Since the beginning of 2009, people living in Germany have been required to take out health insurance. It's probably no surprise that most people are looking for ways to minimize the associated costs. How can you find affordable health insurance in Germany? We'll try to answer these questions and suggest some practical solutions.

Compulsory health insurance for the gewerbe



Health insurance is a significant expense for most of us. However, it is an invaluable safeguard in the event of diseases or accident. Until 2009, many people in Germany lacked such insurance. These were usually foreigners who came to Germany for work. For financial reasons, they opted out of insurance. Unfortunately, this proved to be very problematic when the uninsured person needed to use German healthcare services. In such cases, the patient often found themselves unable to cover the costs of treatment.

Situations like these led to the introduction of mandatory insurance. Since 2009, you can opt for insurance through the state or privateMost often, which system a person belongs to depends on the type of insurance they previously had. For example, entrepreneurs who are not subject to continuity of insurance and who did not previously have state insurance in Germany can choose from a variety of private plans.

How to save on private insurance in Germany?

If you decide to private insurance in Germany, you'd certainly want to pay the lowest possible premiums. It's important to remember that your insurance premium isn't based on income (as is the case with state insurance), but on the range of services covered by your plan. Generally speaking, regardless of which private insurance plan you choose, you can still reduce your costs. How?A good solution is, for example, deductible insured person in medical expenses.In addition, it is worth remembering the possibility refund of part of the contributions insurance benefits if you haven't used any insurance benefits in a given year. Below, we'll explain in more detail how you can save on your insurance in this way.

Own share in costs

Want to lower your insurance premium? Choose a private plan that includes a deductible for medical expenses. When you sign a contract with your insurer, the deductible amount is agreed upon. This could be, for example: 300 euro Annually. Market analyses show that tariffs with a deductible are much more advantageous than tariffs with the same scope of services without a deductible. This is true even if you actually have to cover some medical costs out of pocket. Currently, most German insurers offer these types of tariffs, so you can easily choose an interesting option.

Refund of part of insurance premiums

To meet the expectations of their customers, most German insurers offer a partial refund of premiums to those who haven't used their insurance in a given year, meaning they simply haven't been sick. If you want to significantly reduce your health insurance premiums, opt for a plan that includes a relatively large refund. The differences between offers from individual insurers are quite significant.Some insurance companies offer a refund of only 0.5 of the premium, while others can refund up to 3 premiums paid.

Before deciding on a specific insurer, ask about the reimbursement rates. It's worth carefully calculating all the fees. The point is that seemingly cheaper plans with lower starting premiums may actually be less beneficial to the policyholder, as the reimbursements under that plan are also relatively low.

Before choosing private health insurance in Germany, compare offers using the calculator below.

If you need help translating the text because the available comparison tool is in German, you will probably find it useful to have a Google dictionary open in a new browser tab, which you can access by clicking here.