01
Starter budget
Small annual budget for glasses, check-ups and teeth cleaning, well below EUR 50 a month, leaving room for other benefits.
Home / Insurance broker / Business
Company health insurance in Germany: a benefit on top of statutory cover
If you know employer health plans from the US or private medical insurance from the UK, the German version works differently. Every employee is already covered by statutory or private health insurance, and the employer pays its share by law. Company health insurance, called betriebliche Krankenversicherung or bKV, is an extra benefit on top: a yearly health budget, dental cover or private hospital treatment, tax-free up to EUR 50 a month if set up correctly.
The question almost everyone asks first
Is company health insurance in Germany a tax-free benefit?
Yes, up to EUR 50 per employee per month, provided the employer is the policyholder and pays the insurer directly. The Federal Ministry of Finance confirmed in April 2021 that this counts as a benefit in kind under section 8 of the Income Tax Act. The EUR 50 limit covers all benefits in kind in the same month, including vouchers or benefit cards. If you exceed it by even one cent, the whole amount becomes taxable and subject to social security contributions.
Why it is different from US or UK employer health plans
In Germany, health insurance is not an employer benefit but a legal requirement. Employees earning below the compulsory insurance threshold are in the statutory system (GKV), and employers pay roughly half the contribution. Higher earners may choose private health insurance (PKV) and receive an employer subsidy. So nobody depends on the company for basic cover.
Company health insurance fills the gaps of statutory cover: glasses, professional teeth cleaning, dental crowns, alternative practitioners, a private or semi-private hospital room, or faster specialist appointments through a booking service. For employees who are privately insured, much of this is already included, so check whether the bKV adds value for them or offers an alternative.
Getting the EUR 50 benefit right
The tax exemption only applies when the company takes out a group contract and pays the premium itself, and the employee receives cover, not cash. Reimbursing employees for policies they bought themselves is cash salary and fully taxable. International HR teams used to cash wellness allowances often get this wrong.
The EUR 50 counts per month and for all benefits in kind together. If you already give fuel vouchers or a benefit card, add them up. The German tax authorities treat an annual premium as received in the month of payment, so pay monthly if you want to stay inside the limit. Premiums above the limit remain possible but are taxed as salary.
Budget plans: what most German companies choose
Most employers now choose a budget plan. Each employee gets an annual amount to spend on a catalogue of services, for example glasses, dental hygiene, preventive checks or medication co-payments. It is easy to explain to a multinational workforce because everyone can use it for something.
Traditional modules such as dental prosthetics or private hospital treatment cover rarer but larger costs. Many companies combine a budget with one module. If you have a works council (Betriebsrat), involve it early, because it has co-determination rights over how the benefit is distributed.
What is covered
- Annual health budget for a catalogue of services
- Glasses and contact lenses
- Professional teeth cleaning and dental prosthetics, depending on plan
- Preventive check-ups beyond statutory insurance
- Alternative practitioners (Heilpraktiker)
- Medication and aids co-payments
- Private or semi-private hospital room and senior doctor treatment, as a module
- Travel health insurance abroad
- Specialist appointment booking service, depending on insurer
What is not covered
- Basic health cover, which remains statutory or private health insurance
- Treatment beyond the agreed budget
- Cosmetic treatment without medical need
- Cash payments to employees instead of cover
- Services outside the plan's catalogue
Who needs it
- Employers competing for skilled staff in Germany
- German subsidiaries harmonising benefits with other countries
- Start-ups looking for a visible benefit that is tax-efficient
- Companies that have not yet used the EUR 50 benefit-in-kind allowance
Who does not need it
- Companies whose monthly EUR 50 allowance is already fully used for vouchers and who do not want taxable benefits
Wheel of misfortune
Spin the wheel of bad luck
Six things that really happen. The wheel picks yours and shows who pays.
Cost:
Budget policy
Strong policy
See all six cases
- Glasses broken by a football, around €300 to €900. Budget policy: pays in part, Strong policy: pays. Budget plans do not ask how the glasses broke. A small plan pays up to its budget, a strong one usually the full bill.
- Dental crown: statutory pays a share, around €600 to €1,500 out of pocket. Budget policy: pays in part, Strong policy: pays. German statutory insurance pays a fixed subsidy for crowns. A budget covers part of the rest, a dental module most of it.
- Private room after knee surgery, several thousand € in extra costs. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays. Private hospital extras need the inpatient module. Budget plans alone do not include them.
