Debeka Private Health Insurance: Company Profile and Key Figures

This page summarises what Debeka's health insurance company reported in its own 2025 documents, in plain English. It is not a rating, a ranking or a recommendation, and it says nothing about individual tariffs or prices. Figures are as reported by the company for the year 2025 and were checked on 16 October 2026.

Company profile

The legal entity is Debeka Krankenversicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit (Debeka Krankenversicherung). In 2025 it reported 4,378,996 insured persons in total, of whom 2,554,768 were in full health cover (Krankheitskostenvollversicherung). For comparison, the private health insurance association reports about 8.79 million people with full private cover across the whole market.

Mutual (VVaG) vs stock company (AG)

Debeka's health insurer is a mutual association (VVaG, Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit). Insurers in Germany are either mutuals or stock companies (AG, Aktiengesellschaft).

• Mutual (a.G.): owned by its members, who are the policyholders. There are no outside shareholders to pay.
• Stock company (AG): owned by shareholders.

For you as a policyholder, the form affects who owns the company, not what a specific tariff covers or what it costs. Compare the tariff, not the legal form.

Key financial figures (2025)

The market column shows the private health insurance market for 2025 as printed in Debeka's annual report (column "Branche"), where a market figure was available.

Market totals (premium income, ageing provisions, insured persons) come from the private health insurance association's press release of 10 June 2026. Market ratios follow the association's key-figure catalogue as printed in Debeka's annual report. Page numbers are PDF pages.

What the figures mean

Solvency ratio

The SCR coverage ratio compares an insurer's eligible own funds with the capital the regulator's Solvency II rules require it to hold (the Solvency Capital Requirement, SCR). A ratio of 100% means the requirement is exactly met. Debeka reported 372.1%, meaning its eligible own funds were about 3.7 times its required capital. It reported that no transitional measures were applied or requested, and that a volatility adjustment, approved in 2020, was not applied at the reporting date. The ratio is a snapshot of one year, reported by the company, and it is not a guarantee about the future.

Ageing provisions

In private health insurance, part of each premium is set aside while you are younger, because claims costs rise with age. These reserves (Alterungsrückstellungen, shown as Deckungsrückstellung) are meant to limit how fast premiums rise later. Debeka reported EUR 57,221.5 million, up from EUR 54,398.8 million, with EUR 2,822.8 million added in 2025. Part of what you pay today builds this reserve, which is why a private health contract is a long-term commitment.

The premium refund reserve (RfB)

The RfB (Rückstellung für Beitragsrückerstattung) holds surplus that is earmarked for policyholders. It can be paid out as refunds or used to reduce premium increases. Debeka's RfB ratio was 28.9% in 2025, against 31.1% in 2024 and a market figure of 27.5%. The annual report says that less RfB money was used as one-off premiums to limit premium increases than in 2024. A larger buffer gives an insurer more room to soften increases, but it does not stop them.

Cost ratios

The administrative cost ratio (1.3%) and acquisition cost ratio (3.2%) show how much of premium income went to running the company and to winning new business, such as commissions. The claims ratio (84.3%) shows the share of premiums spent on claims, and the benefits ratio (94.1%) is a broader measure. Ratios differ by business model and are not a measure of service quality or of a tariff's price.

Investment return and surplus usage

The net investment return (2.5%) is what the insurer earned on its investments after costs. Higher returns help reserves grow. The surplus usage ratio (98.0%) shows the share of surplus that was passed on to policyholders through refunds and the RfB, rather than kept in the company. The market figure is 87.9%.

Premium adjustments

Debeka's 2025 annual report (p. 17) states that the growth in earned premiums (+17.8%) came mainly from premium adjustments. On page 36 it states that on 1 January 2026 premium increases were necessary for some large full-cover tariffs and for the compulsory care insurance, and that gross premiums are expected to rise clearly in 2026. The report states no percentage, so we do not quote one.

How premium adjustments work, when they are allowed and what you can do about them is covered in our explainer on private health insurance premium increases. One option is a tariff change within the same insurer under §204 VVG, which keeps your ageing provisions.

Who it may suit as an expat

Debeka reports about 4.4 million insured persons. Whether it offers English-language service is not verified in the documents we reviewed, so confirm it directly before applying. Eligibility depends on your situation: employees above the income threshold, freelancers, the self-employed and civil servants can choose private cover. See who qualifies for private health insurance.

FAQ

Sources

Figures checked on 16 October 2026. All figures relate to 2025 unless stated, and are as reported by the company.

• Solvency ratio and transitional measures: Debeka Krankenversicherung, SFCR 2025 (pp. 4 and 64)
• Premiums, insured persons, provisions, ratios, premium adjustments: Debeka Krankenversicherung, Geschäftsbericht 2025 (pp. 13 to 17, 36)
• Market totals: Verband der Privaten Krankenversicherung, press release, 10 June 2026