Do I have to take out health insurance?

Basically, there is a compulsory insurance in Germany in one Health insurance. This means that even private health insurance companies may not be able to reject applicants - in practice, however, this sometimes happens.

When a private health insurance company must accept the applicant

• For private health insurers, the obligation to conclude an insurance contract results from Section 12 of the Insurance Supervision Act (VAG). According to § 12 para. 1a VAG, a private health insurer is obliged to offer a basic tariff whose services correspond to those of the statutory health insurers. This basic tariff must not exceed the maximum contribution in the statutory health insurance - it is therefore usually as high as the highest possible contribution in the statutory health insurance.
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• If someone lives in Germany and is not subject to statutory health insurance, the private health insurer has to do this regardless of the individual health situation take up. However, there is an obligation to be insured with a statutory health insurance company even if it was not a private one, but a statutory one insurance existed, s. § 5 para. 1 no. 13 letter a) SGB V.
• Private health insurance companies often reject applications for admission initially, even though they are actually forced to take out. Under certain circumstances, the only way to help is via the courts.

Insure yourself with a statutory health insurance company

• Is there a compulsory insurance in the statutory system - for example due to a Employment subject to social insurance - then a statutory health insurance company must provide the applicant regardless of the state of health or Take up the risk of illness. As a rule, the applicant can choose the health insurance company.


No health insurance: additional payment to the statutory health insurance upon admission? - Interesting facts about statutory health insurance

Since the 1st April 2007 there is a regulation in the Social Security Code, which also applies to people ...

• However, an exception applies to those who were previously covered by statutory health insurance and then - for example while self-employed - had no health insurance cover. The statutory health insurance company with which you last had insurance is responsible here.

A private health insurance company must insure an applicant in the basic tariff under certain conditions. This results from the Insurance Supervision Act.