Double insurance in health insurance: when it arises and what it costs

Double insurance arises almost always in phases in which your insurance status changes and a contract is not ended properly.

The most common trigger is an advice error. A trial application for an anonymous risk assessment looks like a normal application and only carries the note “trial application”. If this note is missing, the insurer can accept the application in the regular way. If the old contract still exists, the person pays twice from that moment on.

A second classic case is a change of job. If you move from self-employment into employment below the Jahresarbeitsentgeltgrenze, you become subject to compulsory statutory insurance. If the comprehensive private health insurance is then not canceled, the statutory contribution and the private premium run in parallel.

Marriage and returning from abroad also lead to double insurance. If you move into free statutory family insurance after the wedding, or return from abroad and become compulsorily insured again, you have double cover as long as the old contract keeps running.

If you notice double insurance, you should proceed in a structured way, so that the right contract ends and no gap arises.

• Step 1: Document both contracts. Have the start date, premium and termination conditions of both contracts confirmed in writing. Only when both sides are clear can you decide which contract ends.
• Step 2: Check the right termination right. If a change of job made you subject to compulsory statutory insurance, you cancel your comprehensive private health insurance under § 205 Abs. 2 VVG retroactively to the start of the compulsory insurance, within three months. On request, you must give the insurer proof of compulsory insurance within two months, otherwise the termination becomes invalid.
• Step 3: Use the withdrawal for very new contracts. If the double insurance is noticed shortly after the contract was concluded, withdrawal under § 8 VVG is the fastest route. The withdrawal period is two weeks from receipt of the contract documents.
• Step 4: Reclaim premiums you overpaid. Where double insurance is proven, many insurers refund retroactively. A period of up to three years serves as a guide, and practice differs from insurer to insurer. A written application with both policy documents is enough.

Not every parallel insurance is harmful double insurance. What matters is whether the benefits overlap.

Private supplementary dental insurance alongside the statutory health insurance fund is the best example. Statutory insurance covers the basic care, and the supplementary insurance covers the costs beyond that. Both pay for different shares of the same treatment, and nobody reimburses twice.

The same applies to travel health insurance for trips abroad or an Anwartschaft alongside the current contract. They add to your cover without covering the same claim a second time.

No. § 200 VVG lays down the prohibition of enrichment. In total, several contracts may not reimburse more than the treatment actually cost. Double premiums therefore do not lead to double benefits.

Under § 205 Abs. 2 VVG, you have three months from the start of compulsory insurance to cancel your comprehensive private health insurance retroactively. On request, you must give the insurer proof of compulsory insurance within two months.

As a rule, no. Supplementary dental or travel insurance adds to the basic cover and does not overlap with it. Real double insurance only exists if two contracts would cover the same claim.

That is insurance fraud. The contract concluded later can be declared invalid without notice, and benefits already paid can be reclaimed. Submit each bill to one insurer only.

Yes. An informal letter with the policy documents of both contracts and proof of the premiums paid is enough. If you get no answer, you can contact the insurance ombudsperson or BaFin.