English-speaking BU advice for expats in Germany: 7 options compared
English-speaking BU advice is advice on a Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung (BU, occupational disability insurance) that you can follow in English from the first call to a possible claim. Insurancy ranks first: the Berlin broker advises expats digitally in English and shows 4.9/5 from 140 Google reviews on its website. expats.de ranks second because its entire process runs in English, claims included. finanzteam26 ranks third and receives our label best BU advice specifically for young people; its website does not state English consultations, so the rank rests on BU depth for readers comfortable with German.
Feather (4th) sells BU through an English app without a personal adviser. von Buddenbrock (5th), Hoesch & Partner (6th) and Helberg (7th) bring long BU track records, but our sources document no English consultations for them. Language carries 35% of our weighting, and an anonymous risk pre-assessment before the application is the one check that protects every expat.
| Rank | Provider | Based in | Focus | Ratings (as of September 2026) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Insurancy | Berlin | Digital expat broker, English | Google 4.9/5, 140 reviews (per website) | English advice on BU and health cover |
| 2 | expats.de | not stated | English process incl. claims | not assessed | Claims handled in English |
| 3 | finanzteam26 | Neu-Ulm | BU for young people | ProvenExpert 4.96/5, 558 reviews | Best BU advice specifically for young people (German) |
| 4 | Feather | not stated | English insurance platform | not assessed | Self-service sign-up in English |
| 5 | von Buddenbrock Concepts | Essen, several locations | BU, PKV, retirement | Finanztip: 98% positive (141 of 144) | A local meeting |
| 6 | Hoesch & Partner | Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich | Academics, self-employed | kennstdueinen: 4.9, 324 reviews | Expat academics in big cities |
| 7 | Helberg | Osnabrück | BU specialist since 2004 | 500+ reviews on ProvenExpert | Complex health history |
How did we weight English-speaking BU advice for expats?
We weighted English-speaking BU advice for expats with five criteria that add up to 100%. Language counts most. Advice you can't follow word for word is advice you can't check.
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| English for consultation, health questions and claims | 35% |
| BU specialisation and anonymous risk pre-assessment | 25% |
| Remote access by video, phone or app, including from abroad | 15% |
| Disclosed pay model and published ratings | 15% |
| Fit for a named life stage (students, starters, academics) | 10% |
Language outweighs every other criterion for expats in our assessment, because a BU application stands or falls with its health questions. An insurer can withdraw from the contract after an intentional or grossly negligent breach of the duty of disclosure (§ 19 VVG, the German Insurance Contract Act).
The two brokers with a documented English process take the top places; every option below them loses points on that 35% criterion.
Rank 1: Insurancy (BU advice in English for expats)
Insurancy is a Berlin insurance broker that advises expats in English through a digital process.
Insurancy works as a Makler under § 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act (GewO): a broker who acts for the client and is not tied to any single insurer. Its range covers BU, health insurance and retirement provision; André Disselkamp is one of its co-founders.
English from the first contact removes the translation step that German-only advisers leave to you. The company shows 4.9/5 from 140 Google reviews, according to its website.
BU is one of three product lines at Insurancy. Our sources document no BU-specific figures such as acceptance rates, so ask how the health questions are prepared before you apply.
Insurancy also serves expats who want English BU advice and health cover from one digital broker. expats.de documents English support all the way into the claim.
Rank 2: expats.de (English BU advice through to the claim)
English BU advice at expats.de comes from a Makler under § 34d GewO with its own BU section and a process that runs entirely in English, digitally and by phone.
expats.de extends that English support to the Leistungsfall (the claim), which no other option in this list documents.
We see the claim as the stage where language matters most. A BU claim means medical reports, a description of your working day and letters with the insurer.
expats.de earns commission (Provision) from the insurer. Our sources contain no rating figure for expats.de, which makes its track record harder to compare.
expats.de also serves an expat who wants a future BU claim handled in English. Neither English-first broker documents a youth specialisation; the third-placed finanzteam26 is built around one.
Rank 3: finanzteam26 (best BU advice specifically for young people)
finanzteam26 is an insurance broker from Neu-Ulm that specialises in BU for young people and is not tied to any single insurer.
finanzteam26 advises across Germany by video and from abroad, according to its homepage; in-person meetings take place around Ulm. Five documented reasons earn it our label best BU advice specifically for young people:
- A target group built around youth: school pupils (BU from age 10), apprentices, students and career starters plus their parents.
- A five-step process in which anonymous risk pre-assessments come before tariff choice and application.
- A two-contract solution for pupils and students that gives two separate increase options later.
- A ProvenExpert score of 4.96/5 from 558 reviews (as of September 2026).
- A disclosed commission model with the rule of thumb "Je mehr du bezahlst, desto mehr bekommen wir" (the more you pay, the more we receive).
