HanseMerkur Private Health Insurance for Expats: Key Figures Explained
HanseMerkur private health insurance for expats: legal form, 2025 solvency ratio, premiums, RfB and cost ratios, premium adjustments and sources.
This page summarises what HanseMerkur Krankenversicherung AG reported about its financial position for 2025, in plain English. It is a factual profile for expats comparing private health insurers, not a rating or a recommendation. HanseMerkur also appears in our wider overview of private health insurers.
How to read this page. Every figure below is taken from the insurer's own published reports for the reporting year 2025 and is linked in the sources. We do not rank insurers, we do not quote tariff prices, and we draw no conclusions about any insurer's future. Where a figure was not available in the documents we reviewed, we say so.
Company profile
The legal entity behind the private health insurance business is HanseMerkur Krankenversicherung AG. For 2025 it reported 334 thousand people with full health insurance cover (prior year 314 thousand) and 1,667 thousand insured persons in total, including supplementary and other products.
Legal form: stock company (AG) versus mutual (a.G.)
The abbreviation AG stands for Aktiengesellschaft, a stock company. It is owned by shareholders. Policyholders are customers under their insurance contract, but they are not owners of the company. A mutual (a.G., Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit) works differently: it has no outside shareholders, and the policyholders are its members.
For you as a policyholder, the legal form mainly answers the question of who owns the company. It does not on its own say anything about financial strength, tariff quality or how premiums will develop. Judge those with the figures and the tariff itself.
Key financial figures (reporting year 2025)
The table shows the reported 2025 value, the prior-year value where the report gives one, and the average for the German private health insurance market where a comparable market figure is available. Market ratios are taken from the 2025 annual report of Debeka's health insurance company (column "Branche"), which follows the industry key-figure catalogue. Differences to the market average reflect different business models and are not a quality verdict.
| Figure | HanseMerkur 2025 | Prior year | Market 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solvency ratio (SCR coverage) | 244.4% (MCR coverage 720.7%) | 259.3% (MCR 1,037.4%) | Not comparable |
| Solvency ratio without transitional measures | 244.4%. No matching adjustment, volatility adjustment or transitional measure is applied, so it is identical | Not given | Not comparable |
| Gross written premiums | €1,998.8 million (+9.6%) | €1,823.7 million | Market total premium income €54.9 billion (health €48.6 billion, long-term care €6.3 billion) |
| Insured persons, full cover | 334 thousand | 314 thousand | 8.79 million (+0.6%) |
| Ageing provisions (Deckungsrückstellung) | €9,110.4 million. Total allocation to the Deckungsrückstellung in 2025: €678.9 million | €8,431.6 million. Allocation €595.2 million | About €357 billion (+4.2%) |
| RfB ratio | 31.6% | 35.0% | 27.5% |
| Administration cost ratio | 1.9% | 1.9% | 2.2% |
| Acquisition cost ratio | 15.8% | 14.5% | 7.1% |
| Claims ratio (Schadenquote) | 78.9% | 76.9% | 82.9% |
| Net investment return | 3.4% | 2.4% | 2.8% |
| Surplus usage ratio | 81.3% | 77.3% | 87.9% |
Solvency figures from the SFCR 2025 (PDF pages 9, 10, 14, 65-66, 75, 86); the SFCR states that its figures are still subject to supervisory review. Other figures from the Geschäftsbericht 2025 key-figure table (page 13; Deckungsrückstellung page 21; allocation page 11). The annual report file on the company website is named with "2024" but its content is the 2025 financial year. The allocation to the Deckungsrückstellung includes one-off premiums funded from the RfB, so it is not a stock of ageing provisions. Market totals are from the industry association press release of 10 June 2026 and cover the whole market including long-term care, so they are not like-for-like with a single insurer. Market ratios are from the Debeka 2025 report (page 16).
What the figures mean
Compares the capital an insurer holds with the capital the European solvency rules (Solvency II) require it to hold against its risks. A ratio of 100% means exactly the required amount. HanseMerkur reports 244.4% for 2025, down from 259.3% the year before. That means it reports holding about 2.4 times the capital the rules require. The MCR figure (720.7%) is measured against the lower, minimum capital requirement. Different insurers report different levels, and a lower ratio than another insurer is not a statement about safety. The ratio is a snapshot and moves with interest rates and markets.
