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The Accident Insurances Act of 1884 was an insurance bill passed by the Imperial Senate under Otto von Bismarck in 1884. The Act is still in effect today, albleit with many amendments and repeals.

Bismarck’s government had to submit three draft bills before they could get one passed by the Senate in 1884. Bismarck had originally proposed that the Imperial Government pay a portion of the Accident Insurance contribution. Bismarck’s motive was a demonstration of the willingness of the Germanian government to lessen the hardship experienced by the Germanian workers as a means of weaning them away from the various left-wing parties, most importantly the Social Democrats. The National Liberals took this program to be an expression of State Socialism, which they were dead set against. The Center party was afraid of the expansion of Imperial Power at the expense of States Rights. As a result, the only way the program could be passed at all was for the entire expense to be underwritten by the Employers. To facilitate this, Bismarck arranged for the administration of this program to be placed in the hands of “Der Arbeitgeberverband in den beruflichen Korporationen”, which translates as “The organization of employers in occupational corporations”. This organization established central and bureaucratic insurance offices on the Imperial, and in some cases the State level to perform the actual administration. It paid for medical treatment and a Pension of up to 2/3rds of earned wages if the worker was fully disabled. This program was expanded in 1886 to include Agricultural workers.

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