The second option for insurance coverage is private health insurance (PKV). Here, too, you can decide for yourself which company in the PKV network you want to opt for.

Only a small percentage of Germans are insured in the private health insurance programme as only those who are self-employed, belong to certain occupational groups or earn more than a specific annual income are allowed to insure themselves in this manner.

The premiums paid for private health insurance are based on your entry age and individual state of health. If you already have many pre-existing conditions, the PKV ─ unlike the GKV ─ is legally entitled to refuse you. The only exception to this is when you do not yet have health insurance coverage but meet the requirements for PKV-based insurance. In this case, a PKV-type company must insure you, but then only within the scope of benefits associated with the statutory health insurance programme.

Children cannot be insured free of charge under private health insurance. Parents must therefore pay additional contribution fees.