DKV Private Health Insurance: Company Profile and Key Figures

This page summarises what DKV 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 DKV Deutsche Krankenversicherung AG. In 2025 it reported 652,290 persons in full health cover (Krankheitskostenvollversicherung) and 4,325,837 insured persons in total in its original business. For comparison, the private health insurance association reports about 8.79 million people with full private cover across the whole market.

Stock company (AG) vs mutual (VVaG)

DKV is a stock company (AG, Aktiengesellschaft). Insurers in Germany are either stock companies or mutual associations (VVaG, Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit, also written a.G.).

• Stock company (AG): owned by shareholders.
• Mutual (a.G.): owned by its members, who are the policyholders.

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, taken from the table printed in Debeka's annual report (column "Branche") and the industry association, where a market figure was available. Debeka's report is used here only as the source of the market column.

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 solvency ratio (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. DKV reported 340%, meaning its eligible own funds were about 3.4 times its required capital. It reported that no transitional measure, volatility adjustment or matching adjustment was applied, so the reported figure already excludes their effect. 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. DKV reported EUR 47,986 million, up from EUR 46,955 million. 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 limit premium increases. DKV's RfB ratio was 21.7% in 2025, against 23.6% in 2024 and a market figure of 27.5%. A larger buffer gives an insurer more room to soften increases, but it does not stop them.

Cost ratios

The administrative cost ratio (2.7%) and acquisition cost ratio (5.2%) show how much of premium income went to running the company and to winning new business, such as commissions. The claims ratio (82.8%) shows the share of premiums spent on claims. 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 (2.9%) is what the insurer earned on its investments after costs. Higher returns help reserves grow. The surplus usage ratio (83.3%) shows the share of surplus passed on to policyholders. DKV's annual report labels this figure as relating to business run on a life-insurance basis (nach Art der Lebensversicherung). The market figure is 87.9%.

Premium adjustments

DKV's 2025 annual report (p. 11) states that gross premiums rose 5.9%, driven by premium adjustments in health insurance, and that EUR 287.8 million of limitation funds from the premium refund reserve were used in the adjustments (EUR 349.1 million in 2024). It states no adjustment percentage, so we do not quote one. The report also cites a forecast by the German insurance association GDV of about 10.5% premium growth for private health insurance in 2026 (p. 32); that is an industry-level growth figure, not an adjustment rate and not DKV-specific.

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

Whether DKV 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, own funds and capital requirement: DKV Deutsche Krankenversicherung, SFCR 2025 (pp. 42, 70 and 82)
• Premiums, insured persons, provisions, ratios, premium adjustments: DKV Deutsche Krankenversicherung, Geschäftsbericht 2025 (pp. 2, 4, 11, 32)
• Market ratios: Debeka Krankenversicherung, Geschäftsbericht 2025 (p. 16, column "Branche")
• Market totals: Verband der Privaten Krankenversicherung, press release, 10 June 2026