Key takeaways
- Taking private health insurance is a lifelong decision.
- All rating agencies rated the private health insurance plans based on a sample customer.
- When taking private health insurance, you should also consider the financial health of the insurer. Small private health insurance companies might not survive the financial turmoil.
- Use our tool “Health Insurance Finder” to check which health insurance makes sense in which situation.
This is how you do it
- Educate yourself about the German healthcare system.
- Get personalized advice from a fee-based advisor or an insurance broker.
Table of Contents
Warning: Things you should know about
Things you should know about before deciding to get private health insurance
- Educate yourself about the German healthcare system
- Taking private health insurance is a lifelong decision. You cannot return to public health insurance. Additionally, changing private health insurance providers is expensive.
- Private health insurance premiums don’t depend on your income. So, you should be able to pay high premiums in the long term, especially after retirement.
Things you should know about the ratings
- These ratings are based on the snapshot of a specific sample customer. So, you should not completely rely on these ratings. Every individual and their needs are different. Thus, you should get personalized advice from a fee-based insurance advisor or an insurance broker.
- The rating agencies rate private health insurance policies based on different criteria and weights. Some criteria that are relevant for you might not be considered in these tests.
You are now aware of the shortcomings of the rating results. Let’s check which health insurance policies and companies came out on top.
Best private health insurance in Germany (Summary)
We extracted the private health insurance companies and plans that were rated the best by multiple rating agencies here. You can find which agency rated it and how later in this guide.
Best private health insurance companies
Map-Report, DFSI, and IVFP compared and rated private health insurance companies based on different factors. All three of them rated Signal Iduna the best.
LVM was rated excellent by Map-Report and IVFP.
Best private health insurance tariffs
Here are the private health insurance plans that were rated the best by Handelblatt, Focus Money, and Morgen and Morgen.
| Basic protection | Standard protection | Top protection |
|---|---|---|
| Hallesche “NK.select S Bonus, NK.select Flex URZ” | Gothaer „MediCompactPlus“ | Hallesche “NK.select XL Bonus, URZ” |
| AXA “EL Bonus-U, Komfort Zahn-U, KUR-U/100” | AXA “ActiveMe-U, Komfort Zahn-U, KUR-U/100” | Arag “MedBest” |
| HanseMerkur „KVS1,EKV2, KUT/100“ | Hallesche “NK.select L Bonus, URZ” | DKV “BMK0, BMZ1, BMKD” |
| Debeka „NW“ | R+V „Agil comfort U“ | HanseMerkur “AZP, EGO, PS3, PSV” |
| Continentale „Premium, SP1“ |
NOTE: Hallesche “NK.select XL Bonus, URZ” is also rated the top private health insurance plan by M&M. You can get Hallesche insurance policy from Feather*. Feather is an insurance agent and offer services in English.
Conclusion
Hallesche and Signal Iduna received above-average ratings from all the rating agencies in Germany.
We recommend getting private health insurance via an insurance broker. They are experts and can help you find the best plan for your needs. You can book a call with an expert we recommend here.
Insurance brokers and advisors are liable for their advice. This means that if the insurance plan they recommended doesn’t fulfill your wishes, they are liable to pay the damages.
Insurance brokers offer free advice. The insurance company pays them upon the successful conclusion of the contract.
An insurance broker can also help you file a claim with the provider. The broker we recommend has been offering services to expats for more than a decade.
Book a free call with a health insurance expert
- German health insurance is a complicated product. There are several factors that must be considered before deciding which health insurance is best for you. An expert can guide you and help you pick the best option for you.
- An Insurance broker is liable for their advice. This means if the policy they recommended doesn’t offer the coverage you requested, they are liable to pay the damages incurred in the future.
Best private health insurance plans per Handelsblatt 2023
Who rated the private health insurance plans?
Handelsblatt, together with Franke and Bornberg (Map-Report), analyzed private health insurance policies.
You can read the full review here (German).
How were the private health insurance plans rated?
