Best private health insurance: what it really means

Ask two questions about every test result. Which criteria were used for the assessment, and do they apply to your own situation? A test that focuses on a low premium does not assess premium stability in old age. A test that focuses on the scope of benefits does not assess service quality when you make a claim.

The market includes over 40 comprehensive health insurers with several hundred plans in total. These plans differ considerably, for example in their deductible models, in the scope of benefits for remedies, dentures and optional hospital services, in how premiums develop and in individual clauses of the insurance conditions.

In addition, your personal situation fundamentally decides whether a plan fits. Age and state of health decide which plans will accept you at all and at what premium. Occupation and income structure decide whether a switch makes economic sense. Family status and the wish to have children have a strong effect on the cost-benefit calculation, because children can be insured free of charge in statutory health insurance.

The best private health insurance is not a product category. It is the result of an individual analysis.

Stiftung Warentest and Focus Money run tests regularly. Stiftung Warentest often analyzes the ratio of premium to benefits on the basis of standardized insured profiles. Focus Money focuses on service quality and market perception. There are also ratings such as the map-report and assessments by Assekurata, which evaluate the financial strength and portfolio development of insurers.

These tests have their value. They give a structured overview of a market that is hard to see through and make differences between insurers visible that would be hard to spot in a direct comparison.

The limitation lies in the assessment approach. Test winner lists are created against standard profiles, not against the individual situation of a reader. A plan that scores very well for a 30-year-old employee without pre-existing conditions can be a poor choice for a 42-year-old self-employed woman who wants children. A methodically sound private health insurance comparison takes age, state of health and occupational status into account, because they change the weighting of the criteria considerably.

If you want to find the right plan, check five criteria systematically.

• Current premium: The monthly premium must fit your income situation. Low starting premiums with aggressive premium development can become more expensive in the long term than they seem at first glance. If you decide on private health insurance, do not look only at the premium when you choose your plan.
• Scope of benefits: Remedies, medical aids, dentures, glasses, optional hospital services and specialized outpatient care are covered very differently depending on the plan. Does the scope of benefits match your own treatment needs and the way you plan to live?
• Premium stability: The historical premium development of an insurer gives clues about the quality of its calculation. Insurers with stable premiums over ten to 15 years show solid reserve building.
• Service quality: Processing speed for reimbursements, availability by phone and goodwill when you make a claim are hard to measure, but in everyday life they decide how satisfied you are.
• Financial strength: Solvency ratios, ageing reserves and external ratings show whether an insurer is run in a stable way over the long term. Especially for a product designed to last for decades, financial strength should be a decision criterion.

No test magazine assesses all five criteria at the same time for the individual situation of a policyholder. That is why a plan analysis across the whole market by a specialized insurance broker is the direct route to insurance that fits you personally.

We have been holding advice meetings for years and have handled over 5,000 applications with health questions. We observe that prospective clients often come to the first meeting with test winner lists from magazines. After the individual check, the supposedly best plan does not fit their circumstances in most cases.

We recommend looking for the most suitable insurance instead of the best one. Personal suitability beats every test winner list.

For prospective clients with pre-existing conditions or chronic illnesses, the choice of plan is considerably limited. The general test winner can be unsuitable or, in some cases, not available at all, because the health questions prevent acceptance. An anonymous risk enquiry through a broker checks whether you can be insured before a formal application is made, and it prevents entries that could become visible to other insurers.

For young people without pre-existing conditions, the choice is much wider. Relying on test winners is less risky here, but it remains an incomplete basis for a decision.

Employees must earn more than the Jahresarbeitsentgeltgrenze. In 2026 it is €77,400 gross per year. Self-employed people and civil servants can switch to private health insurance regardless of their income.

That depends on your occupational status. Employees can switch back if their income falls permanently below the Jahresarbeitsentgeltgrenze (i)JAEG · JahresarbeitsentgeltgrenzeThe annual income threshold in Germany. Employees who earn more than this per year may leave statutory health insurance and switch to private health insurance.More about JAEG → or if they lose their job. Self-employed people and civil servants usually have no way back.

Premiums are based on your entry age and your state of health when you take out the policy. Medical inflation is the main cost driver behind rising premiums. Statutory and private health insurance will both continue to face rising costs in healthcare in the future. Insurers with stable historical premium development show that sound calculation and sufficient ageing reserves soften these effects.

Comprehensive health insurance fully replaces statutory health insurance and covers all basic and optional benefits. Supplementary insurance adds to existing statutory cover, for example for dentures or chief physician treatment, without replacing it.