Private health insurance for employees. Earn over €77,400? Your employer pays half.

Above the income threshold, you pay €250 to €475 a month instead of €648 in public health insurance (2026). In a free 30-minute call, we work out when you can switch and what you would pay. You decide afterwards, in your own time.
In short
How does private health insurance work for employees in Germany?
Who qualifies
Employees whose salary is above the income threshold can choose private health insurance. The threshold is €77,400 a year in 2026 and €84,150 in 2027.
From when
- New job: from your first working day.
- Salary increase: from 1 January of the following year, if your salary is also above the next year’s threshold.
- Already above the threshold: you are a voluntary member of public health insurance and can leave by giving notice. Your membership then ends at the end of the second month after the month in which you give notice.
Your monthly share
After your employer’s share, you pay €250 to €475 a month (2026). The premium depends on your age when you join and on your health, not on your salary.
What your employer pays
Your employer pays half your premium. It also pays half of the premiums for your children and for a spouse with little or no income, up to the legal maximum.
Why go private
Better care, often for less
Reviews
What clients write
5.0

Jonas Marx
Licensed insurance broker · register no. D-ON7P-Y7Q94-16
- Advising since
- 2018
- English-speaking clients
- 900+
Your switch date
Can employees get private health insurance in Germany?
Employees can choose private health insurance once their salary is above the income threshold of €77,400 a year in 2026 and €84,150 in 2027. With a new job above the threshold, private cover can start on your first working day. After a salary increase, you switch on 1 January of the next year, provided your salary also clears that year’s threshold. If you are already above the threshold and a voluntary member of public health insurance, your membership ends at the end of the second month after you give notice.
Which situation applies to you?
Your monthly premium
How much does private health insurance cost employees?
Above the income threshold, private health insurance costs an employee €250 to €475 a month in 2026 after the employer’s share, with long-term care included. The premium depends on your age when you join, your health and the cover you choose, not on your salary. In public health insurance, every employee above the threshold pays the maximum contribution: €648 a month without children and €613 with one child in 2026. This maximum rises again in 2027. Our comparison on a six-figure salary shows singles, couples and families side by side.
Your numbers
Answer a few questions to see what you would pay each month, compared with public health insurance.
You pay
Enter your salary and your age to see your numbers.
Choose a level to compare
Medium: Entry plus hospital comfort, around €295 a month. Public: €648 a month
| Public | Private Entry | Private Medium | Private Max | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who can join | No choice for employees under €77,400 | Your choice over €77,400, or self-employed | Your choice over €77,400, or self-employedPublic: No choice for employees under €77,400 | Your choice over €77,400, or self-employed |
| Premium based on | A share of your income | Your age and health | Your age and healthPublic: A share of your income | Your age and health |
| Your health history | Not asked | Asked, after an anonymous pre-check | Asked, after an anonymous pre-checkPublic: Not asked | Asked, after an anonymous pre-check |
| Your deductible | None | Your choice | Your choicePublic: None | Your choice |
| How long cover lasts | Until you switch | Yours for life | Yours for lifePublic: Until you switch | Yours for life |
| Public | Private Entry | Private Medium | Private Max | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical wait for a specialist | 21 days | 7 days | 7 daysPublic: 21 days | 7 days |
| Choice of doctor | Contract doctors only | Any doctor, private practices too | Any doctor, private practices tooPublic: Contract doctors only | Any doctor, private practices too |
| Your medicines | Up to €10 co-pay each | No co-pay | No co-payPublic: Up to €10 co-pay each | No co-pay |
| Public | Private Entry | Private Medium | Private Max | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Psychotherapy sessions | Hours capped per course | 30 sessions a year | 50–80 sessions a yearPublic: Hours capped per course | No session limit |
| Physio and other therapies | 10% of each bill | No prescription fee | No prescription feePublic: 10% of each bill | No prescription fee |
| Prescribed aids | Standard models, with co-pay | Aids on the tariff list | Aids on the tariff listPublic: Standard models, with co-pay | Any prescribed aid |
