Best Private Health Insurance in Germany (2026): Top Insurers by Profile
Which private health insurer is best in Germany? Picks for expats, freelancers and families, how we judge insurers, and what to check before you sign.
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No single private health insurer is best for everyone. Some pass the checks below more consistently than others, and which one fits depends on your age, job and health. The first check comes before any insurer: as an employee you can only join PKV if you earn more than €77,400 a year (2026), while the self-employed and civil servants can join at any income. This guide gives you a shortlist by profile, the criteria behind it and the checks to run before you sign.
Quick answer (2026)
- Best by profile: young employee, AXA, Hallesche or Ottonova. Over 40, Debeka or Barmenia. Freelancer, Signal Iduna, Hallesche or AXA. Civil servant, Debeka, DKV or Barmenia.
- Who can join: employees earning above €77,400 per year (2026; planned €84,150 from 2027, pending Bundesrat approval). Freelancers, the self-employed and civil servants at any income.
- Employer subsidy (employees only): up to €508.59 per month towards health cover plus up to €104.63 towards long-term care, so €613.22 per month at most, and never more than half your premium.
- Safety net: the Basistarif accepts any eligible applicant and is capped at €1,017.19 per month in 2026.
- Avoid: visa-only expat plans and the cheapest tariff. Neither is a safe long-term choice.
Which private health insurers should an employee, freelancer or family quote?
These are starting points for a quote, not a ranking. The table lists insurers that have a published profile on this site and fit each situation, with each insurer's reported 2025 solvency ratio and what to check first. The profile match is our editorial judgement, based on the tariff features covered in each insurer's profile. A high ratio is one factor, not a verdict on a tariff.
The solvency ratio is each insurer's reported Solvency II ratio for financial year 2025, taken from its own solvency report (SFCR). Insurers must keep own funds at least equal to the capital requirement (100%) under §89 VAG, and BaFin supervises them. The ratios are not directly comparable: insurers report them on different bases (for example with or without the volatility adjustment, or under an internal model), and the lowest ratio is still well above the 100% minimum. Full table with the basis for each figure and sources: insurer financial strength comparison.
| Profile | Insurers to quote | Solvency ratio 2025 (SFCR) | Check first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee | AXA, Hallesche, Ottonova | AXA 303 %, Hallesche 493 %, ottonova 212 % | The tariff's premium history, dental and English-language service |
| Freelancer | Signal Iduna, Hallesche, AXA | Signal Iduna 558 %, Hallesche 493 %, AXA 303 % | Sickness allowance (Krankentagegeld): start day and daily amount |
| Family | Debeka, Barmenia (compare with GKV family cover) | Debeka 372.1 %, Barmenia 421 % | Total cost including every child's own policy |
Independent rating-agency scores (Franke & Bornberg, Assekurata, Morgen & Morgen) are not reproduced here. Check the current rating for the tariff you are offered. Sources: each insurer's SFCR 2025, linked on the financial strength page.
Public vs private health insurance cost calculator
Run your own numbers first. Enter your income and age to see how private compares with public cover before you look at insurers.
Calculate your premium
Answer 4 quick questions. We'll show your exact public health insurance (GKV) cost and a realistic private health insurance estimate side by side — based on 2026 rates.
What's your employment situation?
Which private health insurers come up most often?
Eight insurers come up most often for employees, freelancers and expats: Debeka, Hallesche, AXA, Barmenia, Signal Iduna, Ottonova, HanseMerkur and Gothaer. The table gives the reason each is on the list and what to check. It is a set of starting points, not a ranking.
