Anwartschaftsversicherung

What is an Anwartschaftsversicherung?

An Anwartschaftsversicherung, a "dormancy" or "reservation" policy, lets you pause your PKV contract without losing the right to return. Your normal cover stops; in exchange for a reduced premium, the insurer promises to reinstate you later without a new health assessment. The dormancy is defined in § 9 of the standard MB/KK terms and detailed in each insurer's tariff conditions.

For expats, this is one of the most under-used tools in the PKV. A typical use case: a three-year assignment back in the UK, a sabbatical in another country, or a short stretch on statutory insurance (GKV) before coming back to the private system.

Two variants: Kleine and Große

There are two versions of the dormancy policy. You choose one at the start of the dormancy; switching between them later is usually not possible.

Kleine Anwartschaft ("small dormancy")

• What it preserves: your health status at the time of pausing. When you reactivate, the insurer does not re-assess your health.

• What it does not preserve: the ageing provisions (Altersrückstellungen) that your premium would normally be building. When you come back, your premium is calculated at your current age, not the age you paused at.

• Typical cost: around 5-10 % of the normal premium.

• When it fits: short gaps, sabbaticals, postings of up to about two years.

Große Anwartschaft ("large dormancy")

• What it preserves: your health status and your entry age. Ageing provisions keep being built during the pause.

• Effect on return: when you reactivate, your premium is essentially what it would have been if you had never left.

• Typical cost: around 30-45 % of the normal premium.

• When it fits: longer gaps, multi-year expat assignments, extended family phases, planned returns after five or more years.

You are not covered during the dormancy

The most important thing to understand: during an Anwartschaftsversicherung, you have no active health insurance in Germany. The dormancy only holds your place in the queue. You need parallel cover wherever you actually live, a local health insurance policy abroad, an Incoming-Versicherung for a return to Germany, or travel cover for shorter stretches.

Why it matters for expats

A common scenario: an expat moves back home for a four-year posting, cancels the PKV to save money, then tries to re-enter Germany years later. Without a dormancy, the insurer treats them as a new applicant, full Gesundheitsprüfung at their current age, possibly with surcharges or a rejection. A Große Anwartschaft would have frozen the original entry age and health profile, and the premium on return would have been much closer to continuity.

Before any long move abroad, ask a broker to quote both variants against your expected time away. The monthly cost of a Große Anwartschaft over five years is almost always less than the premium surcharges you would face returning as a new applicant in your fifties.