Anbieterwechsel

What is an Anbieterwechsel?

An Anbieterwechsel is the legal move from one private health insurance company to another. It is not the same as a Tarifwechsel, which changes only the tariff inside your current insurer. The difference matters: switching insurers is a new contract with a new health assessment, while switching tariffs inside your current insurer preserves your ageing provisions in full and does not require new underwriting for equivalent or lower benefits.

How the transfer value works

Since 2009, German law (§ 12 Abs. 1 Nr. 5 VAG, § 146 VAG, § 204 VVG) guarantees a transfer value (Übertragungswert) when you move to another PKV company. The catch: the transfer covers only the portion of your ageing provisions that corresponds to the Basistarif level of benefits. Anything above that level stays with your old insurer and is pooled back into the tariff's collective capital.

There is no universal figure for the transfer value. It is calculated by the insurer on request under § 146 VAG and depends on your entry age, current age, tariff, premium level, and years insured. Ask for an Übertragungswertbescheinigung, your current insurer is required to provide one. The structural reality, regardless of the specific number: the transferable portion is what would have funded a Basistarif-level reserve, while everything you built up beyond that level, usually the larger share, especially after age 50, stays behind.

The new health assessment

Unlike an internal tariff switch, an Anbieterwechsel triggers a full new health assessment. The new insurer looks at your current health, not the health you had when you originally entered the PKV. That can mean:

• Risk surcharges for conditions that have developed since your original entry

• Benefit exclusions for specific diagnoses

• In the worst case, a rejection: the new insurer does not have to accept you (with the exception of the Basistarif, which is open to everyone)

If your health has been stable or improved since entry, the new assessment can be neutral or even favourable. If it has deteriorated, you may find that the original insurer is the better home.

When it rarely pays off

The older you are, the larger the non-transferable portion of your reserve becomes. From around age 50 onwards, an Anbieterwechsel rarely makes financial sense, the ageing provisions you leave behind outweigh the premium savings in the new tariff.

A Tarifwechsel inside your current insurer under § 204 VVG preserves your full reserve and does not require a new health assessment for equivalent or lower coverage. It is almost always the first thing to try if your premium becomes uncomfortable.

Cancellation mechanics

Two paths to cancel your existing contract:

• Ordinary cancellation (§ 205 VVG): to the end of the insurance year with 3 months' notice. Also requires proof that continuous cover (Anschlussversicherung) is in place, the PKV counts as mandatory insurance under § 193 Abs. 3 VVG.

• Special cancellation right (§ 205 Abs. 4 VVG): after a premium adjustment, you have 2 months from the notification to cancel. This is the most common trigger for an Anbieterwechsel.

Practical order: sign the new contract first, then cancel the old one with the confirmation in hand. A cancellation without a new policy in place leaves you uninsured, which is not legal in Germany.