Is Private Health Insurance Worth it? [2025 Expats Guide]

Key takeaways

• Civil servants and self-employed benefit most from private health insurance in Germany.
• 93% of civil servants and 39% of self-employed in Germany are insured with private health insurance.
• 95% of employed people are insured under public health insurance. However, if we see the employed people ELIGIBLE for private health insurance, then 44% are insured in private and 56% in public health insurance.
• Statutory health insurance is a better option for families with a single earner.
• Your children and your non-working spouse are not insured for free in private health insurance.
• Civil servants can save around 550 € per month, and self-employed around 250 € per month with private health insurance.

This is how you do it

• Use our "Health Insurance Finder" tool to check which health insurance is best for you.
• In our comparison and test, we found Haellesche, Allianz, and Signal Iduna’s private health insurance plans to be the best.
• 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.
• We find TK the best public health insurance provider for expats. Its website, mobile app, and customer service are in English. You can register with TK online.

Table of Contents

Many people new to the German healthcare system ask themselves, is private health insurance really worth it? If yes, then why are 95% of employed people insured under public health insurance?

In this guide, we’ll demystify the myth for you.

Is private health insurance really worth it?

Whether private health insurance is worth it depends on the following factors.

• Your occupation
• Marital status
• Number of children
• Age: under 35
• Health: healthy individuals

If you fall into the right categories, choosing private health insurance can save you a lot of money and provide better medical services.

The following people benefit the most from private health insurance.

	Occupation	Marital status	Number of children
Persona 1	Civil servants	Irrelevant	Irrelevant
Persona 2	Self-employed	Unmarried	Up to two children
Persona 3	Self-employed	Married, but the partner is working	Up to two children
Persona 4	Employed	Unmarried	Up to two children
Persona 5	Employed	Married, but the partner is working	Up to two children

For others, statutory health insurance is the better option from a financial perspective. Of course, if you can afford private health insurance for the whole family, it offers better services, and you should consider taking it.

You can use our “Health Insurance Finder” tool to check which health insurance (Public or Private) makes sense and when. We recommend getting advice from a fee-based advisor or health insurance broker before deciding.

Here is how we created the above table

Age and health

• Private health insurance doesn’t cover people who have chronic diseases. Even if it accepts you, the premium will be very high.
• The earlier you enter the private health insurance system, the better because of the two reasons
  • you are healthy when you are young 
  • you have more time to contribute to the retirement provisions, hence enjoy lower premiums

Spouse and children

• You cannot insure your non-working spouse and kids for free in private health insurance. However, your non-working partner and children are insured for free in your public health insurance (family insurance).
• As you have to get a separate private health insurance policy for your children and spouse, the savings are no longer there.

NOTE: Your non-working spouse can also get public health insurance. However, their public insurance premium will be calculated based on family income. So, they’ll pay the maximum public health insurance premium (i.e. 1174€ per month (as of 2025)).

Civil servants

• The state covers 50% to 70% of civil servants’ medical costs. Thus, they need supplementary private health insurance to cover the rest. Hence drastically reducing their insurance premium.
• The state also covers up to 70% of the medical bills of a civil servant’s spouse. This is why it doesn’t matter if your partner works or not. The same applies to a civil servant’s children.

Self-employed

• Self-employed people must pay the entire health insurance premium themselves. This is why private health insurance is cheaper than public health insurance for self-employed (high earners) people.
• In the case of employed individuals, the employer pays half of the health insurance premium. This reduces the savings potential in private health insurance. 

Low earners

• Private health insurance premiums don’t depend on your income. This is beneficial for high earners, but it’s a disadvantage for low earners.
• In statutory health insurance, you pay less if you earn less. Hence, it is the better choice for people in low-income groups.

Why should you consider the long term when choosing private health insurance in Germany?

Here is why you should consider the long term when choosing private health insurance.

• Switching back to the public system is tough and gets tougher as you age. 
• Private health insurance might be beneficial when you are young and single. However, once you get married and have children, it can get expensive. Thus, look forward to the future while deciding.
• The private health insurance premium will continue to rise. So, you should be able to pay high premiums in the future. The increase in premiums is not because you are getting older. It’s because the whole healthcare is getting expensive due to inflation, aging population, and medical progress. It has risen, on average, 3.9% per annum between 2015 and 2025.
• Switching private health insurance providers is expensive for the following reasons.
  • You lose most of your retirement provisions. Hence, new insurance premiums will be higher to build up the provisions from scratch.
  • You are not getting healthier with age. So, expect a higher insurance premium or reduced services.

Considering the above factors, it’s vital that you educate yourself about the German healthcare system before deciding.

