[Evaluation of eyeglasses in private accident insurance]

In a ruling issued on 27 April 1983 the Bundesgerichtshof (the supreme court of the Federal Republic of Germany) clarified the question as to the extent to which the need for spectacles has to be taken into consideration in private accident insurance. Spectacles are not a prosthesis; the diminution of usability is assessed according to the wearer's visual acuity with correction; the need for spectacles has to be taken into account when determining the diminution of usability (as a pre-existent infirmity or as an injury caused by an accident). Concerning the premium surcharges and rebates demanded, which were not laid down by the BGH, the authors, continuing earlier discussions with a team from the German association of private accident insurers, came to the following agreements, which are recommended for general use: lower and medium grades of correction up to +10 D and -13 D (in cylindrical glasses in the meridian with higher refraction) are to be assessed as a 3% disablement; where the degree of correction is higher, i.e., more than +10 D and -13 D, the degree of disablement is assessed at 5%.