Krankentagegeld: protect your income when you are ill

Krankentagegeld (i)KrankentagegeldPrivate sick pay: a daily allowance from private insurance while you are unable to work. It replaces lost income from an agreed day of illness. replaces lost income during a certified incapacity for work. Payment depends on proof. The insurer requires a medical certificate and pays a fixed daily rate that was agreed when the contract was concluded. As soon as you are able to work again, the benefit ends.

In statutory health insurance, income replacement is fixed by law. Krankengeld (i)KrankengeldStatutory sick pay from the statutory health insurance fund. It starts when the employer stops paying wages, usually from the seventh week of illness. starts after six weeks, is at most 70% of your gross salary and is capped by the Beitragsbemessungsgrenze. In 2026, statutory Krankengeld is at most €135.63 gross per calendar day, or about €4,068.90 gross per month. Contributions to pension, unemployment and long-term care insurance are still deducted from this. Private health insurance, by contrast, lets you set the amount and the start date individually, so you can match the daily rate to your actual net income.

The qualifying period is the time between the start of your incapacity for work and the first payment. You can set it, for example, to fourteen, twenty-eight or forty-two days. Short qualifying periods give quick relief but raise the premium. Longer qualifying periods are cheaper and suit insured people with enough savings. For employees, it makes sense to match the qualifying period to the end of continued pay after six weeks.

What matters is whether an income gap threatens if you fall ill. If you receive no continued pay or carry high ongoing obligations, treat Krankentagegeld (i) as an essential component. If you are protected through other sources, you can do without it.

The amount must not exceed your net income. This prohibition of enrichment is set out in law. Self-employed people should include rent, premiums, loans and ongoing business expenses in the amount they insure. For employees, it makes sense to insure at least the maximum statutory Krankengeld (i) of €135.63 per day so that they are not worse off than with the Krankengeld of the statutory fund. Krankentagegeld (i) is tax-free and is generally not subject to the progression clause, unlike statutory Krankengeld, which is taken into account under the progression clause.

Before you sign, it pays to read the terms. Some plans limit the benefit for mental illness or require special proof. A good plan also lets you increase your Krankentagegeld (i) when your income rises, without new health questions. This is especially important for self-employed people with fluctuating earnings.

First calculate your monthly gap from net income and essential fixed costs, then choose the daily rate and qualifying period to match. This way you avoid both expensive over-insurance and dangerous under-insurance.

Payment is triggered by an incapacity for work certified by a doctor. After the qualifying period ends, the insurer transfers the agreed daily rate for each day of certified incapacity for work. For longer illnesses, many insurers require regular follow-up certificates to check that the claim still exists. When the incapacity for work ends, payment stops. Some plans provide reduced benefits if you partly return to work, others pay only if you are completely unable to work.