The Top 3 Best Private Health Insurance in Germany
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Once you’ve decided between private and public health insurance in Germany, the next step is deciding on the best private health tariff for your situation. With more than 30 private health insurance providers to choose from, picking the best plan for you can be tricky.
To help you simplify the process, we tested over a dozen private health insurance tariffs based on their price, coverage, accessibility, customer support, and reviews.
We found the following companies stand out from the rest:
Still unsure whether private health insurance is for you? We recommend two posts:
The best private health insurance companies at a glance
| Best for | Starting Price | Standout Feature | Trustpilot Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feather | Best overall | From €195 monthly | Fully digital, English customer support | 4.9/5 |
| Ottonova | Convenience | From €215 monthly | Concierge service for doctor’s appointments | 3.3/5 |
| Signal Iduna | Those on a budget | From €170 monthly | Comprehensive coverage on entry-level tariffs | 3.4/5 |
With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at each company and what makes the best option for different individuals. First, let’s see what a private insurance plan should offer and how each compares.
What we looked for in our test to find the 3 best private health insurance companies
One of the major advantages of private health insurance is the option to customize your coverage to suit your particular needs.
In general, broader coverage comes at a higher tariff price. However, there are some basics that a quality private insurance plan should cover.
Outpatient services: A good plan should cover all of the costs for regular doctor or specialist visits. They should also make it easy to access these visits and allow you to choose your own doctor.
Medication: A plan should cover the cost of prescription medications and non-generic drugs on the best plans
Dental coverage: The best plans cover a minimum of 90% of the cost for regular dental treatments and 75% for costly dentures. However, most insurers set a maximum that can be reimbursed during the first years of coverage.
Visual aids: Quality plans should cover some of the expenses for glasses, contact lenses, or laser treatments.
Best overall private health insurance in Germany: Feather Insurance
Feather is a Berlin-based insurance company offering products across health, liability, household and personal insurance. For customers looking for private health insurance, we offer comprehensive, customizable coverage across three plans:
- Standard
- Plus
- Premium.
What makes Feather the best overall?
The affordable, comprehensive, and customizable coverage across multiple plans to suit your lifestyle. All of our plans give you free choice of doctor and no deductibles.
Our fully digital sign-up process and online-first management for all policies including claims and updating information makes navigating bureaucracy easier, especially for expats and those new to the German healthcare system.
Comprehensive coverage also extends to support for psychotherapy, regardless of your plan. There’s no annual limit to the number of sessions we’ll cover. Feather also offers up to 100% coverage for fertility treatments on its Plus plans.
All-in-all, the broad coverage offered across all 3 of our plans makes Feather an ideal choice for individuals looking for broad, affordable private insurance coverage.
Our comprehensive coverage is matched by our customer support, which makes it easy to switch and identify the right plan for your needs. In fact, our customer support is the best-rated in Germany with an average Trustpilot rating of 4.8/5.
Pros & cons of Feather’s private health insurance
| Pros: | Cons: |
|---|---|
| No deductibles across all plans | Can be difficult to join with preexisting conditions as a medical examination is not normally required to join |
| Free choice of doctor across all plans | Mental health claims take longer to process due to the level of coverage offered |
| Generous coverage for psychotherapy and natural treatments on the Plus and Premium Plans | |
| Up to 100% coverage for fertility treatments on the Premium plan |
Feather’s coverage
| Standard | Plus | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | From €498 monthly | From €647 monthly | From €732 monthly |
| Deductible | No deductible | No deductible | No deductible |
| General doctor’s visits | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Hospitalisation | Shared room, no chief physician treatment | Private room (2 bed), treatment by chief physician | Private room (1 bed), treatment by chief physician |
| Dental | 70–100% | 80–100% | 90–100% |
| Vision | €150 every 2 years | €300 every 2 years | €450 every 2 years |
| Psychotherapy | 70% (unlimited number of sessions per year) | 80% (unlimited number of sessions per year) | 90% (unlimited number of sessions per year) |
| Natural medicine | X | 80% (€1,200 per year) | 80% (€2,400 per year) |
Not sure if private health insurance is right for you? Get a personalized recommendation based on your lifestyle.
