Child sick pay in private health insurance: what parents need to know

In Germany, child sick pay is a benefit that Book V of the Social Code provides only for parents with statutory insurance. For the calendar year 2026, § 45 SGB V sets the entitlement at 15 working days per parent and child, 30 days for single parents and a total of at most 35 working days per parent, or 70 for single parents. The amount is about 90 percent of the lost net pay, capped at 70 percent of gross pay.

Privately insured parents do not have this statutory right. Private health insurance is a contract under private law. It only provides benefits that are agreed in the plan you chose. Child sick pay in the sense of a daily income replacement when a child is ill is not included in any regular plan. It is not a forgotten benefit, but a deliberate gap in the way the plan system is built.

Privately insured parents who want to cover the loss of earnings when a child is ill have one route: an add-on module to the Krankentagegeld with an explicit clause for caring for a child. Some insurers offer it. The plan must explicitly define caring for a sick child as an insured event. Without this clause, the Krankentagegeld (i) plan only pays if you yourself are unable to work.

If you are a privately insured parent and want to cover the situation when your child is ill, you have to act.

Step 1: Check your existing Krankentagegeld (i) plan. If you already have a Krankentagegeld plan, look at the insurance conditions. Is the insured event "caring for a sick child" listed explicitly? If this wording is missing, the plan does not pay in this situation.

Step 2: Ask for an add-on module. Ask your insurer directly for a Krankentagegeld (i) add-on for cases of caring for a child. Not every insurer offers this module. Insurers that offer it run it as a separate plan add-on with its own premium.

Step 3: Weigh premium against benefit. The add-on module typically costs €5 to €15 per month, depending on the agreed daily rate. The daily rate is based on your daily loss of income. Typical daily rates are between €100 and €200 per day. A longer qualifying period reduces the premium, but limit the reimbursement to longer periods of illness.

Step 4: Check the insurance conditions. The exact wording in the conditions is what counts. Terms such as "care", "nursing" and "supervision" each have a different reach. Before you sign, it should be clear exactly which case of illness is covered.

Daily sick pay for children is paid by some insurers. The child must be insured with the same private health insurer, and a suitable Krankentagegeld (i) plan must exist. These insurers offer such a module:

The exact benefit is set out in the insurance conditions of each plan and should be checked before you sign.

From over 5,000 applications with health questions, we know a moment that catches self-employed people unprepared. Both parents are privately insured for the first time, the child falls ill, and they notice that child sick pay is not an automatic right in private health insurance. For the self-employed and freelancers, this means a real loss of income without compensation.

We recommend that self-employed people and freelancers with small children add the module for a child's illness to their Krankentagegeld (i) plan on purpose. The extra cost is moderate, and the benefit is real when the child is ill and childcare is not available.

Civil servants, on the other hand, often have a right to paid leave from duty when a child is ill, through their public employer. For this group, an add-on module to the Krankentagegeld (i) plan for cases of caring for a child is less important.

Not in the sense of § 45 SGB V, which only applies to people with statutory insurance. Civil servants can, however, have a right to paid leave from duty when a child is ill under civil service law. In addition to Beihilfe, the exact rule varies by federal state and public employer. A request to your HR department clarifies the individual case.

That depends on the insurance conditions in each case. In statutory health insurance, each parent has an entitlement of their own under § 45 SGB V. In private health insurance, the clause applies per insurance contract. Each parent with their own Krankentagegeld (i) plan and a clause for caring for a child can therefore claim benefits separately, provided the insured event has occurred.

In statutory health insurance, the entitlement under § 45 SGB V ends after 15 working days per child and parent in 2026. In private health insurance, the agreed duration of the daily rate of the plan add-on applies, and it can also be limited. What happens after that depends on the individual case. Continued pay, parental leave or special leave are possible options.

In statutory health insurance, working days are counted, not calendar days. The add-on module to the Krankentagegeld (i) plan in private health insurance follows the wording in the insurance conditions, which can treat working days or calendar days differently. Before you sign, this point should be clear in the conditions.

That depends entirely on the wording of the insurance conditions of each insurer. Some plans limit the clause to biological children, others explicitly include foster children. If in doubt, ask the insurer in writing before you take out the plan.