Sterbekasse Evangelischer Freikirchen

Sterbekasse Evangelischer Freikirchen is a Germany-wide funeral-expense insurance association (Sterbekasse) headquartered in Berlin. Its roots reach back to 1896, when it was founded originally for pastors of the Bund der Baptisten (Baptist Union) in Berlin and the surrounding area, before opening to all congregational members in the same year. To secure its legal position, it adopted the legal form of a Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit (VVaG, a mutual insurance association) in 1935. For economic reasons and also under political pressure during the Nazi era, various Protestant and Free Church communities merged their arrangements, and since 2002 the institution has operated under its present name, Sterbekasse Evangelischer Freikirchen. Since 1999 it has also been open to natural persons without church membership. The association currently has around 11,000 members and reported an insured sum of 37 million euros as of 31 December 2025. The financial reserves generated from this are used, among other things, to grant building loans to congregations and diaconal institutions. Its governing bodies, according to its statutes, are the members' meeting (Mitgliederversammlung), the supervisory board (Aufsichtsrat) and the executive board (Vorstand). The Bund Freikirchlicher Pfingstgemeinden (Federation of Free Church Pentecostal Congregations) is a cooperation partner of the Sterbekasse. As a Sterbekasse, the institution's core product is a Sterbegeldversicherung — funeral-expense insurance designed to spare surviving dependants the burden of high burial costs. Its official website frames the need directly: when the time comes, the insured is no longer there to pay for their own funeral, and the high costs of a burial can place a major additional burden on those left behind. The Sterbekasse positions itself as a mutual, member-oriented provider rooted in Protestant Free Church circles, offering nationwide coverage and a cooperative relationship with Free Church bodies.

The Sterbekasse Evangelischer Freikirchen traces its origins to 1896. It was originally founded exclusively for pastors of the Bund der Baptisten (Baptist Union) in Berlin and the surrounding area, and in the same year it opened its membership to all congregational members. The institution thus began as a mutual burial-fund arrangement within Baptist circles in and around Berlin. In 1935, to place its operations on a secure legal footing, the Sterbekasse chose and applied for the legal form of a Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit (VVaG), the German mutual insurance association form. This step formalised its status as a mutual insurer owned by its members rather than by external shareholders. During the Nazi era, various Protestant and Free Church communities merged their arrangements. The Wikipedia account attributes this both to general economic reasons and to political pressure of the period. These mergers broadened the institution's base beyond its original Baptist origins toward a wider Protestant Free Church constituency. A further opening came in 1999, when the Sterbekasse became available to natural persons without church membership. This marked a significant widening of its potential membership beyond the church-affiliated communities that had historically constituted its base. Since 2002 the institution has operated under its current name, Sterbekasse Evangelischer Freikirchen. As of the most recent figures cited, it has around 11,000 members and reported an insured sum of 37 million euros as of 31 December 2025. The financial reserves arising from its insurance business are used, among other things, to grant building loans to congregations and diaconal institutions — a mutual, community-oriented use of funds. The Bund Freikirchlicher Pfingstgemeinden is a cooperation partner of the Sterbekasse. According to its statutes, the governing bodies of the Sterbekasse are the members' meeting (Mitgliederversammlung), the supervisory board (Aufsichtsrat) and the executive board (Vorstand). Its official website also invites members to a members' representatives' meeting (Mitgliedervertreterversammlung), reflecting its mutual governance structure.

• 2025

  Reported an insured sum of 37 million euros as of 31 December 2025, with around 11,000 members.

• 2002

  Has operated under the current name, Sterbekasse Evangelischer Freikirchen, since 2002.

• 1999

  Opened to natural persons without church membership.

• 1935

  Adopted and applied for the legal form of Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit (VVaG).

• 1896

  Founded originally for pastors of the Bund der Baptisten in Berlin and the surrounding area; opened to all congregational members in the same year.

Mutual, member-oriented funeral-expense insurer rooted in Germany's Protestant Free Church milieu, open nationwide and, since 1999, to persons without church affiliation.

• Sterbegeldversicherung (funeral-expense insurance)

  The association's core offering, designed to cover burial costs so that surviving dependants are not burdened by high funeral expenses.

1. 1STERBEKASSE BERLIN - IHRE STERBEGELDVERSICHERUNG Sterbekasse Evangelischer Freikirchen VVaG Berlinsterbekasse-berlin.de
2. 2Sterbekasse Evangelischer Freikirchen – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
3. 3Sterbekasse Evangelischer Freikirchen – Wikidatawikidata.org