Employees are protected and insured by statutory accident insurance for accidents while at work. However, this applies only if an accident occurs during an activity that is related to work. During lunch breaks, insurance coverage is provided for the route to the dining hall/canteen and back, for journeys outside the company for meals (e.g., to an external canteen, home, or a restaurant), and also for journeys to a supermarket to buy food for the workplace. However, there is no insurance cover for the time you spend in the canteen, a restaurant, or a supermarket, nor for when you leave company premises for private errands (e.g., weekly shopping or visits to the doctor) or walks and sporting activities during breaks. This is because the break time itself is not insured. In the event of an accident, your own health insurance will then pay for any treatment.

Whether by bicycle, on foot, by public transport, or by car: anyone going to work or on their way home is insured by the employers’ liability insurance association in the event of an accident. In principle, the shortest route is insured. However, the insurance coverage does remain in place if you are forced to take a different route, for example, due to certain travel situations (traffic jams, better transport connections, and weather conditions). If an insured person interrupts their journey to or from work for private reasons, insurance coverage resumes when they return to the direct route. Exception: the break lasts longer than two hours. The insurance coverage begins and ends at the outer door to the building where you live. 

Employees working from home are also protected and insured by statutory accident insurance. However, the decisive factor here too is that the activities carried out are related to your work. For example, insurance coverage is provided when employees receive a package containing office supplies that they need for their work or when they collect work documents from the printer – even if it is located on a different floor. Employees are not insured though when they go into the kitchen to get a drink or receive a private package.