| Glasses and contact lenses | Strong prescriptions only | €150–500 budget | €150–500 budgetPublic: Strong prescriptions only | Up to €1,000 budget |
| Public | Private Entry | Private Medium | Private Max | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your room | Standard ward | Standard ward | Two beds at mostPublic: Standard ward | Two beds at most |
| Who treats you | Doctor on duty | Doctor on duty | Senior consultantPublic: Doctor on duty | Senior consultant |
| Private-only clinics | Contract hospitals only | Private-only clinics too | Private-only clinics tooPublic: Contract hospitals only | Private-only clinics too |
| Daily hospital charge | €10 a day | None | NonePublic: €10 a day | None |
| Public | Private Entry | Private Medium | Private Max | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crowns and bridges | €239 a crown | 80–90% covered | 80–90% coveredPublic: €239 a crown | 80–90% covered |
| Dental implants | Nothing for the implant | 80–90% covered | 80–90% coveredPublic: Nothing for the implant | 80–90% covered |
| Dental, first years | Fixed sum per tooth | Limit lifts after 4–5 years | Limit lifts after 4–5 yearsPublic: Fixed sum per tooth | No limit |
| Teeth cleaning (PZR) | Not in standard cover | Once or twice a year | Once or twice a yearPublic: Not in standard cover | Once or twice a year |
| Public | Private Entry | Private Medium | Private Max | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trips within Europe | Local public care | All of Europe, no time limit | All of Europe, no time limitPublic: Local public care | All of Europe, no time limit |
| Trips beyond Europe | No | 1–12 months a trip | 1–12 months a tripPublic: No | No time limit |
| Public | Private Entry | Private Medium | Private Max | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No-claims refund | €600, if you’re lucky | Up to 6 monthly premiums | Up to 6 monthly premiumsPublic: €600, if you’re lucky | Up to 6 monthly premiums |
| Sick pay after six weeks | Up to €135.63 a day | Up to your full net pay | Up to your full net payPublic: Up to €135.63 a day | Up to your full net pay |
| Saving for old age | No personal reserve | Your own reserve, by law | Your own reserve, by lawPublic: No personal reserve | Your own reserve, by law |
| Premium in retirement | Based on your income | Not tied to income | Not tied to incomePublic: Based on your income | Not tied to income |
What public cover costs
The most an employee pays in 2026 for health and long-term care, without children, at the average extra rate. Many funds charge more; below €69,750 a year, you pay less.
What a private level costs
What a healthy employee joining at 35 pays a month after the employer’s share, with no deductible and long-term care included. Your age and health set your own figure.
Who can join
In a new job paying over €77,400 a year (2026), you can choose private cover from day one. The self-employed and civil servants can at any income.
Your health history
Private insurers ask about your health before they accept you. We ask them anonymously first, so nothing goes on record until you choose.
How the pre-check works
We send your health details to insurers without your name. You see who would accept you, and at what price, before you apply. We can ask the full market.
Your deductible
The part of your yearly medical costs you pay yourself. A higher deductible lowers your premium; we set it with you.
No deductible, but co-pays
Standard public cover has no yearly deductible. Instead, you pay a co-pay on medicines, therapies and each day in hospital.
Choosing a deductible
You pick a yearly amount you pay yourself, for example up to €2,500. A higher amount lowers your premium. Our advice for employees: none, or up to €600.
How long cover lasts
Your private insurer can never cancel your cover because you fall ill or grow older. It runs for life, until you choose to end it.
Typical wait for a specialist
How long you wait for a specialist appointment you can book online. Private patients wait a third as long.
Choice of doctor
Public patients see doctors with a public contract. Private patients can see any licensed doctor, including practices that only treat private patients.
Private practices in public cover
At a private-only practice, public patients pay the bill themselves. Their fund refunds little or nothing of it.
Private-only practices
Some doctors in Germany treat only private patients. With private cover, you can book them as well as any other doctor.
Your medicines
In public cover you pay 10% of each prescribed pack, at least €5 and at most €10 (2026). Private cover pays your medicines under your tariff, without that co-pay.
Psychotherapy sessions
Public cover approves therapy in set numbers of hours per course. Private tariffs set sessions per year, and top tariffs set no limit.
