Insurance and Internship Agreements
After you have received confirmation of your internship abroad, there are still a number of things you need to be aware of in terms of insurance and your internship agreement. Regarding health insurance, you should take out an additional policy, as regular health insurance does not provide the necessary coverage. As to internship agreements, in some countries, these contracts require the signature of the university in addition to your signature and that of your employer. Please have internship agreements of that kind reviewed by the International Office.
Insurance
As soon as you have successfully applied for an internship abroad, you should take care of sufficient insurance coverage. Seek advice from your insurance provider. Statutory health insurance does not provide sufficient coverage and employers abroad rarely offer insurance that also covers accidents at work, for example. This is why you should take out the following policies to ensure complete coverage for the duration of your internship:
- travel abroad health insurance
- accident insurance (for example for accidents at the workplace)
- private liability insurance (for example for damage you cause at the workplace)
If you want to apply for Erasmus funding for internships, you have to provide proof of these policies with your application.
Within Europe, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) covers most medical costs. You still need travel abroad health insurance, since some costs, such as costs for medical repatriation, will not be covered by statutory health insurance. Please keep in mind that regular travel insurance that you would use for short trips or vacation usually does not cover internships. Outside of Europe, you will always need private travel abroad health insurance, since statutory health insurance will not provide coverage there.
Recommendation: Group insurance offered by the DAAD
Students who apply for funding through the ERASMUS internship program or are DAAD scholarship recipients can take out the DAAD group insurance (even if the Erasmus application is denied). Information on the DAAD website (Tarif 720) can also be used for a first orientation in order to compare policies offered by different insurance providers.
Internship agreements abroad: Convention de stage, Convencio de prácticas
Especially French and Spanish employers often require the internship agreement to be signed not only by the company and the intern but also by the home university as well.
If this is the case, please contact Ms Wittenberg at the International Office.
Please note: These internship agreements often also include insurance issues, since the insurance regulations for students in the respective countries often differ from those in Germany. The University of Mannheim has to ensure that the agreement does not contain any clauses obligating the University of Mannheim to cover possible insurance claims for you. If such clauses do exists, the agreement must be amended to the effect that you confirm having arranged for sufficient insurance coverage for the internship yourself.
If you receive an agreement template from your employer, please forward it to Ms Wittenberg via e-mail for review. We can also provide you with a template.