- The private health insurance tariffs were divided into three categories
- Basic protection: Tariffs that offer coverage similar to public health insurance.
- Standard protection: In addition to basic protection, the tariff covers psychotherapy, an electric wheelchair, a twin room, and 60% dentures.
- Top protection: The tariff reimburses the costs of alternative practitioners, single rooms, treatment by the head doctor, implants, and at least 80% of the denture costs. In addition, doctors’ services are billed and reimbursed up to the maximum GOZ and GÖA rate.
- Handelsblatt rated private health insurance policies for each category separately.
- They gave 70% weightage to the health insurance performance and 30% to the insurance cost.
- The sample customer was a 35-year-old individual.
NOTE: The rating is for a particular private health insurance policy and not the company.
Result
| Basic protection | Standard protection | Top protection |
|---|---|---|
| Hallesche “NK.select S Bonus, NK.select Flex URZ” | R+V „Agil comfort U“ | Hallesche “NK.select XL Bonus, URZ” |
| AXA “EL Bonus-U, Komfort Zahn-U, KUR-U/100” | Gothaer „MediCompact Plus“ | Gothaer „MediCompact Premium“ |
| HanseMerkur „KVS1,EKV2, KUT/100“ | AXA “ActiveMe-U, Kompakt Zahn-U, KUR-U/100” | Continentale „Premium, SP1“ |
| Debeka „NW“ | Hallesche “NK.select L Bonus, URZ” | Arag “MedBest” |
| R+V „Agil classic pro U“ | Continentale „Premium, SP2“ | Deutscher Ring „Comfort+, PIT” |
| uniVersa „uni-intro Privat 300, uni-ZZ“ | Arag „K600, FlexiPro“ | UKV – Union/BBKK „GesundheitsVario, AmbulantPlus, KlinikPlus, ZahnPlus |
| Württembergische „Ambulant Komfort Hausarzt (A2H), Stationär Komfort (S2), Zahn Kompakt (Z3)“ | HanseMerkur „AZP, EGO, PS3“ | |
| Süddeutsche „AM30, S1, Z6“ | uniVersa „uni-A80, uni-ST Stufe 1/100, uni-ZA 100, uni-KU/100“ | |
| Debeka „N“ | Signal Iduna „Exklusiv-Plus1, KurPlus/100“ | |
| DKV „BMK0, BMZ1,, BMKD“ | ||
| Süddeutsche „AM12, S1, Z9“ |
Best private health insurance plans per Focus Money 2023
Who rated the private health insurance plans?
Focus-Money, together with the rating agency Franke and Bornberg (Map-Report), rated private health insurance plans in Germany.
You can read the complete analysis in Focus-Money magazine (issues 40, 41, and 42).
How were the private health insurance plans rated?
- The private health insurance tariffs were divided into three categories
- Basic protection: Tariffs that offer coverage similar to public health insurance.
- Standard protection: In addition to basic protection, the tariff covers psychotherapy, an electric wheelchair, a twin room, and 60% dentures.
- Top protection: The tariff reimburses the costs of alternative practitioners, single rooms, treatment by the head doctor, implants, and at least 80% of the denture costs. In addition, doctors’ services are billed and reimbursed up to the maximum GOZ and GÖA rate.
- Like Handelsblatt, Focus-money rated private health insurance policies for each category separately.
- They gave 50% weightage to the scope of services, 30% to the insurance cost, and 20% to the financial strength.
- The sample customer was a 35-year-old individual.
NOTE: The rating is for a particular private health insurance policy and not the company.
Result
| Basic protection | Standard protection | Top protection |
|---|---|---|
| Hallesche “NK.select S Bonus, NK.select Flex URZ” | Gothaer „MediCompactPlus“ | Hallesche “NK.select XL Bonus, URZ” |
| AXA “EL Bonus-U, Komfort Zahn-U, KUR-U/100” | AXA “ActiveMe-U, Komfort Zahn-U, KUR-U/100” | Debeka „N, NC“ |
| HanseMerkur „KVS1,EKV2, KUT/100“ | Hallesche “NK.select L Bonus, URZ” | Arag “MedBest” |
| Debeka „NW“ | R+V „Agil comfort U“ | DKV “BMK0, BMZ1, BMKD” |
| HanseMerkur “AZP, EGO, PS3, PSV” | ||
| Continentale „Premium, SP1“ |
Best private health insurance plans per Morgen & Morgen 2024
Who rated the private health insurance plans?