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.

Private health insurance for expats living in Germany for a few years 

If you are in Germany for a few years, opting for private health insurance is usually better.

• You can get special private health insurance plans where you don’t pay retirement provisions. This reduces the insurance premium drastically. 
• Since you are in Germany temporarily, you don’t have to worry about high premiums in old age.

NOTE: For families, you must check if getting private health insurance is still cheaper. 

Before deciding, you must compare the cost of private and public health insurance for the whole family. Moreover, you should get advice from a fee-based advisor or an insurance broker before deciding.

How much can you save with private health insurance?

Savings of single individuals in private health insurance

Let’s see how much you can save if you get private health insurance. We have made the following assumptions.

• you are a high-earner
• you are 30 years old
• you took a top-tier private health insurance plan

We also include contributions to long-term nursing care insurance while calculating the premiums. 

	Monthly public insurance premiums (TK)	Monthly private insurance premiums	Monthly Savings
Employed	Total: 1170 € You pay: 600 € Employer pays: 570 €	Total: 700 € You pay: 350 € Employer pays: 350 €	250 €
Self-employed	1170 €	700 €	470 €
Civil Servants	1170 € (only a few federal states cover half the health insurance cost)	400 € (State covers 50% to 70% of medical bills)	770 €

As you can see, civil servants benefit the most from private health insurance. That’s also why around 93% of civil servants and 39% of self-employed in Germany have private health insurance [1, 2].

Savings of married individuals in private health insurance

Let’s see how much each profession saves. We have made the following assumptions.

• you are a high-earner, married, and have 1 child
• your partner also works.

Employed

	Monthly public insurance premiums	Monthly private insurance premiums	Monthly Savings in private insurance
Maximum employer’s contribution	570€ (as of 2025)
1 child	Your premium: 570 € (after deducting employer’s contribution) Your child’s premium: Free	Your premium: 350 € (after deducting employer’s contribution) Your child’s premium: 60 € (120 – 60 (employer’s contribution))	🟢 160 € (570 – (350+60))
2 children	Your premium: 570 € Your children’s premium: Free	Your premium: 350 € Child 1: 60 € Child 2: 60 € (120 – 60 (employer’s subsidy))	🟢 100 € (570 – (350+60+60))

Self-employed

	Monthly public insurance premiums	Monthly private insurance premiums	Monthly Savings in private insurance
1 child	Your premium: 1140 € Your child’s premium: Free	Your premium: 700 € Your child’s premium: 120 €	🟢 320 € (1140 – (700 + 120))
2 children	Your premium: 1140 € Your children’s premium: Free	Your premium: 700 € Child 1: 120 € Child 2: 120 €	🟢 200 € (1140 – (700 + 240)

As you can see, you can save with private health insurance even if you have children. However, you should not base your decision solely on which health insurance is cheaper.

You should consult a fee-based insurance advisor or broker for personalized advice. You can ask your questions to an expert for free here.

When is private health insurance NOT worth it?

Private health insurance gets expensive if you are married and your partner is not working. It gets even more expensive as you have children.

We are considering only the financial aspect here. However, your health condition plays the main role in deciding which health insurance is best for you.

We made the following assumptions.

• Your partner is not working.
• You are healthy.
• You are eligible to get private health insurance. (Earn more than the income threshold, i.e., 73,800€ (as of 2025))

Employed individuals

	Monthly public insurance premiums	Monthly private insurance premiums	Monthly Savings
Married	Your premium: 570€ Your partner’s premium: Free	Your premium: 350€ Your partner’s premium in the – public system: 1140€ (as your partner’s premium will be calculated based on family income) – private system: 580€ (700 – 120 ( Employer contribution))	Spouse in the public system -920 €* (570 – (350 + 1140)) Spouse in the private system -360 €* (570 – (350 + 580))
Married with 1 child	Your premium: 570 € Your partner’s premium: Free Your child’s premium: Free	Your premium: 350 € Your partner’s premium in the – public system: 1140€ (as your partner’s premium will be calculated based on family income) – private system: 580€ (700 – 120 ( Employer contribution)) Your child’s premium in the public or private system: 120 €	Spouse in the public system -980 €* (570 – (350 + 1140 + 60 (after deducting employer’s contribution)) Spouse in the private system -480 €* (570 – (350 + 580 + 120))

*Your employer contributes to the premiums of all the privately insured members of the family. The contribution is limited to the amount the employer will pay if you are publicly insured.

