Skip to content

Insurance broker / Insurance questions / Private health insurance

What to do if you no longer have health insurance in Germany?

In short

What to do if you no longer have health insurance in Germany? Act at once, because cover is compulsory. If you were last in statutory insurance, your last fund (Krankenkasse) must take you back. If you were last privately insured, a private insurer must accept you in the basic tariff (Basistarif). In private insurance each month without cover adds one monthly premium as a surcharge, one sixth from the sixth month.

What to do if you no longer have health insurance in Germany?

What it costs

Legal maximums and reference values, 2026.

ExampleTypical range
Private basic tariff, maximumup to 1,017.18 euros a month
Basic tariff for people in needup to 508.59 euros a month
Statutory minimum contribution including long term careabout 270 to 290 euros a month
Private surcharge, twelve months gap, premium 600 euros3,700 euros

Maximums and minimum from public sources, 2026.

The 600 euro premium in the example is a guide value from quoting practice;

the surcharge follows § 193(4) VVG.

Worked example

Twelve months without private cover

A freelancer, last privately insured, cancelled his policy and spent a year without cover. The new tariff costs 600 euros a month.

Months 1 to 5, one premium each3,000 euros
Months 6 to 12, one sixth each700 euros
Total surcharge3,700 euros
Ongoing premium600 euros a month

The gap costs him 3,700 euros, deferrable with interest. Had he applied in the first month, there would have been no surcharge.

Where you go back to

If you no longer have health insurance in Germany, it matters where you were last insured. If that was statutory insurance, or you were never insured, you belong in a statutory fund, unless you are mainly self employed or in an exempt group such as civil servants.

If you were last privately insured, you belong in private health insurance (PKV). Every private insurer must accept you in the basic tariff, without health questions or risk surcharges.

Last insuredWhereWhat you pay for the gap
Statutoryyour last fundcontributions from the gap's start, reducible on request
Never insured, employee or not workinga statutory fundcontributions from when the duty began
Privateprivate insurer, at least basic tariffpremium surcharge by months uninsured
Private, contract suspended over arrearsstay with the insurer, limited benefitsarrears and late fees

What the gap costs in private insurance

If you apply more than one month after the duty began, the insurer charges a surcharge: one monthly premium for each started month without cover, and one sixth of it from the sixth month. If the length of the gap is unknown, at least five years are assumed.

The surcharge can be deferred but then bears interest. Keep proof of earlier cover, it saves real money.

What the gap costs in statutory insurance

If you report late, the fund in principle charges contributions from when the duty began. The law says it should reduce these appropriately and fully waive late payment fees.

Apply for the reduction when you register and show your income situation.

If you cannot pay

In private insurance, arrears of two monthly premiums lead to reminders. If they remain after the second reminder, the contract is suspended and you only get limited care. This does not happen if you are in need under the citizen's income (Bürgergeld) or social assistance rules.

In the basic tariff, the premium is halved for people in need, to at most 508.59 euros a month. Get a certificate from the job centre or social welfare office.

Step by step

  1. Find out where you were last insured: statutory or private.
  2. Contact your last fund or a private insurer immediately.
  3. Collect proof of earlier cover and gaps.
  4. Ask the fund to reduce back payments.
  5. In private insurance, ask for deferral or check the basic tariff.

Checklist

  • Last insurer and end date known
  • Registered within one month
  • Proof of cover periods
  • Reduction or deferral requested
  • Certificate of need if income is low

Common mistakes

  • Waiting until you need treatment
  • Cancelling private cover before a new contract is in place
  • Keeping no records and being charged for five assumed years

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Can a statutory fund refuse me?

Not if you were last insured there.

You are then compulsorily insured.

Can a private insurer refuse me?

Not in the basic tariff, if you belong in private insurance.

Do I pay for the time without cover?

In a statutory fund, in principle yes, reducible on request.

In private insurance you pay a surcharge instead.

I am moving back from abroad. What applies?

It depends on where you were last insured in Germany.

Register right after you arrive.

Does travel insurance count as health insurance?

No.

Residents need cover for outpatient and inpatient treatment as required by § 193(3) VVG.

Sources

NAMMERT insurance broker

Request a quote: Private health insurance

We compare insurers and come back to you, in English.

Free; the insurer pays our fee.

1Who is it for?
2Which insurance?

Choose as many as you like. For each one, the details an insurer needs for a quote appear below.

Personal

Business

3Details

Private health insurance in Germany (PKV)

For employees this decides whether private cover is possible

Keywords are enough, including treatment abroad.

We clarify this anonymously before any application.

4Your current policy
5How can we reach you?

Related questions

Your broker: Norman Nammert, trading as NAMMERT.

Insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act.

Broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37.

NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH is a separate company.

It does not arrange your contract.

Statutory disclosure (German) · Updated

Was this useful?