Morgen & Morgen (M&M) compared and rated private health insurance plans. You can read the full review here (German).
How were the private health insurance plans rated?
- M&M rated the private health insurance based on 60 questions.
- They gave weightage to all the questions based on their importance.
- M&M assigned a score to each question based on whether the health insurance plan
- fully fulfills it (100% of score),
- partially fulfills it (50% of score), or
- doesn’t fulfill it (0).
- Besides the score, private health insurance plans must meet certain minimum criteria to get the top rating.
- M&M considered three professional groups
- Normal professional group: Everyone who is qualified to get private health insurance
- Civil servants
- Doctors
Result
Here, we share only the private health insurance policies that received the highest rating. You can check the M&M website for tariffs with lower ratings.
NOTE: The tariffs are alphabatically ordered in the table. They all are rated five stars by M&M.
| Normal professional group | Civil servants | Doctors |
| Allianz (GSB70, GSUB90, GSUB100, GSZ100, PVN) | Allianz (Outpatient allowance 51, hospital allowance 51, dental allowance 51, hospital single room, PVB, daily hospital allowance) | Allianz (Doctors Best 100 [G]) |
| AXA (ActiveMe-U, Komfort Zahn-U, KUR-U/50) | Barmenia (GK30, GK20P, G1B, G2B30, G2B20P, GEPlus, PVB, KH+) | AXA (VA6-U, Prem Zahn-U, KUR-U/50, VIAlife) |
| Barmenia (EXP1+) | SPCA (Vision B 50T-U, BW2 50T-U, BWE-U, BN3/1 50-U, KUR-U/50) | Barmenia (VHV1A+) |
| BBKK (GesundheitVARIO 400, VARIO KlinikPlus, VARIO ZahnPlus, VARIO AmbulantPlus, Courtagegeld) | Hallesche (CAZ.30, CAZ.120, CG.230, CG.320, CSD., CSR.30, CSR.120, BEb.50, JOKER.flex) | Hallesche (MAS.Bonus) |
| Gothaer (MediCompact Premium 240) | Ottonova (B22AZ30, B22AZ20K, B21BC30, B21BC20K, B21S30, B21S20K, B21FC100, PVB, KHT) | Inter (JABest) |
| Hallesche (NK.select XL Bonus, JOKER.flex) | R+V (BB30, BB20E, W130, W120E, EB1) | SDK (AM10 (Ärzte), S1 (Ärzte), Z9) |
| Inter (QMP 300 U) | ||
| Ottonova (First Class Pro+) | ||
| R+V (Agile premium TN0U) | ||
| SDK (AM1x, S1, Z9) | ||
| Signal Iduna (Prime) | ||
| UKV (HealthVARIO 400, VARIO KlinikPlus, VARIO ZahnPlus, VARIO AmbulantPlus) | ||
| Universe (uni-Top|Privat 300) | ||
| Württemberg (Outpatient Premium 480 SB, inpatient Premium, dental Premium) |
Best private health insurance companies per Map-Report 2023
So far, the rating agencies have analyzed and rated particular private health insurance plans. However, Map-Report rated the private health insurance companies instead.
Map-Report requested several private health insurance companies participate in the analysis. However, not every company agreed to participate.
Thus, many private insurance companies might not be part of this list. It’s not because they didn’t perform but because they didn’t participate in the review.
