Therapy, ADHD, depression or burnout in your history? What German disability insurers (BU) really ask, what gets accepted — and how to find out anonymously first.
Ask underwriters what they look at first in a BU application from a 32-year-old software engineer, and it is not the skiing hobby. It is the mental health section. The reason is statistical: psychological conditions caused 32.3 % of all new occupational disability cases in 2025 — the largest single cause, ahead of back problems, cancer and accidents, and the highest share ever recorded in the Morgen & Morgen industry analysis.
German BU applications don't ask "have you ever been to therapy?" in the abstract. They ask precisely framed questions, typically:
Three things follow from this structure:
The wrong assumption about what to disclose can void your coverage when you need it most. If in doubt, bring it up in the confidential conversation — before any application exists.
What follows are typical patterns from underwriting practice, not promises — the same history can be rated differently by different insurers, which is the entire point of asking several of them anonymously.
Situational trigger (bereavement, relocation, break-up): often insurable at normal terms or with a temporary clause, especially with a stability period of 3–5 symptom-free years. Worth knowing: a completed Kurzzeittherapie — in Germany defined as a maximum of 24 sessions of 50 minutes — has markedly better insurability prospects than ongoing long-term therapy.
Outcomes vary widely — from normal acceptance after a long stable period to surcharge, temporary exclusion or postponement. Severity, duration, medication and relapse history drive the assessment.
Increasingly common in tech applicants — and generally insurable, often with a risk surcharge. The assessment depends above all on the type of symptoms, the therapy, the medication, and how recently symptoms last occurred; a stable work history helps.
Ongoing treatment usually means postponement (Zurückstellung) — insurers want to see the episode completed. The right move is a diarised re-inquiry after completion, not a hopeful application now.
Hardest category; individual assessment, often postponement or decline — but not hopeless at every insurer. This is where broker market knowledge earns its keep.
| Route | What happens | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Apply directly and hope | Your identity is on the application; a decline must be disclosed in future applications and can be recorded | High and irreversible |
| Give up without trying | No record — and no protection against your statistically biggest risk | Certain loss |
| Anonymous risk inquiry first | Several insurers assess your anonymised profile; you learn real terms; your record stays clean | None |
The anonymous inquiry exists precisely for cases like these. How it works, step by step →
If you are 28, healthy, and have never seen a therapist: this is the cheapest and easiest BU application of your life. Every year of waiting risks adding an entry to your medical file that complicates everything above. Estimate your premium in 30 seconds — a healthy software engineer at 30 typically pays €35–45 per month for €1,500 of monthly benefit.
Last updated: July 2026