Parental allowance and private health insurance: your premium while you receive it

In statutory health insurance, parents can be covered free of charge through family insurance. In private health insurance, by contrast, the premium continues in full while you receive parental allowance. The insurer is not obliged to lower the premium. Many insurers do offer special arrangements on application.

On top of that, the employer contribution ends during parental leave, because no wages are paid. A premium of €400 to €700 on a parental allowance of €1,200 is a clear strain on the household budget. This is exactly why early planning pays off.

As a rule, privately insured people must pay their premium in full themselves during parental leave. During a full break from work, the previous employer contribution usually ends as well. Which options for relief exist depends on the insurer, the plan and your insurance status during parental leave.

If you move to another plan permanently, clarify the right to change plan and possible losses of benefits in advance.

Some top-tier plans with strong benefits take over the premium for a limited period while you receive parental allowance or after the birth of a child. The exemption often lasts six months at most.

Depending on the plan, the requirements can include the following:

• receipt of parental allowance or a comparable entitlement
• the birth of a child
• proof submitted in time
• existing cover in an eligible plan
• contribution-free cover only for certain plan modules

The premium exemption does not apply automatically to every private health insurance, and usually not to the whole parental leave either. Before parental leave starts, you should therefore check the plan conditions and submit the required proof to your insurer in time.

In private health insurance, newborns are insured through a contract of their own. In an entry-level plan, the premium for a child is €130 to €200 per month. Within the first two months after birth there are no health questions. The statutory right to acceptance is set out in the Kindernachversicherung.

Alternatively, the child can be covered free of charge in the statutory health insurance of the other parent, provided that parent is insured there and earns more than the privately insured parent.

Whether parental allowance covers the premium for private health insurance depends on your individual plan and on the amount of parental allowance. As a rule, basic parental allowance is between €300 and €1,800 per month. The private premium continues while you receive it and, during a full break from work, you generally pay it yourself. Several top-tier plans with strong benefits do provide a premium exemption for a limited time, often for up to six months. If parental allowance is not enough for the full premium after your other running costs, plan for the burden early with savings. A permanent reduction of your cover is usually not the first choice for a temporary parental leave.

For the self-employed: you already receive no employer contribution before parental leave, and you continue to pay the full private premium yourself. As a rule, your parental allowance is based on your average profit in the relevant assessment period before the birth.

A child can only be covered free of charge through the parent with statutory insurance if all requirements of family insurance are met. For married parents or registered partners, family insurance can be ruled out in particular if the privately insured parent regularly earns more and their income is above the Jahresarbeitsentgeltgrenze (i).

From over 5,000 applications with health questions, we know that many families only raise a lower premium after they have started to receive parental allowance. By then it is often too late.

It is important to tell parental allowance and parental leave apart. Parental allowance is the state cash benefit, usually for twelve to fourteen months. Parental leave is the release from work under employment law for up to three years, and it decides how long the employer contribution is missing. We recommend that you include your premium planning early in your planning for parental leave.

There is no general premium break. As a rule, the private premium continues. Some plans do offer a premium exemption for a limited time. An Anwartschaft is only an option if you have other full health insurance during that time.

No. The employer contribution ends, because no wages are paid. You pay the premium alone during this phase.

No. Parental allowance does not affect the premium. Your premium depends on the plan, not on your actual income.

That depends on the insurer and the conditions. A premium exemption under your plan often applies for at most six months and usually not for the whole statutory parental leave of up to three years.