Public therapy hours
For behavioural therapy, public cover approves up to 80 hours per course (2026). Other methods have their own limits, and each step needs approval.
Therapy at Entry level
At Entry level, you get up to 30 sessions a year. Some tariffs at this level pay 80% of each session.
Therapy at Medium level
At Medium level, you get 50–80 sessions a year. That is enough for a session almost every week.
Therapy at Max level
At Max level, there is no yearly limit on sessions. Once your insurer approves the treatment plan, it pays for every session.
Physio and other therapies
Treatment your doctor prescribes, such as physiotherapy, speech or occupational therapy. Public cover charges a co-pay on each prescription; private cover does not.
The public co-pay
In 2026, you pay 10% of each therapy’s cost yourself. On top comes €10 for every prescription.
Therapy in private cover
Private tariffs pay prescribed physiotherapy, speech and occupational therapy. Each tariff sets its own price limits, which we compare for you.
Prescribed aids
From insoles to hearing aids, the aids your doctor prescribes. In public cover, the fund picks the model. Private tariffs pay from their list, or at Max for any aid.
Aids in public cover
Public cover pays for standard models. You pay a co-pay of up to €10 for each aid yourself (2026). A better model costs you the difference.
A set list of aids
Your tariff names the aids it pays for, and may cap hearing aids at a set amount. We check the list with you before you choose.
Any aid you need
Max tariffs pay any aid your doctor prescribes as medically needed, without a closed list.
Glasses and contact lenses
Public cover pays for adult glasses only with a very strong prescription. Private tariffs pay a budget every few years, and more at Max level.
Glasses in public cover
In 2026, adults get lenses paid only for strong prescriptions, such as over 6 dioptres of short or long sight. Frames are never paid.
Your glasses budget
Your tariff pays a set amount for glasses or contact lenses every two to three years. We check the amount and the timing with you before you choose.
Glasses at Max level
Max tariffs pay up to €1,000 for glasses or contact lenses every two years. Some top tariffs go further.
Your room
Public patients stay on a standard ward. Medium and Max cover a single or two-bed room, for more privacy and rest.
Room at Entry level
At Entry level, you stay on the standard ward, as public patients do. A single or two-bed room is the step up to Medium.
Your private room
Medium and Max pay for a single or two-bed room. In German hospitals, this is an elective service (Wahlleistung).
Who treats you
In public cover, the doctor on duty treats you. With Medium and Max, you are treated by the senior consultant.
Doctor at Entry level
At Entry level, the doctor on duty treats you, as in public cover. Treatment by the senior consultant is the step up to Medium.
Your senior consultant
In German hospitals this is the Chefarzt, the head of the department. Other senior doctors involved in your care are covered too.
Private-only clinics
Some German clinics treat only private patients. A public fund will not pay for a stay there. Private cover lets you pick either kind.
Hospitals in public cover
A stay at a private-only clinic is not part of public cover. Your fund pays little or nothing of the bill.
Choosing a private clinic
You can choose any public or private hospital that meets the medical standard. For a planned stay at a private clinic, ask us first what your tariff pays.
Daily hospital charge
Adults in public cover pay a fixed charge for each day in hospital. Private cover has no such charge.
The daily charge
Adults pay €10 for each day in hospital (2026). The charge stops after 28 days in a calendar year.
Crowns and bridges
Public cover pays a fixed amount per crown, however much your crown costs. Private tariffs pay a share of the actual bill, so better materials are covered too.
The public fixed sum
Public cover pays a fixed €239 per crown in 2026. Regular check-ups raise it, up to €299. Whatever your crown costs above that, you pay.
Dental implants
Public cover pays nothing for the implant itself, only a fixed amount for the crown on it. Private tariffs pay a share of the whole treatment.
Implants in public cover
The law excludes implants from public dental care, apart from rare severe cases. The fund pays only its fixed sum for the crown on top.
Dental, first years
At Entry and Medium, crowns, bridges and implants are paid up to a limit that rises each year and lifts after four to five years. Max has no limit.
