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Chief physician, alternative practitioner, teeth – a lot of money flows into extra policies for those with statutory health insurance. But not every private supplementary insurance makes sense. We say which are worth it. Stiftung Warentest has created a table with all private supplementary insurances and tells you what they do and who needs them. We completely advise against some supplementary policies.
Statutory benefits “may not exceed measure of what is necessary”.
The Social Code regulates what is due to those with statutory health insurance: “Benefits must be sufficient, appropriate and economical; they must not exceed what is necessary”. Anyone who wants more as a statutory health insurance patient must pay for it themselves – unless they have private supplementary insurance. Such insurances bear the costs that the health insurance fund
- for example for treatment of alternative practitioners or for a return transport from a holiday abroad,
- is subsidised only with a limited amount, for example dental prostheses,
- pays only in medically justified exceptional cases, e.g. the chief physician treatment in the hospital.
“The all-round supplementary insurance” or “Ensure yourself first-class treatment” – this is what the advertising for private supplementary policies says. But they do not always bring as many advantages as hoped for. The services are always limited, which a customer does not recognize immediately. Because the restrictions are in the small print and only stand out if the insurer does not pay an invoice completely or even refuses to pay the costs completely.
We’ve looked at twelve common insurance offers and said which can be worthwhile and which are superfluous. The table shows what each insurance provides and who needs it. There are also links to our current tests.
Tip: With a wise choice of statutory health insurance, you can save a lot of money – which can then flow into a good supplementary insurance, for example. Our large insurance comparison health insurance helps you with the selection and the change.
The most frequent private supplementary insurances
Take the example of daily hospital allowance insurance: the experts at Finanztest consider it useless, but there are still 7.8 million policies in Germany.
What you really need
Whether eyeglass or daily care allowance insurance – customers should ask themselves the question before taking out a policy: What if I had to bear the costs myself? In most cases, the financial risk is manageable and extra cover is available. Only in a few cases can it endanger the existence of a patient or person in need of care.
Only one policy is highly recommended, and that is for all those who go on holiday outside Germany: the foreign travel health insurance. The cheapest very good contracts are available from about 10 euros a year.
Other additional policies can make life as a statutory health insurance patient more pleasant. However, it depends on personal preferences and financial possibilities whether insurance makes sense.
Those who only go to the alternative practitioner every five years do not need an extra insurance for this. Even for policy packages such as combinations of alternative practitioners’ glasses and dental services, “a lot helps a lot” does not apply. After all, customers have to pay premiums for every service – even if they never use it. It is often better to look for tariffs that only contain what you want.
Our advice
need. As a statutory health insurance holder, you can extend your insurance cover with private supplementary policies. None of these insurances is absolutely necessary, but some can be useful. The table “What you pay for” is as important as it is to help you assess which offers these are and which you can save.
Comparison. Particularly in the case of supplementary insurance for dental prostheses, spectacles and naturopathic treatments, contracts are often complicated and benefits are often limited. Contrary to what advertising sometimes promises, you almost always have to pay extra. Therefore, compare conditions and contributions. Our tests will help you.
Health issues. In the application, an insurer asks about illnesses and treatments in the past. Answer completely and correctly. If you do not do so, you may lose your insurance cover. In addition, there is a waiting period of several months at the beginning of the contract before you can take out insurance for the first time.
Change. Do you already have an additional policy and want to change to a better or cheaper contract? First check the offers of your current insurer. A tariff change with your own insurer is often cheaper because you cannot be rejected due to illness and do not have to wait again for many benefits.
Cash offers. Additional offers from your statutory health insurance fund are often not the best choice. The fund only cooperates with individual insurers, and the reduction in premiums is usually small. It is better to choose suitable and favourable offers from all insurers.
Different rules than at the cash desk
Private insurances work differently than insured persons know from their health insurance company:
- Contributions are not based on income, but on age and state of health at graduation. Younger people usually pay less.
- Insurers can reject customers, for example, because of pre-existing conditions.
- In addition, companies can charge risk surcharges or exclude benefits for certain diseases.
- Children or spouses without their own income need their own contracts, for which contributions are also due.
- Benefits are not regulated by law, but depend on what is stated in the insurance conditions.
No protection for ongoing cases
If you want to take out private supplementary insurance, you almost always have to answer health questions that the insurer places in the application. Interested parties must answer these questions truthfully and completely. Who leaves something out or trivializes – even if it happens accidentally – risks the insurance protection.
In the case of supplementary dental and travel health insurance, the questions are often quite simple. In the case of long-term care and hospital supplementary insurance, the companies want to know more about it and ask back for examinations and treatments over several years.
Incidentally, insurers do not have to check the information immediately. Often, they do not conduct thorough research until a customer submits an invoice for the first time.
Quickly take out insurance if expensive treatment is due – that doesn’t work. If a doctor or dentist advises you to undergo treatment, the insurer will regard this as an ongoing treatment that is excluded from reimbursement.
Even if there’s nothing concrete to do: If you take out a supplementary insurance policy, you cannot claim the benefits immediately after conclusion of the contract. The usual waiting period is three months. In the case of dental prostheses or childbirth in hospital, patients usually have to wait eight months before the insurer assumes the costs for the first time.
In the first years of insurance, many companies limit benefits to certain maximum amounts, especially for dental prostheses. In some cases, they only cover costs permanently up to a fixed maximum amount.
Insurers’ right of termination
According to the model conditions of private health insurers, companies may terminate supplementary policies in the first three years without giving reasons. However, most insurers expressly waive this right of termination. It is important to make sure that this is included in the conditions. Then customers can be sure that they will not be thrown out of the contract – even if they are seriously ill.