- Osteopath for back pain, around €60 to €120 per session. Budget policy: pays in part, Strong policy: pays in part. Some plans include osteopathy up to a yearly cap, others only via the general budget.
- Professional teeth cleaning, around €80 to €150 per visit. Budget policy: pays, Strong policy: pays. The most used benefit in German company health plans, included almost everywhere.
- Botox for frown lines, around €250 to €500 per session. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: does not pay. Cosmetic treatment without medical need is excluded in every German health plan.
What it costs
The premium depends mainly on the size of the budget or the modules chosen. Budget plans usually cost the same for every employee regardless of age or health. There are no independent published price comparisons for German group plans, so we do not quote amounts. To stay tax-free, plan with EUR 50 or less per head per month, minus other benefits in kind.
What drives the premium
- Size of the annual budget
- Modules such as dental or hospital
- Number of insured employees
- Age structure for module plans
- Optional cover for family members
The premium is only fixed in the quote, based on headcount and plan.
The policy levels on the market
02
Budget plus module
Larger budget plus dental or hospital cover. The most common choice for mid-sized companies.
03
Premium package
High budget, private hospital treatment, appointment service. Often above the tax-free limit and then taxed.
How to recognise a good policy
| Criterion | Minimum standard | Strong policy | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical underwriting | simplified questions | no health questions | Otherwise the people who need it most are excluded. |
| Waiting periods | three months | none | The benefit should be usable from day one. |
| Ongoing treatment | excluded | included | A started dental treatment is often the first reason employees use it. |
| Budget catalogue | few service areas | broad catalogue | The more employees find something useful, the more they value it. |
| Continuation on leaving | not possible | individual policy without new health questions | Useful for internationally mobile staff who stay in Germany after changing jobs. |
| Service in English | German only | English app, claims and hotline | International teams otherwise do not use the benefit. |
| Minimum group size | ten employees | from three employees | Small start-ups should be able to join. |
Insurers on the German market
Company health insurance is written by German private health insurers. Plans differ more in their catalogue and service than in price. This is a market overview, not a statement about who we work with.
| Insurer | Background |
|---|---|
| Allianz | health insurer of the Allianz group |
| AXA | German health insurer of the AXA group |
| Barmenia | health insurer based in Wuppertal |
| DKV | health insurer of the ERGO group |
| HanseMerkur | Hamburg-based group focused on health insurance |
| Union Krankenversicherung | part of the Versicherungskammer group, also sold through savings banks |
| SIGNAL IDUNA | mutual health insurer based in Dortmund |
| R+V | health insurer of the German cooperative banks |
| Gothaer | health insurer of the Gothaer group |
Compare the wordings of all tariffs 37 tariffs from 11 providers, as of 24 October 2026
From the BaFin register
42
42 insurers supervised by BaFin, the German regulator, are licensed for this class of insurance.
(Krankenversicherer)
Show all 42 names from the register
- Allianz Private Krankenversicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- ALTE OLDENBURGER Krankenversicherung AG
- ALTE OLDENBURGER Krankenversicherung von 1927 Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
- ARAG Krankenversicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- Augenoptiker Ausgleichskasse VVaG (AKA)
- AXA Krankenversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- Barmenia Krankenversicherung AG
- Bayerische Beamtenkrankenkasse Aktiengesellschaft
- Concordia Krankenversicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- Continentale Krankenversicherung a.G.
- Debeka Krankenversicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit Sitz Koblenz am Rhein
- DEVK Krankenversicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- DKV Deutsche Krankenversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- ENVIVAS Krankenversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- ERGO Krankenversicherung AG
- Generali Deutschland Krankenversicherung AG
- Gothaer Krankenversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- Hallesche Krankenversicherung auf Gegenseitigkeit
- HanseMerkur Krankenversicherung AG
- HanseMerkur Krankenversicherung auf Gegenseitigkeit
- HanseMerkur Speziale Krankenversicherung AG
- HUK-COBURG-Krankenversicherung AG
- INTER Krankenversicherung AG
- Landeskrankenhilfe V.V.a.G.
- LIGA Krankenversicherung katholischer Priester Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit…
- Lohnfortzahlungskasse Leer VVaG
- LVM Krankenversicherungs-AG
- Mecklenburgische Krankenversicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
- MÜNCHENER VEREIN Krankenversicherung a.G.