How the dental limit works
At Entry and Medium level, crowns, bridges and implants are paid up to a total in your first years. In 2026 tariffs, that total starts at around €1,000 and rises each year. After 4–5 years, the limit lifts. Fillings, root canals and dental work after an accident sit outside it. Planning dental work soon? We pick a tariff with a short limit or none.
No dental limit
Max tariffs set no total for dental work in your first years.
Teeth cleaning (PZR)
A thorough cleaning by your dental team, called PZR in Germany. Public cover does not include it. Private tariffs can pay for it, and we pick one that does.
Cleaning in public cover
Professional cleaning is not part of standard public cover. Some funds pay a small subsidy as an extra.
Cleaning and your refund
Your tariff can refund a cleaning up to twice a year. In some tariffs, it does not count against your no-claims refund, which we check for you.
Trips within Europe
In the EU, Switzerland and the UK, the European Health Insurance Card gives public patients local public care, with its co-pays. Private cover pays as at home across Europe.
Europe with public cover
In the EU, Switzerland and the UK, the card gets you the public care of the country you visit. Where local patients pay a share, you pay it too.
Europe with private cover
Private cover pays treatment anywhere in Europe, Switzerland and the UK included, with no time limit. Bills from abroad are refunded under your normal tariff.
Trips beyond Europe
Public cover pays nothing outside Europe, apart from a few countries with an agreement. Private tariffs cover each trip for at least a month, and Max without a time limit.
Beyond Europe in public cover
Outside Europe, public cover pays nothing, apart from a few countries with an agreement, such as Tunisia. Travel insurance fills that gap.
Length of your trip cover
Every private tariff covers the first month of a trip outside Europe. Your tariff can extend this to up to twelve months, and we match it to how you travel.
Trips at Max level
Max tariffs cover trips outside Europe with no time limit. You stay covered for as long as the trip lasts.
No-claims refund
Depending on the tariff, private cover refunds up to six monthly premiums after claim-free years. A public fund refunds at most €600 a year, if it offers this.
The public refund
A public fund may offer a refund for a claim-free year, at most €600 by law. Whether yours does is up to the fund.
How the private refund works
Small bills you pay yourself keep your year claim-free. Your insurer then returns part of your premiums, in most tariffs more after several such years.
Sick pay after six weeks
From week seven off sick, public cover pays at most €135.63 a day (2026), well below your net pay. You choose private sick pay up to your full net pay.
Public sick pay
Public sick pay replaces 70% of your gross salary. In 2026, it stops at €135.63 a day, however much you earn.
Private sick pay
As an employee, you set it to start on day 43, when your employer stops paying. You choose the daily amount to match your net pay.
Saving for old age
Each lifelong private premium includes a savings share for your later years. Public cover is pay-as-you-go: today’s contributions pay for today’s patients.
Your reserve
By law, part of every lifelong private premium is saved for your later years. If you change insurer, part of that reserve moves with you.
Already private? We check for free whether your plan still fits you: book a call.
Employer’s share
How much does your employer pay towards private health insurance?
Your employer pays half your premium, up to €508.59 for health insurance and €104.63 for long-term care a month in 2026. Your employer also pays half of the premiums for your children and for a spouse with little or no income, up to the legal maximum. The share is paid out with your salary, you pay no tax on it, and your employer has no influence on which insurer you choose. Since 2026, your insurer reports your premium electronically, so you hand in no paperwork.
What HR needs from you
The date your private health insurance starts.
Your private insurer’s confirmation that you are insured.
Proof of your premium is not needed, because your insurer reports it electronically and payroll retrieves it.
Acceptance first
In what order do you switch to private health insurance?
Get accepted by a private insurer first and give notice second, so that you leave public health insurance on the date you planned. Start a few weeks ahead, because insurers need time to assess your application.
- 1
A free call with Jonas
In 30 minutes on Zoom, we work out when you can switch and what you would pay, and we prepare the anonymous pre-check.
- 2
Pre-check and acceptance
Insurers assess your health information without seeing your name. You choose an insurer, apply, and receive your cover and start date in writing.