Self-employed

	Monthly public insurance premiums	Monthly private insurance premiums	Monthly Savings
Married	Your premium: 1140 € Your partner’s premium: Free	Your premium: 700 € Your partner’s premium in the – public system: 1140 € (as your partner’s premium will be calculated based on family income) – private system: 700 €	Spouse in the public system -700 € (1140 – (700 + 1140)) Spouse in the private system -360 € (1140 – (700 + 700))
Married with 1 child	Your premium: 1140 € Your partner’s premium: Free Your child’s premium: Free	Your premium: 700 € Your partner’s premium in the – public system: 1140 € (as your partner’s premium will be calculated based on family income) – private system: 700 Your child’s premium in the public or private system: 120 €	Spouse in the public system -920 € (1140 – (700 + 1140 + 120) Spouse in the private system -480 € (1140 – (700 + 700 + 120))

As you can see, private health insurance is expensive if you are married and your spouse is not working. However, this is only the financial aspect of a healthy individual.

If you are unhealthy and need special treatments and fast doctor’s appointments, you would prefer private health insurance over public.

You can use our “Health Insurance Finder” tool to check which health insurance (Public or Private) makes sense and when. We recommend getting advice from a fee-based advisor or health insurance broker before deciding.

Why do 95% of employed individuals choose statutory health insurance in Germany?

As per DESTATIS, 95% of employed people in Germany are part of public healthcare. So, one may naturally ask why employed people prefer the public system.

We must dive into the data to understand it better.

To be eligible for private health insurance, you must earn above the income threshold, i.e., 73,800€ (as of 2025). However, only 9% of the employed individuals in Germany earn above the income threshold.

This means that 91% of the employed are not eligible to be insured under private insurance. That clarifies why so many people are in the public system.

Let’s check what percentage of employed people eligible for private insurance are in public insurance. DESTATIS reports that 5% of employed individuals are voluntarily insured in public health insurance, and 4% are in private healthcare. 

So, considering the employed people eligible for private health insurance, 44% (4/9 * 100) are insured in private and 56% in public health insurance.

Best private health insurance in Germany

Here are the private health insurance plans that were rated the best by Handelblatt and Morgen & Morgen.

Basic protection	Standard protection	Top protection
Hallesche “NK.select S Bonus, NK.select Flex URZ”	Allianz (GSP70)	Hallesche “NK.select XL Bonus, URZ”
	Hallesche “NK.select L Bonus, URZ”	UKV (GesundheitVario)
		uniVersa (uni-top)
		Allianz (GSB70)

In our comparison and test, we found Haellesche, Allianz, and Signal Iduna’s private health insurance plans to be the best.

Private health insurance is a complicated product. So, we recommend the following before getting private health insurance.

• Educate yourself about private health insurance by reading neutral guides.
• Get advice from fee-based advisors. You pay them for their time. They don’t get paid by the insurance company.
• Get advice from the consumer advice centers (Verbraucherzentrale) for free. Unlike insurance brokers or agents, they don’t get paid by the insurance company. Hence, they offer neutral advice. Consumer advice centers usually offer advice in German. But you can enquire about advice in English. In big cities, you may find an English advisor.
• Get advice from an insurance broker. They get a commission from the insurance company. However, they are liable for their advice. So, you can sue them if they offer the wrong advice.

NOTE: Always get the insurance advice from an insurance advisor or broker in writing. If you feel cheated by the broker in the future, you can use it as proof in court. You can also document the advice yourself and keep it for future purposes. 

Before contacting a professional or expert, you should know what minimum services your private health insurance plan must cover. We have created a checklist for this purpose only.

The checklist contains all the essential services a good private health insurance policy covers. You should ask the insurance broker to fill this out and sign it.

Private or public health insurance in Germany

Here are some main differences between public and private health insurance in Germany.