| Insurer | Best for | Strengths | Watch-outs | English support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debeka | Over 40, civil servants | Very large insurer, strong with civil servants | Check the specific tariff's premium history | Confirm before applying |
| Hallesche | Employees, freelancers | Comprehensive plans, dental and alternative medicine | Compare deductible options carefully | Confirm before applying |
| AXA | Young expats, frequent travellers | International network, English-language service | Compare tariff by tariff | Yes |
| Barmenia | Price-conscious employees, families | Competitive mid-range plans, often noted for dental cover | Check what the lower tiers leave out | Confirm before applying |
| Signal Iduna | Freelancers | Sick-pay bundles for the self-employed | Check when sick pay starts and how much it pays | Confirm before applying |
| Ottonova | Digital-first expats | Fully digital, English app and support | Judge the tariff, not the app | Yes |
| HanseMerkur | Employees comparing options | Wide range of tariffs | A wide range means large differences between tariffs | Confirm before applying |
| Gothaer | Employees wanting balanced cover | Solid mid-range, mental health cover | Check the therapy limits in your tariff | Confirm before applying |
How do we evaluate private health insurance?
We have not run our own tariff test. The shortlist rests on four criteria (premium stability, coverage quality, claims handling and financial strength) and on public independent sources: Franke & Bornberg ratings, the MAP-Report and Stiftung Warentest. Check each criterion for the tariff you are offered, not only for the insurer.
How much has the tariff's premium risen over the past 10 to 15 years? Part of every premium funds ageing provisions (Alterungsrückstellungen) that cushion increases as you get older. A cheap tariff today that rises steeply later is not a good deal.
What is included? Look at dental (crowns, implants), vision, alternative medicine, mental health, and inpatient and outpatient treatment. A basic plan can leave you with large out-of-pocket costs.
How quickly does the insurer pay? Is there an English-language service line? Are claims disputed often? You will not know until you need to claim, so read independent ratings and reviews of the service.
Private health insurance is a contract for decades. The insurer needs to still be solvent in 30 to 40 years. Check independent financial-strength ratings for the insurer.
What is the best private plan for your situation?
It depends on age, work status and family. A young expat employee should prioritise broad coverage and English service, an employee over 40 the tariff's rate-increase history, a freelancer sick pay (Krankentagegeld), and a family the total cost including children. Here is how to think about it by situation:
| Situation | What to prioritise | Insurers often recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Young expat employee, healthy | Broad coverage, English service, premium stability, strong dental | AXA (English-language support, international network), Hallesche (comprehensive plans), Ottonova (fully digital, English app) |
| Employee over 40 | The tariff's rate-increase history over 10 to 15 years, avoid high deductibles | Debeka (very large insurer), Barmenia (competitive mid-range) |
| Freelancer / self-employed | Sick pay (Krankentagegeld): from which day and how much per day. Compare the total cost with the GKV rate. | Signal Iduna (freelancer sick-pay bundles), Hallesche, AXA |
| Family with children | Each child needs their own private policy. Compare the total cost including children with statutory family cover. | Public often wins for larger families. If you go private: Debeka and Barmenia are worth quoting for child rates. |
| Civil servant (Beamte) | A supplementary plan that covers the share Beihilfe does not pay | Debeka, DKV, Barmenia |
| Visa applicant or short stay | Whether the authority accepts travel or incoming cover, and what happens once you start work. See visa plans vs full private. | A short-term visa plan to bridge, then full private health insurance or GKV |
These are starting points, not a ranking. Premiums are personal. Two 30-year-olds can get very different quotes from the same insurer. Always get a comparison for your age, health history and situation. A consultant who accesses the full market will find options a single insurer never shows you.
Insurer profiles
Three neutral points per insurer. They describe positioning, not a verdict on any tariff. Always check current independent ratings for the tariff you are offered.
- One of the largest private insurers in Germany
- Strong position with civil servants
- Ask for the premium history of your exact tariff
- Comprehensive employee and freelancer plans
- Often recommended for dental and alternative medicine
- Check which deductible options fit your budget
- International network
- English-language service
- Popular with expats and frequent travellers
- Competitive mid-range plans
- Often noted for dental cover
- Check what the cheaper tiers exclude
- Products built for the self-employed
- Sick-pay bundles
- Check the sick-pay start day and daily amount
- Fully digital insurer
- English app and support
- Judge the tariff's cover and premium history, not only the app
- Wide range of tariffs for employees and the self-employed
- Quality differs a lot between tariffs
- Confirm English-language support before applying
- Solid mid-range plans
- Often noted for mental health cover
- Check therapy limits and waiting periods
Each name above links to a company profile with reported financial figures. Three more profiles are available: Allianz, Continentale and DKV. To see all insurers in one table, use the insurer financial strength comparison.