- 3
Leaving public health insurance
After a new job or a salary increase, you declare your exit within two weeks of your public insurer’s letter; as a voluntary member, you give notice. Your public insurance continues until your private insurer’s confirmation arrives, so you are never without cover.
- 4
Payroll takes over
Your insurer reports your premium electronically, and your employer pays its share from your first private month.
Cost of advice
Who pays your health insurance broker?
Our advice costs you nothing. The insurer you choose pays us a commission, which every private premium already includes, so your premium is the same with or without a broker. By law, we act for you, whichever insurer pays it. The commission covers the call, the comparison, the application and our help in the years after. A switch to another tariff with your insurer costs you nothing either. If public cover suits you better, we say so.
Three ways to buy private cover
| Broker (us) | Insurer's agent | Direct | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whose side | Broker:Yours, by law | Insurer's agent:The insurer's | Direct:The insurer's |
| Tariffs compared | Broker:The whole market | Insurer's agent:One insurer, sometimes a few | Direct:One insurer |
| Health check before you apply | Broker:Anonymous, across insurers | Insurer's agent:With one insurer | Direct:With one insurer |
| In English | Broker:Always | Insurer's agent:Depends on the agent | Direct:Depends on the insurer |
| Cost to you | Broker:Nothing, the insurer pays us | Insurer's agent:Nothing, the insurer pays them | Direct:Same premium, no adviser of your own |
| Who answers after signing | Broker:Your broker, for years | Insurer's agent:Your agent, for that insurer | Direct:A hotline |
When life changes
What happens to private health insurance when your life changes?
If plans change
Can employees return to public health insurance?
Yes. Before you turn 55, you return to public health insurance by law if your salary falls below the income threshold or if you receive unemployment benefit. During that time, you can keep your private policy as dormant cover (Anwartschaft) for a fraction of the premium, so that you can resume it later without new health questions. From 55, a return is usually no longer possible. Private health insurance prepares for this by saving part of every premium for your later years. Plan for every stage with us
Independent
Which private health insurer is best?
There is no single best insurer. Yours has to pass four checks.
- 1
Accepts your health history
The anonymous pre-check shows which insurers do.
- 2
Covers what you want
Hospital, dental, specialists, cover abroad.
- 3
Fits your budget
We set the deductible with you.
- 4
Stays a good partner
We track its premium history and review its finances every year.
Must my employer agree to my switch?
Does my employer see my health details?
What if I have a health condition?
What should I have ready for the call?
Does a Blue Card or a probation period change anything?
Can I apply and sign in English?
Can I deduct my premium from my taxes?
Do I have to decide during the call?
Plan your switch

Jonas MarxFounder, licensed insurance broker
A 30-minute call on Zoom, in English and free of charge. If public health insurance suits you better, we tell you so. You leave the call knowing when you can switch and what you would pay, compared with public health insurance.
- When you can switch
- Your premium compared with public health insurance
- What your employer pays
- The anonymous pre-check
Sources and status ·
- [1]Sozialversicherungs-Rechengrößenverordnung 2026 (income threshold €77,400; contribution ceiling €5,812.50 a month)
- [2]§ 241 SGB V and § 55 SGB XI (contribution rates) with § 1 Abs. 1 PBAV 2025 (general long-term care rate of 3.6% since 2025), and the average additional rate for 2026 of 2.9%
- [3]Sozialversicherungs-Rechengrößenverordnung 2027, draft of the Federal Ministry of Labour of 21 September 2026 (income threshold €84,150)
- [4]§ 6 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 and Abs. 4 SGB V (free from compulsory cover with a new job above the threshold, on the regular contracted annual salary; after a salary increase at the end of the calendar year, if the salary also clears the next year’s threshold); § 191 SGB V (a voluntary membership ends only by notice)
- [5]§ 175 Abs. 4 SGB V (notice to the end of the second month after the month of notice, effective with proof of other cover)
- [6]§ 257 Abs. 2 SGB V and § 61 Abs. 2 SGB XI (employer’s share for the employee, children and a spouse or registered partner who would be family-insured under § 10 SGB V: half the premium, at most €508.59 for health and €104.63 for long-term care in 2026; €584.15 in total in Saxony); § 3 Nr. 62 EStG (tax-free)
- [7]TheGoodBroker Specialist Access Study, August 2026: 2,082 specialist practices in six cities; median wait for an online-bookable appointment
- [8]§ 17 Abs. 1, 3 and 4 KHEntgG (separately charged accommodation and the chosen doctor are elective services on top of general hospital care)
- [9]§ 76 SGB V (choice of doctor in public cover: contracted doctors; others only in emergencies, private practices only by cost reimbursement with the difference at your own cost, § 13 SGB V); § 4 Abs. 2 MB/KK (private cover: free choice among licensed doctors)
- [10]GKV-Spitzenverband, Festzuschussbeträge from 1 January 2026, finding 1.1 (crown, per tooth), 60%: €239.03; the amounts are set under § 57 SGB V; the hardship rate is capped at the actual costs (§ 55 Abs. 2 SGB V); § 55 SGB V as amended by the GKV-Beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz (the subsidy falls from 60% to 50% of the standard treatment in 2027; the 2027 euro amounts are not yet set). The implant itself gets no public subsidy (§ 28 Abs. 2 SGB V); the crown on it does.
