Best Dental Insurance In Germany [Comparison And Test 2024]

Key takeaways

• A dental insurance company advertises using the term “100% reimbursement of dental costs“. In reality, they have reimbursement limits.
• Dental insurance companies limit the reimbursement amount to a maximum GOZ factor (3.5).
• Most negative customer reviews are due to customers’ lack of understanding of the dental insurance terms.

This is how you do it

• Before starting dental treatment, get a cost estimate from the dentist. Submit the cost estimate to the insurer to check the costs they’ll reimburse.
• Based on our comparison and test, we found the following dental insurance plans the best.
  • Concordia (Zahn Sorglos)
  • Deutsche Familienversicherung AG* (Exclusiv 100)
  • Barmenia* (Mehr Zahn 100 + Mehr Zahnvorsorge Bonus)
  • Feather* (Advanced)
• Feather is an insurance agent and sells Barmenia’s dental insurance plans.

Table of Contents

Best dental insurance plan in Germany

In our research, we found the following dental insurance plans among the best in Germany as of September 2024.

• Concordia (Zahn Sorglos)
• Deutsche Familienversicherung AG* (Exclusiv 100),
• Barmenia* (Mehr Zahn 100 + Mehr Zahnvorsorge Bonus),
• and Feather* (Advanced)

NOTE: Feather is an insurance agent and sells Barmenia’s dental insurance policies. The benefit of taking insurance from Feather is that you can file claims and get customer support in English.

This is how we find the best dental insurance plan in Germany

To find the best supplementary dental insurance plans in Germany, we analyzed several dental insurance policies, read reviews on Trustpilot and Check24, and read guides from Stiftungswarentest, Finanztip, VMK, insurance brokers, etc.

Here are the parameters we considered when finding the best dental insurance in Germany.

• Reimburse up to the maximum GOZ factor of 3.5
• Customer rating
• Claim support
• Rating by Stiftungswarentest, VMK, Finanztip
• Reimbursement limits
• GOZ guarantee or innovation guarantee (Covering the treatments that are not yet known)
• Reimbursement limits for the treatments where public health insurance doesn’t pay
• No reimbursement limits on the type of anesthesia and its costs.

The process we followed

• Our starting point was the dental insurance recommendations from the top insurance blogs in Germany, i.e., Stifftungswarentest, Finanztip, VMK, and Finanzberatung Bierl.
• We then read the information sheets of the recommended insurers to check the services they offer.
• We read the reviews on Trustpilot and Check24, paying close attention to the issues that customers raised in their reviews. We also investigated customers’ experiences when filing claims.
• Lastly, we gave points to each insurance plan based on the abovementioned parameters.

It left us with the following dental insurance plans:

• Concordia (Zahn Sorglos)
• Deutsche Familienversicherung AG* (Exclusiv 100)
• Barmenia* (Mehr Zahn 100 + Mehr Zahnvorsorge Bonus)
• Feather* (Advanced)
• HUK24 Zahnzustaz Pro 90

We added Feather’s* dental insurance plan also because of their excellent English customer service. Almost 1,000 customers have rated them 4.9 on Trustpilot.

NOTE: Feather is an insurance agent and sells Barmenia’s dental insurance policies. The benefit of taking insurance from Feather is that you can file claims and get customer support in English.

Let’s dive deep into each parameter we considered and what we found.

Does dental insurance reimburse 100% of dental costs?

Dental insurance companies use 100% reimbursement of dental costs as an advertisement. In reality, insurers don’t reimburse all the dental costs. 

To understand what dental treatment costs insurance companies reimburse, you must first understand the terms GOZ and GOÄ.

What is GOZ?

GOZ (Gebührenordnung für Zahnärzte) is the fee schedule for dentists in Germany. It regulates the costs of dental services charged by dentists.

All dental services are billed in one of two ways

• As per statutory health insurance (standard care)
• Per the GOZ fee schedule. Suppose it can’t be billed as per the statutory health insurance (standard care).

Dental insurance providers reimburse the dental costs billed per statutory health insurance or GOZ fee schedule. However, there is more to it, which you’ll find out next.

How are the dental costs calculated per the GOZ fee schedule?