Feather is a broker, not an insurer. It sells plans from insurers. Ask which insurer and tariff you are being offered, and whether it is full private health insurance.
What premium increase history should you ask for?
Private premiums are based on your entry age and health, not your income. They can still rise when medical costs rise. We do not quote an industry average here, because no confirmed 2026 figure is available. Ask for these three things instead:
- The tariff's increase history over 10 to 15 years. Not just the insurer's overall record.
- How the premium is built. From the calendar year after you turn 21 until the year you turn 60, a statutory 10% surcharge (§149 VAG) is added to the premium of substitutive plans. From age 65 it is used to cushion premium increases, and from age 80 to reduce your premium.
- Your options if it rises. Under §204 VVG you can switch to another tariff at the same insurer and keep your ageing provisions.
Illustrative example (assumed numbers, not a forecast). Take a €400 monthly premium. If it rises 3% a year for 20 years, it reaches about €722 (€400 × 1.0320). At 5% a year it reaches about €1,061 (€400 × 1.0520). Two percentage points of extra annual increase leave you paying about €339 more per month after 20 years, which is why the history matters more than the entry price. See the premium increases by insurer and the insurer financial strength comparison.
What is the difference between visa expat plans and full private health insurance?
A visa or expat plan is short-term cover that meets entry rules, for example for Schengen and short-stay visas or the period before work starts. Full private health insurance (Vollversicherung) is long-term cover that replaces GKV. Many "best expat insurance" lists mix the two, but they are not interchangeable.
| Product | What it is | When it works |
|---|---|---|
| Visa or expat travel plan | Short-term cover that meets visa entry rules | Schengen and short-stay visas (minimum cover of €30,000), the entry period before work starts, and some job-seeker or language-course visas depending on the authority |
| Full private health insurance (Vollversicherung) | Long-term private cover that replaces GKV | Employees above the threshold, freelancers, civil servants. Meets the legal requirement for adequate cover in §2(3) AufenthG |
Travel or incoming cover is generally not enough for a long-term residence permit, though practice varies by foreigners' office (Ausländerbehörde). Employees earning below the threshold must join statutory health insurance (GKV) from their first working day. Read more in our private health insurance guide.
What must a good private health insurance tariff include?
A good tariff states clearly what it covers: dental including crowns and implants, vision, mental health, alternative medicine, inpatient care, sick pay for freelancers, reimbursement terms, the deductible and any premium refund. The cheapest tariff is rarely enough. Use these questions to compare tariffs.
- Dental: Does it cover crowns and implants, or only fillings? What is the annual limit?
- Vision: Glasses and contact lenses, allowance and how often?
- Mental health: Number of therapy sessions covered and any waiting period.
- Alternative medicine (Heilpraktiker): Naturopath treatments and physiotherapy beyond the standard.
- Inpatient: Private room and chief physician (Chefarztbehandlung), included or optional?
- Sick pay (Krankentagegeld): Essential for freelancers. From which day and how much per day?
- Reimbursement: You pay the bill and the insurer refunds it. Check the refund rates and whether it is full cover (Vollversicherung) or an add-on tariff.
- Deductible (Selbstbehalt): A higher deductible lowers the premium but means you pay more when you claim. It only suits healthy people who rarely use care. The deductible itself is not tax-deductible as a special expense.
- Premium refund (Beitragsrückerstattung): Some plans refund part of your premium if you claim nothing. It can discourage you from using the cover you pay for.
The cheapest tariff is rarely enough: it usually combines a high deductible, limited dental and no private room. For employees, the employer subsidy follows the same rule for every tariff: up to half of your premium, within the cap, so a cheap tariff does not make it larger.