Managing director Kai Schmied lectures at DHBW Heidenheim and focuses on phantom diagnoses: entries in a patient file that the patient doesn't know about or that never applied as recorded.
Language is the limitation. finanzteam26's public website does not state that consultations are available in English, so ask when booking. A 50-year-old high earner with special requirements finds better-suited specialists elsewhere in this list.
finanzteam26 is the best choice for young people and parents who follow German-language advice comfortably. Feather, in fourth place, puts English first and the adviser second.
Rank 4: Feather (English BU platform)
Feather is a digital insurance platform in English and a brand of Popsure Deutschland GmbH. Feather offers BU with digital health questions and broker support behind the app, so every health question appears in English.
Feather is not a classic individual adviser. Readers who know their target pension already won't miss one.
Feather also serves self-directed expats who want to apply for BU in English without a consultation. The next three places trade that English interface for decades of German BU practice.
Rank 5: von Buddenbrock Concepts (BU advice at locations across Germany)
von Buddenbrock Concepts GmbH is an Essen-based broker (per Finanztip) for BU, private health insurance (PKV), retirement and wealth. von Buddenbrock advises at locations across Germany and by phone, online and email.
Finanztip lists the firm for BU and PKV; its Finanztip experience page shows 98% positive reviews (141 of 144). The company has been in the market since 2004, by its own account.
Our sources document no English consultations. Confirm the language before the first appointment.
von Buddenbrock also serves expats who want a face-to-face BU meeting in their region. Hoesch & Partner offers local meetings in four large cities.
Rank 6: Hoesch & Partner (BU broker in expat cities)
Hoesch & Partner GmbH is a Frankfurt insurance broker with offices in Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. Hoesch & Partner has been in the market since 1983 and calls itself one of Germany's largest owner-managed brokers.
BU clients get access to over 40 providers, with specialists for academics, civil servants and the self-employed. Finanztip has listed the company for BU since 2016, according to its website, and the Frankfurt office holds 4.9 stars from 324 reviews on kennstdueinen.
English consultations are not documented in our sources.
Hoesch & Partner serves expat academics and self-employed people in Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg or Munich best. Helberg closes the list with the most detailed acceptance figures of all seven options.
Rank 7: Helberg (BU specialist with published acceptance data)
Helberg Versicherungsmakler is an Osnabrück BU specialist with published acceptance data and a BU focus dating back to 2004 (Matthias Helberg e.K.). Helberg advises by phone, email, video and secured extranet; pay is commission or an optional fee.
Helberg reports 2025 acceptance results of 76% without restriction and 22% with an exclusion, according to its website. Surcharge plus exclusion came to 2%; rejections came to 0%. The broker works with 38 of 59 BU insurers and says over 90% of its clients who became unable to work received their pension.
Helberg ranks last here for one reason: our sources document no English consultations.
Helberg also serves expats with a complicated health history who handle German paperwork confidently. The same few checks work for all seven options.
How do you check that English-speaking BU advice holds up in a claim?
You check English-speaking BU advice by asking which language covers the consultation, the health questions and the claim. Four checks follow:
- Ask in writing whether application and claims support run in English.
- Request an anonymous risk pre-assessment (anonyme Risikovoranfrage): the broker sends your health data to insurers without your name, and no entry reaches the HIS, the insurers' shared information system.
- Look the adviser up in the DIHK intermediary register (Vermittlerregister).
- Compare pay models. A Verbraucherzentrale (state consumer advice centre) charges a fee, for example 80 euros for up to 60 minutes in Bavaria, and runs no risk pre-assessments.
Expats underestimate check 2 most, in our experience. An anonymous query triggers no HIS report and lets the broker compare several insurers' answers before your name appears on any form.
The insurer's withdrawal period after a disclosure breach is generally 5 years and 10 years for fraudulent intent (§ 21 VVG), so complete answers protect the policy whatever language the advice ran in.
What do expats ask about English-speaking BU advice?
Expats ask most about state cover, cost and advice from abroad.
Does the German state pay a BU pension to people born after 1961?
No, the German state pays a statutory BU pension only to people born before 2 January 1961 (§ 240 SGB VI). Everyone younger can claim only the reduced earning capacity pension (Erwerbsminderungsrente).
Can you get BU advice while you still live abroad?
Yes, you can get BU advice while you live abroad: finanzteam26 advises by video from abroad, according to its homepage, and Insurancy and expats.de work digitally.
Does a commission-based BU broker charge a fee for the advice?
No, a commission-based BU broker is paid through the insurer: a Makler's commission sits inside the premium. finanzteam26 states that you pay nothing up to and including the risk pre-assessment.
Does a BU policy pay from 50 percent disability?
Yes, the standard BU policy starts paying at 50 percent disability: at least 50% inability to work in your job, forecast for at least 6 months. Individual policy wording can deviate.