Social insurance occupies a special place in the entire social policy of the state. Developed system of social insurance in the country provides citizens with effective protection mechanisms and thereby ensures economic stability and creates an atmosphere of social cohesion in society. At present, social insurance systems in Russia and Germany have significant differences that include both the structure and functioning of each type of insurance separately. These differences in the organization of social insurance systems in Russia and Germany are traceable from the very beginning. System of social insurance in modern Russia has been developing to a certain extent inconsistently and to the present time still is not completely formed. The German system developed gradually and improved with regard to the features of the interests of society at various stages of its development. The establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany as a social state determined the modern model of the social insurance system. Therefore, the study of the German model is interesting from the point of view of the subsequent possible introduction of its elements into Russian insurance practice. The article compares social insurance systems of Russia and Germany. The components of the systems are studied; their similarities and differences are revealed. Opinions of experts of the Federal Service for Labor and Employment on the prospects and problems of the development of the Russian model of the social insurance system and the possibility of using the German insurance experience in Russian practice are given.