Worked example, employer subsidy. Suppose your private health premium is €700 a month. Half is €350, which is below the 2026 maximum of €508.59, so your employer pays €350. If your premium were €1,100, half is €550, but the cap applies and the employer pays €508.59. Long-term care works the same way, capped at €104.63. The combined maximum is €508.59 + €104.63 = €613.22 per month.
Can you join private health insurance at all?
Yes, if you are an employee above the income threshold, self-employed, a civil servant or a student who applied for the exemption in time. Employees earning below the threshold (€77,400 in 2026, planned €84,150 from 2027) must stay in public insurance. Being eligible does not mean an insurer will accept you.
| Your status | Can you choose private health insurance? |
|---|---|
| Employee (Angestellte) | Yes, if your regular gross salary is above €77,400/year (€6,450/month) in 2026. The planned 2027 figure is €84,150 (€7,012.50/month); it was approved by the federal cabinet and still needs Bundesrat approval, expected in November 2026. Below that, you must stay in GKV. You become exempt at the end of the calendar year in which you exceed it, as long as you are expected to exceed the next year's limit too. New hires above the limit are exempt immediately. |
| Freelancer / self-employed | Yes, at any income level. |
| Civil servant (Beamte) | Yes, and usually the best option. The state pays a share of your costs (Beihilfe) and a private plan covers the rest. |
| Student | Yes, if you apply for the exemption within 3 months of enrolment. The choice is irrevocable for your whole degree. Statutory student cover also ends around age 30, so older students need a different route. |
Two more points. If you are 55 or older and have been privately insured, self-employed or exempt for at least half of the last five years with no GKV cover in that time, returning to GKV is largely blocked, so going private is close to a one-way decision. And every insurer must offer the Basistarif, which accepts applicants without risk surcharges. It is capped at the GKV maximum, which is €1,017.19 per month in 2026, and halved to about €508.59 if you need social assistance.
2027 is a draft, not final. A government draft (Bundesrat-Drs. 576/26) plans to raise the threshold to €84,150 per year (€7,012.50 per month) from 1 January 2027. The Bundesrat has not yet approved it and it depends on a pending change to SGB V. Do not plan around it yet. Details are in our eligibility guide.
If you earn just over the threshold, eligibility does not make private the right choice. Compare costs in the calculator above and read public vs private health insurance, switching from public to private and private health insurance cost.
How do you find your best private health insurance plan?
Compare across the market instead of going to one insurer, because each only shows its own products. Use independent consultants who work with several insurers, which costs you nothing. Compare at least 3 plans on what is included, and check the exact tariff's rate-increase history over 10 to 15 years.
Every insurer only shows you its own products. You will never know if a competitor offers better cover for less. Compare across the market.
Independent consultants who work with multiple insurers can run a comparison for your exact situation: age, health history, required cover and budget. This costs you nothing, as the insurer pays the commission.
Look at the same cover level across several insurers. Focus on what is included, not just the monthly premium. The cheapest plan is rarely the best value over 10 or more years.
Ask for the increase history of the exact tariff over the last 10 to 15 years, and compare it using the example above.
FAQ
Which is the best private health insurance in Germany?
What is the best private health insurance for expats in Germany?
Is Ottonova good?
Is Feather real private health insurance?
Is the cheapest private health insurance plan good enough?
What is the best private health insurance for freelancers?
How often do private health insurance premiums increase?
Can I switch private health insurance providers if I'm unhappy?
Sources
Primary sources checked on 19 October 2026. Figures are the official 2026 values; 2027 values are a Bundesrat draft until approved.
- §89 VAG: solvency capital requirement; BaFin supervises private health insurers (BaFin: Kranken- und Pflegeversicherung)
- §204 VVG: tariff change with ageing provisions
- §149 VAG: 10% premium surcharge
- §6 SGB V: exemption from compulsory insurance, 55+ rule
- §2 AufenthG: health insurance and residence permits
- Deutsche Rentenversicherung: Sozialversicherungs-Rechengrößen 2026 (2026 threshold €77,400)
- Bundesrat-Drs. 576/26: 2027 threshold (draft)
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