Here is how the dental costs are calculated per the GOZ fee schedule.

• Each dental service has a unique identification number. For example, the unique number assigned for professional teeth cleaning is “1040.”
• Each unique identification number is assigned a score. For example, the score assigned to “1040” is 28.
• The score is multiplied by a point value (Punkwerte) to get the basic fee. As of 2024, the point value is 5.62421 cents [1].
• The basic fee is then multiplied by a factor. The dentist can determine the factor based on the difficulty of the treatment. The factor can vary from 1 to 3.5.
• This gives you the dental cost of treating one tooth. So, you must multiply the cost by the number of treated teeth.

Dental cost = Score x Point Value (5.62421 cents) x Factor (1 to 3.5) x Nr of teeth

As you can see, dental costs can vary greatly depending on which factor the dentist uses to calculate them. Dental insurance companies also know this. Hence, they limit the maximum factor they consider for reimbursement.

The above formula gives you the dentist’s cost. You must add material and laboratory costs on top of it to get the total costs.

What costs do the dental insurance companies reimburse?

Here is what the supplemental dental insurance covers.

• Dental insurance providers reimburse dental costs per the GOZ and GÖA fee schedule. However, insurers limit the maximum “factor” they consider for reimbursement. The dental insurance plans we found best limit the GOZ factor to 3.5.
• Many dental treatments are not listed in the GOZ schedule. Dentists can charge whatever fee they want for such treatments. Of course, they must discuss it with the patient first. Many dental insurance companies reject such claims or reimburse part of the costs.
• Dentists can even charge you using a factor higher than 3.5 if the treatment is time-consuming and complex. Again, your dental insurance will reimburse you up to the factor mentioned in the contract, and you pay the difference on your own.
• Dental insurers also limit reimbursement if public health insurance doesn’t contribute to the treatment cost.

Many customers feel cheated when their dental insurance provider doesn’t reimburse all the dental costs. They misunderstand the term “100% reimbursement of dental costs.”

What is the maximum GOZ and GÖA factor?

Dental services are divided into three categories, each with a separate maximum GOZ factor.

• Personal services: Up to 3.5 factor
• Laboratory service: Up to 1.3 factor
• Medical/Technical services: Up to 2.5 factor

Why should your dental insurance reimburse you up to the maximum GOZ factor?

Dental costs can be divided into three categories: dentist’s fee, laboratory & material fee, and technician’s fee. If an insurer doesn’t reimburse all three of them up to the maximum GOZ and GOÄ factor, you risk paying much from your pocket for dental treatment.

You can see the difference in dental costs reimbursed in this example. 

• Sara took the premium dental insurance plan from Deutsche Familienversicherung* (DFV), which reimburses up to the maximum GOZ and GOÄ factor.
• The dentist charged her based on factor 3.5 for the personal and lab services and factor 2.5 for technical services.

Here is how much the dental treatment costs Sara.

	Assumed cost	Factor	Dental cost
Invoice from the dentist
Personal service	100	3.5	350 €
Lab service	65	3.5	227.5 €
Technical service	50	2.5	125 €
Total dental cost			703.5 €
Costs reimbursed by DFV
Personal service	100	3.5	350 €
Lab service	65	1.3	84.5 €
Technical service	50	2.5	125 €
Total dental cost reimbursed			559.5 €
Sara must pay from her pocket			144 € (703.5 – 559.5)

As you can see, DFV reimburses up to the maximum GOZ factor. Yet Sara must pay 144 € out of her own pocket. This is the case with every dental insurance policy in Germany.

So, if your policy doesn’t reimburse up to the maximum GOZ and GOÄ factor, the amount you must pay on your own will increase significantly.

Reimbursement limits on dental treatments not covered by public health insurance.

Dental insurance companies reimburse part of the costs of dental treatments not covered by public health insurance. The dental insurers reimburse between 60% and 80% of dental costs.

The dental plans we found best cover 80% (Barmenia) and 70% (DFV) of the dental costs for treatments not covered by public health insurance.

Reimbursement limits in the first four years

In addition to the above two reimbursement limits, dental insurance providers limit reimbursements in the first four years of the contract.

