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Farm and household help from the agricultural health insurance fund; application

You can receive benefits from the Agricultural Health Insurance Fund (LKK) for company and household help (BHH) if you are absent due to illness, hospital treatment, preventive or rehabilitation treatment by the LKK or due to pregnancy and maternity leave.

Online services & Forms

Online services

  • Betriebs- und Haushaltshilfe online beantragen
    The insurance portal of the Social Insurance for Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture (SVLFG) offers you the opportunity to submit an online application for farm and household help.

Responsible for you

Sozialversicherung für Landwirtschaft, Forsten und Gartenbau

Street address

Weißensteinstraße 70 - 72
34131 Kassel

Postal address

Weißensteinstraße 70 - 72

34131 Kassel

Website

www.svlfg.de

Mehr zur Behörde

Procedure details

You can receive benefits for business and household help from the LKK if you are absent due to

  • an illness that jeopardizes the management of the company
  • hospital treatment,
  • an outpatient or inpatient preventive care or rehabilitation measure of the LKK or
  • pregnancy and maternity leave.

The LKK ensures that your business or household continues to operate and that your income base is maintained. The benefits for business and household help relate in particular to work that cannot be postponed.

The LKK either provides a qualified specialist for this purpose, which is known as a hired worker. Or you can find a replacement yourself.

The skilled workers provided can be employees of the Social Insurance for Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture (SVLFG) or a skilled worker from another organization, for example a machinery ring or a farm help service.

If you try to find a replacement yourself, the LKK will reimburse the costs up to a fixed amount. Maximum amounts apply. Please note that no deployment costs are covered for relatives and in-laws up to the 2nd degree. The replacement employee must also be external to the company. This means that they must not otherwise work in your company or in your household or help out significantly.

If an illness jeopardizes the management of the company, benefits for business and household help are possible for a maximum of 4 weeks. In the case of inpatient treatment, for a maximum of 13 weeks. An extension is only possible due to special circumstances in the company or household. The persistence of the incapacity to work or the illness alone is not sufficient.

  • Your company reaches the minimum size.
  • Benefits for farm and household help are required to maintain the agricultural business or household.
  • You are insured as an agricultural entrepreneur or, accordingly, as a
    • wife or husband or
    • registered civil partner.

You are absent due to

  • medically certified illness that jeopardizes the management of the business,
  • hospital treatment,
  • outpatient or inpatient preventive care or rehabilitation services provided by the LKK or
  • pregnancy and maternity leave.

Notes:

  • You cannot apply for farm and household help for activities in ancillary businesses, i.e. non-agricultural parts of the business.
  • Even if you are insured elsewhere with the agricultural health insurance fund, you may be able to receive household help benefits. For example, if
    • it is not possible to continue running the household due to a stay in hospital and
    • a child under the age of 14 or a disabled child lives in the household.
  • Home help is also provided if it is not possible to continue running the household due to pregnancy or childbirth.
  • You must submit the application before the start of the assignment.

  • Required Documents
    • Antrag auf Betriebs und Haushaltshilfe,
    • gegebenenfalls ärztliche Bescheinigung über Krankheit, die die Bewirtschaftung des Unternehmens gefährdet. Hierfür kann der Arzt oder die Ärztin in der Praxis vorhandene Vordrucke verwenden. Die Landwirtschaftliche Krankenkasse stellt auch einen eigenen Vordruck zur Verfügung,
    • gegebenenfalls das Formular „Angaben zur selbst beschafften Ersatzkraft“, wenn Sie sich selbst um die Ersatzkraft bemüht haben;
    • SEPA-Lastschriftmandat;

You must apply for farm and household help benefits from the Agricultural Health Insurance Fund (LKK) by post, online or by telephone before starting work.

Written application:

  • Download the relevant application form from the Landwirtschaftliche Krankenkasse website or request it by telephone or post and complete it.
  • Send the application together with any other required documents to the LKK by e-mail, post or fax.
  • You will receive the LKK's decision by post.

Application via online procedure:

  • Go to the online portal of the Social Insurance for Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture (SVLFG) and log in there.
  • Complete the application form.
  • Submit your application online. You will receive the application as a PDF in your online mailbox
  • You can now upload the necessary documents digitally as a PDF or JPEG file.
  • The LKK will check your application.
  • You will receive a written notification in your electronic mailbox at the SVLFG, unless you have expressly chosen to receive it by post.

There are no costs for the application.

If the agricultural health insurance fund provides a qualified replacement, it will cover the costs in full.

If no replacement employee can be provided, the LKK will reimburse the costs for a replacement employee from outside the company organized by you in a fixed amount. The actual cash benefits incurred are taken into account, in particular the remuneration for the work and travel costs. Benefits in kind, such as benefits in kind, are not taken into account. Maximum amounts apply for reimbursement.

Proven expenses are reimbursed up to a maximum daily amount of 2.95 percent of the applicable monthly reference value, rounded up or down to the nearest even euro amount.

In certain cases, you must make an additional payment for each day of use. If your personal contribution limit is exceeded, you can be exempted from this obligation.

Benefits for business and household help are possible from the day of application at the earliest. If the application is initially made informally, you should submit the completed application form and any other necessary documents within 14 days.

If it takes longer, the agricultural health insurance fund must inform you of this in writing or electronically. (3 to 5 weeks)

There are no indications or special features.

  • Appeal
    You will find further information on how to lodge an appeal in the notification of your application
  • Appeal to the social court after an unsuccessful appeal

Status: 17.06.2025
Editorially responsible for prodecure description: Bundesministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Heimat
Source: Federal Portal