- [11]§ 188 Abs. 4 SGB V (exit within two weeks of the public insurer’s notice, with proof of other cover)
- [12]§ 53 Abs. 8 SGB V (elective tariffs bind for one or three years; bars only a notice)
- [13]§ 5 Abs. 5 SGB V (no compulsory public cover for the self-employed in their main occupation, at any income)
- [14]§ 243 SGB V (reduced rate without sick pay), § 240 SGB V (contributions of voluntary members, on all income up to the ceiling, set provisionally and settled on the tax assessment, Abs. 4a) and § 55 SGB XI (long-term care rate), with the average additional rate for 2026 of 2.9%
- [15]§ 146 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 and 2 VAG (private premiums set by entry age and risk, with old-age provision) and § 149 VAG (10% surcharge until the end of the year in which you turn 60); § 220 Abs. 1 SGB V (public cover financed from current contributions)
- [16]§ 19 VVG (duty to disclose your health before the contract; the anonymous pre-check comes before it)
- [17]§ 206 Abs. 1 VVG (the insurer cannot give ordinary notice on health insurance that meets the duty to insure; only you can leave)
- [18]§ 61 SGB V (co-pay in public cover: 10% of the price, at most €10 a medicine, never more than its cost; 2026)
- [19]G-BA Psychotherapie-Richtlinie, §§ 29 and 30 (version of 19 March 2026): public psychotherapy in set hours per course of treatment
- [20]§ 32 Abs. 2 SGB V (therapies: a co-pay of 10% of the cost plus €10 a prescription, 2026) and § 33 SGB V (aids: standard models with a co-pay, Abs. 8; glasses for adults only above 6 dioptres of short or long sight, above 4 for astigmatism, or with severe visual impairment, Abs. 2; frames are not paid)
- [21]§ 39 Abs. 1 with § 108 SGB V (public cover pays approved hospitals only) and § 39 Abs. 4 with § 61 SGB V (adults pay €10 a day in hospital, for at most 28 days a calendar year, 2026); § 4 Abs. 4 MB/KK (private cover: free choice among public and private hospitals under constant medical direction)
- [22]§ 11 Abs. 6 SGB V (a public fund may offer extra benefits in its statute, such as a subsidy for professional teeth cleaning); § 192 Abs. 8 VVG (for treatment over €2,000, the private insurer answers in writing beforehand what it will pay)
- [23]Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, Art. 19 (European Health Insurance Card: care within the local public system in the EU, the EEA and Switzerland; the UK under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement) and § 13 Abs. 4 SGB V; § 16 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 SGB V (public benefits suspended abroad unless the Code or an agreement provides otherwise; social security agreements, for example with Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, give care in the local public system there); § 1 Abs. 4 MB/KK (private cover in Europe, outside it for one month a trip unless the tariff gives more)
- [24]§ 53 SGB V (public premium refund: at most one twelfth of the year’s contributions, at most €600, only where the fund offers it)
- [25]§ 3 EFZG (six weeks of continued pay); § 44 and § 47 SGB V (public sick pay, 70% of gross salary, at most €135.63 a day before deductions in 2026); § 4 Abs. 2 MB/KT (private daily allowance up to net salary); § 192 Abs. 5 VVG (it also pays in maternity protection)
- [26]§§ 237 and 240 SGB V (public contributions in retirement, on pensions and other income)
- [27]§ 39 Abs. 4 and 4a EStG, BMF letter of 8 December 2025 (insurers report the premiums electronically from 2026; employers take them from ELStAM)
- [28]§ 10 Abs. 3 SGB V (children of a publicly and a privately insured parent); § 198 VVG (newborns without health questions if registered within two months)
