Transfer value: what you take with you when you change private health insurer

The transfer value is at least the calculated ageing reserves of the Basistarif under § 204 VVG. In practice, this means that part of the accumulated reserves stays with the old insurer, and a defined amount is transferred to the new one, where it lowers the starting premium. A transfer value certificate from the insurer shows these amounts in each individual case. The exact values depend on the plan and the insurer.

If you change plan within the same insurer under § 204 VVG, you keep your full ageing reserves and no capital is lost. If you change to another insurer, you only take the transfer value with you, which is the minimum amount. The rest stays with the old insurer. This is the main financial difference between the internal plan change without loss of capital and the external change of insurer, where the capital is split.

A change of insurer can make sense despite the partial loss of capital if the new plan offers better benefits or a more favorable long-term premium development over time. In practice, however, a change often fails not because of the premium but because of new health questions. The transfer value only makes the financial side of the change easier, not the medical side. When you change insurer, you have to answer health questions again. If you have pre-existing conditions, check the change very carefully.

We recommend that you always look at the transfer value in the full context of a decision to change. It is one building block, but not the only one. Your state of health, the plan benefits and the premium development matter at least as much.