Parameter	Public health insurance	Private health insurance
DOCTOR	​	​
Selection	You can only go to doctors who accept public health insurance.	✅ You have a free choice of doctor selection. You can go to any doctor.
Appointment	It takes 3 to 6 months to get an appointment with a specialist in Germany if you have public insurance.	✅ You can get an appointment within a week or the same day.
Invoice	✅ The insurer settles the invoice directly.	You are responsible for settling the invoice. You submit the invoice to the insurance company, and they usually reimburse you for the costs within a few days.
Drugs	– The patient pays 10% of the prescribed medicine’s cost (min. €5, max. €10) – No reimbursement for over-the-counter drugs.	✅ Full reimbursement of all medicines – a deductible may apply. (depending on your tariff)
Psychotherapy	✅ The insurer covers the approved therapy costs ✅ Depending on the treatment, max. 300 sessions	– Whether and to what extent costs are covered depends on the tariff – Usually limited to a few sessions (20 – 30 per year)
Aids / Services (wheelchairs, prostheses, etc.)	– The insurer covers the costs of services (aids) mentioned in a directory that is revised regularly. – The Insurer covers medically necessary aids.	– The coverage of medical aids depends on your tariff. – The Insurer covers medically necessary aids.
Change in medical services	Public health insurance is continuously removing or limiting the medical services it covers.	✅ Private health insurance companies cannot remove or limit the contractually agreed medical services.
HOSPITAL CARE	​	​
Hospital	Admission to the nearest suitable clinic	✅ Free choice of hospital or private clinic possible depending on the tariff
Accommodation	Shared rooms	✅ Private or double rooms, in a few tariffs multi-bed rooms
Treatment	Doctor on duty	✅ Chief physician Doctor on duty in a few tariffs
COST
Premium calculation	Premium is calculated based on your income. You pay less if you earn less and pay more if you earn more.	– Private health insurance premiums are calculated based on age, existing illnesses, and tariffs at the time of taking the plan. – If your health deteriorates after taking the insurance, it doesn’t affect your premiums. – Income doesn’t play a role, which is why private insurance is beneficial for high-earners.
Premium increase	Public insurance premiums are increasing at a rate of 4.1% per annum between 2015 and 2025	✅ Private insurance premiums are increasing at a rate of 3.9% per annum between 2015 and 2025
Future outlook	The future of the public healthcare system in Germany doesn’t look good. It’s because of the aging population and decreasing number of young professionals. Moreover, public system is not prepared for the future.	✅ The private healthcare system is better prepared for the future with an aging provision of 345 billion euros as of 26 March 2025.
DENTIST	​	​
Treatment	– Full assumption of the dental costs of basic care (e.g., amalgam fillings) – Subsidy for more expensive fillings/inlays. – Medical services covered in basic care are often not recommended by dentists. Thus, experts advice publicly insured individuals to get supplementary dental insurance.	– No restriction to basic service. ✅ Pays 50% to 100% of the dental costs, depending on the tariff.
Dentures	Pays a subsidy of 60% on the basic service (max. 75%, with a complete bonus booklet). The patient must cover the remaining costs, e.g., for inlays/implants.	✅ Depending on the tariff, the company pays 50% to 100% of the costs, often with a limit on the sum. ✅ Few tariffs also cover the implant costs.
UNABLE TO WORK	​	​
Sick pay	✅ The insurer pays 70% of your gross income or max. 90% of net income from the 43rd day of sick leave. ✅ The same applies to leaves in the case of a sick child. – Sick pay is limited to 128.6€ per day (as of 2025). – High earners should consider getting supplementary daily sickness benefits insurance to cover the income gap when they are sick.	– When and how much the insurer will pay depends on your insurance plan. – The insurer doesn’t pay sick pay in the case of a sick child. ✅ You can decide on a higher sick pay when concluding the contract
Maternity Protection	– Max. 13 €/day maternity allowance from the health insurance company – The employer tops the maternity allowance to bring it closer to the net salary. – Special rules for voluntarily insured persons.	Max. 210 € maternity benefit from the “Federal Insurance Office” depending on the tariff
Maternity leave	✅ If you are a compulsorily insured employee with no income during parental leave, you don’t pay any contributions. ✅ You can insure for free under your spouse’s health insurance during maternity leave. ✅ If free family insurance is not possible and you are voluntarily insured, you pay contributions. However, your premium will decrease during maternity leave (assuming your income is decreased) – Students, self-employed, and individuals with no employment relationship continue to pay the normal contributions. Parental leave doesn’t apply to them.	You continue to pay your monthly insurance contributions during maternity leave.
SWITCHING INSURANCE
Changing health insurance provider	✅ You can change public health insurance providers anytime without consequences.	Changing a private health insurance provider is expensive as you lose part of your aging reserves. The alternative is to change your health insurance plan with the same provider.
Switching between private and public insurance	✅ If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can switch to private health insurance anytime.	Returning to public health insurance is tough, even if you are unemployed or earn below the income threshold, i.e., 73,800€ (as of 2025)
IN THE EVENT OF DISPUTE
Cost to sue the insurance company	✅ You can object to the health insurer’s decision free of charge.	No legally regulated right to object
Legal costs	✅ Court and lawyers’ fees are not based on the value in dispute but are limited by law.	Legal costs depend on the value in dispute. Thus, you may incur higher costs.
If you lose the dispute	✅ You bear only your legal costs. You don’t pay the legal costs of the insurance company.	You bear your and your insurance company’s legal costs if you lose the dispute in court.