- [29]§ 3 MuSchG (protection period six weeks before and eight weeks after the birth, twelve after a premature or multiple birth); § 19 Abs. 2 MuSchG (maternity payment of up to €210 from the Federal Office for Social Security for women not in public health insurance, once for the whole period); § 20 MuSchG (employer’s top-up)
- [30]§ 8 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1a and 2 SGB V (stay private on application: unemployment benefit after five years without public health insurance; part-time work during parental leave, for the parental leave only); § 8 Abs. 2 (three months)
- [31]§ 5 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 and 2 and § 6 Abs. 3a SGB V (return below the threshold and with unemployment benefit; rule from 55); dormant cover on application under § 204 Abs. 5 and § 205 Abs. 2 VVG
- [32]§ 146 and § 149 VAG (ageing reserve; statutory surcharge until the end of the year you turn 60); § 106 SGB VI (pension insurance’s share towards the health premium)
- [33]Leaving Germany: in practice, the insurer ends a private contract on the day of deregistration once it has the deregistration certificate (Abmeldebescheinigung); a contract may be cancelled only against proof of new cover while it meets the duty to hold health insurance, and that duty applies to people living in Germany (§ 205 Abs. 6 with § 193 Abs. 3 Satz 1 VVG); depending on the destination, the insurer asks for confirmation of the new cover; TheGoodBroker practice, 2026. Dormant cover (Anwartschaft) is a right under § 13 Abs. 11 MB/KK, with § 204 Abs. 5 and § 205 Abs. 2 VVG and the tariff terms; public cover: membership usually ends on moving away, while § 240 Abs. 4b SGB V lets voluntary members keep it at a reduced contribution during a work-related stay abroad
- [34]§ 204 VVG (tariff switch without new health questions for the same or less cover; more cover can mean health questions)
- [35]§ 10 Abs. 1 Nr. 3 EStG (basic-cover premiums deductible)
- [36]Parental leave: premium waiver for six months of parental allowance in tariffs that offer it (market practice); without a salary, the employer’s share pauses (§ 257 Abs. 2 SGB V). Blue Card: performance-related bonuses usually do not count towards the regular annual salary (§ 6 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 SGB V)
Private figures: TheGoodBroker, typical premiums for healthy employees, long-term care and the statutory surcharge included; €250 to €475 after the employer’s share across the levels; a child €200 to €250 in a very good tariff. Calculator: example premiums from one insurer’s tariffs as at 2026, for a healthy applicant at the entry age given, without a deductible, with long-term care and the statutory surcharge included. Every child is calculated with the premium for a 16-year-old, which is on the safe side for younger children. Entry, Medium and Max: typical tariff levels from our market observation, as at October 2026; the tariff wording decides. Crowns, bridges and implants: typical reimbursement in good tariffs; dental limits apply for the first four or five years in many tariffs, from around €1,000 in year one, none in top tariffs. Premium refund: 1 to 6 monthly premiums, depending on the tariff and the number of claim-free years, set off against your tax-deductible contributions. Public figures: employee at the 2026 maximum, long-term care included, average additional rate 2.9%: €648 without children, €613 with one child. Self-employed prices in the tier table: the full premium at a deductible of up to €600 a year, against the public maximum for the self-employed at the reduced rate without sick pay (€1,226). Legal position: as at October 2026.