Map-Report examined the insurance companies in three areas:
- Service
- Contract data
- Balance sheet
The top five private health insurance companies based on Map-Report’s analysis are
- Debeka
- Signal Iduna
- LVM
- VGH Provincial
- Alte Oldenburgers
Best private health insurance companies per IVFP 2023
IVFP (Institut Für Vorsorge unde Finanzplanung) examined private health insurance companies and rated them based on four factors
- Company’s stability
- Security
- Market success (Customer satisfaction)
- Profitability
IVFP updates the private health insurance company’s rating results annually. It gives companies one of the following grades.
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Satisfactory
- Sufficient
- Poor
- Unsatisfactory
The table below lists the companies that received the grades “Excellent” and “Very Good.” The table is sorted alphabetically.
| Company | Grade |
| LVM | Excellent |
| Provinzial Krankenversicherung Hannover AG | Excellent |
| R+V | Excellent |
| SIGNAL IDUNA | Excellent |
| uniVersa | Excellent |
| Allianz Private | Very Good |
| ALTE OLDENBURGER | Very Good |
| AXA | Very Good |
| Barmenia | Very Good |
| Bayerische Beamtenkrankenkasse AG (BBKK) | Very Good |
| Continentale | Very Good |
| Debeka | Very Good |
| DEVK | Very Good |
| DKV | Very Good |
| Generali Deutschland | Very Good |
| Gothaer | Very Good |
| HALLESCHE | Very Good |
| HanseMerkur | Very Good |
| INTER | Very Good |
| Landeskrankenhilfe V.V.a.G. (LKH) | Very Good |
| Mecklenburgische | Very Good |
| Union | Very Good |
| Württembergische | Very Good |
Best private health insurance companies per DFSI 2023
DFSI used the following data to examine the private health insurance companies.
- The 2022 annual financial statements of private health insurers.
- Complaint statistics, according to BaFin
- DFSI product ratings from 2023
DFSI rated the insurance companies based on three factors.
- Substance strength: It indicates how likely an insurer is to offer stable or moderately increasing premiums in the future. It also examines whether the insurer can survive financial crises without major fluctuations.
- Product quality and variety
- Service: DFSI analyzed Bafin’s customer complaint statistics and the insurer’s health services. They gave 70% weightage to health services and 30% to complaint statistics.
DFSI gave the following weightage to the three factors.
- 40% to substance strength
- 40% to product quality
- 20% to services
You can read the complete report here (German).
These are top private health insurance companies per DFSI analysis.
| Insurer | Overall Rating | Substance Strength | Product Quality | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allianz | Excellent (1.0) | Very good (1.3) | Excellent (1.0) | Excellent (0.5) |
| SIGNAL IDUNA | Very good (1.1) | Excellent (1.0) | Very good (1.1) | Very good (1.4) |
| Barmenia | Very good (1.1) | Very good (1.4) | Excellent (0.9) | Excellent (0.9) |
| HanseMerkur | Very good (1.2) | Very good (1.3) | Very good (1.3) | Excellent (0.8) |
| HALLESCHE | Very good (1.2) | Very good (1.5) | Excellent (1.0) | Very good (1.3) |
| ARAG | Very good (1.3) | Very good (1.4) | Excellent (1.0) | Gut (1,7) |
| Württembergische | Very good (1.3) | Very good (1.5) | Very good (1.4) | Excellent (0.8) |
| R+V | Very good (1.5) | Very good (1.3) | Excellent (1.0) | Satisfactory (2.9) |
| INTER | Very good (1.5) | Very good (1.1) | Very good (1.5) | Gut (2,2) |
References
- https://www.dfsi-institut.de/rating/125/unternehmensqualitaet-der-privaten-krankenversicherer-2023-24
- https://www.franke-bornberg.de/ratings/map-report/map-report
- https://ivfp.de/rating/ergebnisse/unternehmen-vg-pkv-2023/
- https://www.bafin.de/DE/PublikationenDaten/Statistiken/Beschwerde/2022/Rechtsschutzversicherung_artikel.html?nn=19659624
- https://morgenundmorgen.com/service/ratings/pkv-vollversicherung
- https://www.finanzen.de/krankenversicherung/private-krankenversicherung/test#/fm
