benefits.

Yes, with a contract term of at least one year, insurance cover is also provided during a return to your home country - up to 6 weeks per insurance year.

Yes, in the event of a premature birth up to the 36th week of pregnancy, the insurance covers necessary treatment costs for the newborn up to €50,000.

Young people up to their 35th birthday are eligible for insurance. After that, regular insurance is no longer possible.

The supplementary packages combine several insurances in one package: emergency insurance, travel liability insurance, travel accident insurance and - in the comfort tariff - additional luggage insurance.

The benefits are significantly higher in the PRO tariff:

• Emergency insurance: e.g. ambulance transport € 2,500 instead of € 1,000, kidnapping € 15,000 instead of € 10,000
• Liability insurance: €2.5 million cover instead of €1 million, rental property damage €25,000 instead of €10,000
• Accident insurance: disability €40,000 instead of €20,000, death €20,000 instead of €10,000, additional benefits for rescue costs and cosmetic surgery
• Deductible: PRO without deductible, SMART with €25 for damage to rental property

Yes, but only in the comfort tariff. The sum insured is up to €2,000 per claim, with limits for valuables, electronics or sports equipment.

Young people up to the age of 35 who are temporarily abroad for an FSJ, au pair, study, work & travel or similar programs are eligible for insurance.