Private health insurance premiums are calculated so that part of what you pay while young is set aside for the higher costs of later life. These reserves sit in the balance-sheet item called Deckungsrückstellung. They are the main reason premiums do not have to jump at every birthday. HanseMerkur reports a Deckungsrückstellung of €9,110.4 million for 2025, up from €8,431.6 million.
The Rückstellung für Beitragsrückerstattung (RfB) holds surplus earmarked for policyholders. It can be paid out as refunds or used to soften premium increases, for example by topping up the ageing provisions. The ratio sets that buffer against annual premiums. A larger buffer gives an insurer more room to cushion future increases, but it does not guarantee any specific outcome.
The share of premiums that goes to claims paid and the provisions set aside for them. A higher figure means more of each premium euro went to benefits in that year. It can change from year to year with medical costs and the mix of insured people.
Administration costs (Verwaltungskostenquote) cover running the business. Acquisition costs (Abschlusskostenquote) cover the cost of winning new contracts, including broker and sales commissions. Both are shown as a share of premiums.
The net return (Nettoverzinsung) is what the insurer earned on its investments after costs. Investment income matters because ageing provisions are invested. The surplus usage ratio (Überschussverwendungsquote) shows how much of the surplus went to or was reserved for policyholders.
Premium adjustments
In its 2025 annual report, HanseMerkur says it informed customers in November 2025 about necessary premium adjustments effective 1 January 2026. It names inpatient care and medicines as reasons, and for long-term care insurance the care reforms. The report does not state a percentage. An average premium-adjustment percentage for 2025 or 2026 is not disclosed in the documents we reviewed.
The report also states that, to limit the adjustments, €66.0 million was moved from the RfB into the Deckungsrückstellung, and that a premium reduction took effect on 1 January 2026 for 8,200 insured persons. This shows how the RfB can be used as a buffer: it softens an increase, but it does not remove the need for adjustments.
Premium increases are a feature of private health insurance as a whole, not of one insurer. For how the adjustment mechanism works, what triggers it and what you can do about it, read our explainer on premium increases in private health insurance.
Who it may suit as an expat
We could not verify from the documents we reviewed whether HanseMerkur offers English-language service for its private health insurance. Do not assume it: ask in writing before you apply whether you can get contracts, claims handling and a service line in English. Tariffs at the same insurer can differ a lot, so compare the exact tariff rather than the insurer name.
Financial strength is one factor, the tariff matters more
Financial figures describe the insurer. Your premium and your cover depend on the tariff you choose. Two people at the same insurer can pay very different premiums and have very different cover. When you compare, look at what the tariff includes, the deductible, the sick pay (if you are self-employed), and the increase history of that specific tariff over 10 to 15 years. Our guide to the best private health insurance in Germany explains how to run those checks.
Independent consultants can compare tariffs from many insurers for your age, health history and situation, which a single insurer cannot do.
FAQ
Is HanseMerkur a mutual or a stock company?
What is HanseMerkur's solvency ratio?
Did HanseMerkur raise premiums in 2026?
Does HanseMerkur offer English-language service?
Is a strong solvency ratio enough to choose an insurer?
Sources
Figures checked on 16 October 2026. Reporting year 2025 unless stated. Figures are as reported by the insurer and the sources named below. This page is general information, not insurance advice and not a rating.
- Solvency ratio, MCR, transitional measures, premiums: HanseMerkur Krankenversicherung AG, SFCR 2025 (PDF pages 9, 10, 14, 65-66, 75, 86)
- Premiums, insured persons, Deckungsrückstellung, RfB, cost ratios, claims ratio, net return, surplus usage, premium adjustment statements: HanseMerkur Krankenversicherung AG, Geschäftsbericht 2025 (pages 10, 11, 13, 21; file name contains 2024, content is financial year 2025)
- Market ratios 2025 (column "Branche"): Debeka Krankenversicherung, Geschäftsbericht 2025 (page 16)
- Market totals (premium income, ageing provisions, fully insured): Association of German private health insurers, press release of 10 June 2026
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