These limits are staggered at 1250€ or 1500€ in this first year and increase by the same amount each year. From the fifth year, there is no reimbursement limit.

NOTE: The limit of maximum GOZ and GOÄ factor and treatments not covered in public insurance still applies after four years.

Here are the reimbursement limits DFV* applies in the first four years.

1st year: 1250 €
2nd year: 2500 €
3rd year: 3750 €
4th year: 5000 €

Calendar year vs. insurance year

Other interesting contract terms are calendar year and insurance year.

Insurers use either calendar or insurance year to calculate the reimbursement limit periods. The difference between the two is that the insurance year starts when you conclude the contract, while the calendar year starts in January.

This means that if you took a policy in December 2023, your first calendar year will be finished in January 2024. On the other hand, if you took a policy in December 2023, your first insurance year will end in December 2024.

So, an insurance plan with a calendar year is better than an insurance year.

Customer reviews on dental insurance plans

Generally speaking, most insurance companies have bad ratings on Trustpilot, especially when you filter reviews by the term “claim.”

However, we found that the main reason for negative reviews was customers misunderstanding the dental insurance terms. Here are the most common complaints from customers.

• The dental insurer didn’t reimburse all the dental costs. Many customers wrote negative reviews regarding the 100% reimbursement advertised on the dental insurer’s website. However, as explained above, the reimbursement is limited to the maximum GOZ factor.
• The dental insurance company rejected the claim. Another common complaint was regarding the rejection of the claim. Again, the insurer only reimburses costs as per the GOZ fee schedule. Treatments not billed as per GOZ or public insurance are not covered. Hence, ensure your dentist charges you per the GOZ fee schedule.
• Bad customer service. Many customers have to wait long before they hear a reply from the insurer or get reimbursement. Out of all the insurers we reviewed, Feather* has the best reviews regarding their customer service.

GOZ guarantee or Innovation guarantee

The medical industry is advancing continuously. So, there will be treatments that are unknown today and not part of the GOZ and GOÄ fee schedule.

The GOZ guarantee ensures that future treatments are also insured, which is an important factor. During our analysis, we considered only the dental insurance plans that offer GOZ guarantees.

Anesthesia coverage in your dental insurance policy

The dentist can use many different types of anesthesia during your treatment. However, public health insurance covers only standard anesthesia.

Additionally, many dental insurance plans limit the maximum amount they’ll reimburse for anesthesia. The dental plans we found best don’t apply any limit on the anesthesia procedure.

Minimum contract term of dental insurance contract

A minimum contract term means you cannot cancel your contract before the end of the minimum term. Some dental insurance plans have 24 months of minimum contract term. This means you can cancel the contract once the 24 months are over.

The dental plans we found best have a 12-month minimum contract term. This gives you flexibility.

NOTE: Changing dental insurance provider is not the best option as you have reimbursement limit periods and insurers don’t cover existing dental issues. So, you should weigh in the benefits of dental insurance plan in the long run when selecting one.

Tips to avoid issues when claiming dental insurance benefits

You can avoid a lot of common issues people face when claiming dental insurance benefits by doing these simple things.

• Get a cost estimate from the dentist and submit it to the insurer before starting the dental treatment. Insurers can inform you in advance what costs they’ll reimburse and can recommend dentists or labs they have partnerships with. Using dentists and labs recommended by the insurer can increase your reimbursement limit. It’s the case with HUK24.
• Ensure your dentist bills you as per the GOZ fee schedule.
• Get a second opinion. If your dentist charges you based on a factor higher than 3.5, they must give you a reason for it. In this case, you must get a second opinion free of charge before starting the treatment.

Read our guide on how to save on dental care to learn more tips.

References

• https://www.test.de/Zahnzusatzversicherung-im-Test-4730314-0/
• https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/goz_1987/BJNR023160987.html
• https://www.versicherungenmitkopf.de/zahnzusatzversicherung
• https://www.finanzberatung-bierl.de/leistungen/krankenversicherung/zahnzusatzversicherung-jetzt-online-abschliessen/
• https://www.finanztip.de/krankenzusatzversicherung/zahnzusatzversicherung/