- NÜRNBERGER Krankenversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- ottonova Krankenversicherung AG
- praenatura Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit (VVaG)
- Provinzial Krankenversicherung Hannover AG
- R+V Krankenversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
- SIGNAL IDUNA Krankenversicherung a.G.
- SONO Krankenversicherung a.G.
- Süddeutsche Krankenversicherung a.G.
- UNION KRANKENVERSICHERUNG AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
- uniVersa Krankenversicherung a.G.
- Versicherer im Raum der Kirchen Krankenversicherung AG
- vigo Krankenversicherung VVaG
- Württembergische Krankenversicherung Aktiengesellschaft
Source: BaFin company database, 18 September 2026; EU insurers without a German office excluded.
Legal basis and sources
Products and add-ons
Budget plan
Annual amount per employee for a catalogue of services. The most common form today.
Dental module
Contributions to crowns, inlays and implants, often with teeth cleaning.
Hospital module
Private or semi-private room and senior doctor treatment.
Prevention and vision module
Check-ups, vaccinations and glasses, low cost and highly visible.
Employee-paid group access
The company only provides the group contract; employees pay themselves and benefit from terms without medical underwriting. No tax advantage.
Myth or truth
True or false?
Five things people say about this insurance. Guess first, then see the answer.
Company health insurance makes you a private patient in Germany.
This is false.
No. You keep your statutory health insurance card and status. The company plan only reimburses specific costs that statutory cover leaves open.
German statutory insurance usually does not pay for adult glasses.
This is true.
Correct. Adults only get glasses paid in cases of severe visual impairment. Everyone else pays frames and lenses privately, which is why glasses are a popular benefit.
Your employer can see which treatments you claimed.
This is false.
No. You deal with the insurer directly, and health data stays there. The employer only sees the contract and the premium.
The benefit adds to your social security contributions.
This is false.
Not within the monthly limit for benefits in kind. As long as all such benefits stay within it, there is neither tax nor social security to pay on them.
Statutory health insurance normally does not cover professional teeth cleaning.
This is true.
True. It pays for removing tartar once a year, not for the full professional cleaning. Some funds offer a small subsidy, the rest is paid privately.
Common mistakes
- Reimbursing private policies instead of setting up a group contract
- Forgetting that vouchers and benefit cards share the same EUR 50 limit
- Paying the premium annually instead of monthly
- Rolling out without explaining the benefit in English, so nobody uses it
- Ignoring that privately insured employees may already have the same benefits
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Does company health insurance replace my statutory health insurance?
No.
Statutory or private health insurance remains compulsory in Germany.
Company health insurance only adds benefits that the basic cover does not pay for.
Do employees pay tax on it?
Not if the premium plus other benefits in kind stays within EUR 50 per month and the employer
holds the contract.
Above that, the full amount is taxed as salary.
Can a small start-up offer it?
Yes.
Many insurers accept groups from five to ten employees, some plans from three.
Underwriting conditions may depend on group size.
What happens when an employee leaves?
Group cover ends with employment.
Good plans allow continuation as an individual policy without new health questions,
paid by the former employee.
Is it useful for privately insured employees?
Less so, because private health insurance often already covers glasses,
dental or hospital upgrades.
Some employers offer them a different benefit instead;
German employment law requires equal treatment within objectively defined groups,
so plan this with your HR lawyer.
Can family members be included?
Often yes, at group rates but paid by the employee.
The tax-free benefit applies only to the employee.
Do we need to involve the works council?
If you have one, yes.
The works council has co-determination rights over how voluntary benefits are distributed.
Involving it early avoids delays.
Why use a broker?
Because catalogues, continuation rights, English-language service and admin portals differ widely,
and the set-up touches tax and employment law.
We compare plans and support the rollout.
The insurer pays our commission.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Company health insurance
We obtain quotes and come back with a comparison, free of charge.
You can write in English.
Thank you, we have your request.
We will be in touch within one working day. If it is urgent: +49 3375 29 12 77.
Often goes with it
Do German employers have to offer a company pension?
Do my employees in Germany need group accident insurance if the Berufsgenossenschaft already…
Should I choose public or private health insurance in Germany?
What does German public health insurance not cover?
Insurance questions: Company health insurance
Ten life situations, sorted honestly
Find your case, see which policy pays
Who it suits and what to check
Boat or yacht? NAMMERT has its own cover concepts for boats, arranged by the same broker.
Boat insuranceUpdated