Continentale Private Health Insurance: Financial Key Figures for Expats

This page summarises the published financial figures of Continentale Krankenversicherung a.G. for expats comparing private health insurance in Germany. It reports what the insurer's own documents say, at the level of the single insurance entity (not the wider group). It is not a rating, a ranking or a recommendation for or against any insurer.

Company profile and legal form

Continentale Krankenversicherung is a Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit (a.G.), a mutual insurer. It has no shareholders. Its policyholders are its members, and it does not pay dividends to outside owners.

What this means for you in practice: as a policyholder you are formally a member of the mutual. In both mutuals and stock corporations (AG), part of the yearly surplus is normally passed on to policyholders through the premium refund reserve (Rückstellung für Beitragsrückerstattung, RfB, explained below). The legal form alone says little about the quality of a tariff, so look at the figures and at the tariff itself.

Key financial figures

All figures below are as reported by the insurer for the stated year. The last column shows the 2025 private health insurance market figure for context, where one exists.

Market figures: Debeka annual report 2025, column "Branche", p. 16 (ratios follow the industry association's key-figure catalogue). Figures are for the single insurance entity, checked on 16 October 2026.

What the figures mean

Solvency ratio

The solvency ratio compares an insurer's own funds with the capital that European rules (Solvency II) require it to hold against its risks, the SCR. A ratio of 303.5% means the reported own funds are about three times the required capital. The regulatory minimum is 100%. A higher number means a larger buffer. It is a snapshot for one year, not a forecast. Continentale reports that it uses no transitional measures and no volatility or matching adjustment, so the reported ratio already excludes their effect.

Ageing provisions

In private health insurance your premium is not raised every year in line with your age, although your expected costs rise as you get older. The insurer therefore saves part of every premium as ageing provisions (Alterungsrückstellung) to cover the higher costs later. The balance sheet item reported here, the Deckungsrückstellung, stood at about 14.3 billion euros in 2025, up from about 13.8 billion euros in 2024. These provisions are the reason premiums in old age do not simply follow your rising claims.

RfB ratio and the premium buffer

The RfB is a reserve funded from surplus. Insurers use it to pay refunds and, importantly, to cushion premium increases for existing policyholders. Continentale reports an RfB ratio of 30.6% (2024: 36.9%), against a market figure of 27.5%. It also reports using 153.7 million euros of RfB as one-off premiums to cushion adjustments in 2025, and having earmarked 162.9 million euros to limit the adjustments required as of 1 January 2026. The ratio was 40.1% in 2023. The ratio alone does not predict future premiums.

Cost, claims and investment ratios

The administrative and acquisition cost ratios show what share of premiums goes to running the business and to winning new customers. The claims ratio shows the share of premiums paid out for claims. The net investment return is what the insurer earned on its investments. The surplus usage ratio shows how much of the surplus was passed on to policyholders. Market figures are provided so you can see the figures in context, not to rank the insurer.

Premium adjustments

Continentale's report attributes part of its premium growth to premium adjustments (PDF p. 12-14): premiums in health insurance rose 10.7% to 1,799.4 million euros. The percentage size of the increases is not disclosed in the documents we reviewed. The report states that 153.7 million euros of RfB were used as one-off premiums to cushion adjustments in 2025 (2024: 122.9 million euros) and that 162.9 million euros were earmarked to limit the adjustments required as of 1 January 2026.

How adjustments work, and why they happen, is explained in our guide to premium increases in private health insurance.

Who it may suit as an expat

Whether this insurer suits you depends on your age, health, income status and the specific tariff, not on the figures above. For expats, the practical question is language and service. We could not verify English-language service for this insurer in the documents we reviewed, so ask the insurer, or an independent consultant, to confirm it in writing before you apply, including for claims and the app. Also check that the plan is full private health insurance (Vollversicherung) if you need it for a residence permit. See our guide to choosing a private insurer for the full checklist.

FAQ

Sources

Figures checked on 16 October 2026. They are taken from the insurer's own published reports and are reported as stated there. Always check the current documents.

• SFCR 2025 Continentale Krankenversicherung a.G. (solvency ratio, PDF p. 5, 51, 60)
• Geschäftsbericht 2025 Continentale Krankenversicherung a.G. (premiums, insured persons, provisions, ratios, PDF p. 2, 12-14, 16, 17, 182)
• Market figures: Debeka Krankenversicherung annual report 2025, p. 16