Best private health insurance for additional services in Germany: Ottonova
Ottonova is a digital-first insurance company offering private health insurance across three plans:
- Premium
- Pro
- Pro+.
What makes Ottonova the best for additional services?
Their support includes their concierge service that’s free-to-use and included in your monthly premium.
Through the concierge service, you can get support booking doctor’s appointments and the option to speak to a doctor on the app over a live video call. This makes it easier to get diagnoses, prescriptions, and sick notes.
You can also process all invoices directly through the app by simply photographing and uploading them.
Pros & cons of Ottonova’s private health insurance
| Pros: | Cons: |
|---|---|
| Concierge service for booking doctor’s appointments and preventative treatments | Additional services come at a higher tariff cost |
| Free choice of doctor | It is a young, small (and unprofitable) company with a limited customer base, making it a riskier option |
| Lifetime coverage guaranteed for all plans | Doctor’s consultation required before signing up |
| Worldwide cover outside the EU for 6 months |
Ottonova’s coverage
| Premium Economy | Business Class Pro | First Class Pro+ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | From €552 monthly | From €676 monthly | From €730 monthly |
| Deductible | €500 annually | No deductible | No deductible |
| General doctor’s visits | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Hospitalisation | Double room and treatment by chief physician | Double room and treatment by chief physician | Private room and treatment by chief physician |
| Dental | 60–100% | 80–100% | 90–100% |
| Vision | €150 every 3 years | €300 every 2 years | €500 every 2 years |
| Psychotherapy | 75% for a maximum of 50 sessions | 90% reimbursement per session for session 1-25 and after that 75% reimbursement per session | 90% reimbursement per session for session 1-50, and 75% reimbursement after session 50 |
| Natural medicine | €500 per year | €1,000 per year | €2,000 per year |
How to get Ottonova’s health insurance policy
If you’d like to learn more about an ottonova tariff, check out their website for more information and the processes for getting covered.
Best private health insurance for those on a budget: Signal Iduna
Signal Idunais one of the largest private health insurance companies in Germany with over 2.4 million customers.
Due to their size, they’re able to offer comprehensive plans to suit a variety of budgets. One of the ways it’s able to do this is by offering 6 tariffs offering different levels of comprehensive coverage.
Their lower cost doesn’t come at the expense of customer service: Signal Iduna remains a well-rated large health insurance, with an average Trustpilot rating of 3.5/5.
Pros & cons of Signal Iduna’s private health insurance
| Pros: | Cons: |
|---|---|
| 6 tariffs offering different levels of coverage to suit those multiple budgets | Limited coverage for psychotherapy on entry-level plans and alternative practitioners |
| Comprehensive medical coverage on entry-level plans | |
| Coverage for dental and vision included in all tariffs |
Signal Iduna’s coverage
| START | COMFORT | EXCLUSIVE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | From €170 monthly | From €280 monthly | From €340 monthly |
| Deductible | Dependent on tariff | Dependent on tariff | Dependent on tariff |
| General doctor’s visits | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Hospitalisation | Shared room, treatment by chief physician only after an accident | Option for private room after a €40, co-payment, treatment by chief physician | Option for private room, treatment by chief physician |
| Dental | 100% for basic care, 75% – 90% for dentures | 100% for basic care, up to 90% for dentures | 100% for basic care, up to 90% for dentures |
| Vision | Up to €300 | Up to €600 | Up to €600 |
| Psychotherapy | Prior approval required | Up to 80% (maximum of 50 sessions per year) | Up to 100% (maximum of 50 sessions per year) |
| Natural medicine | X | Up to 80% | Up to 100% |
How to get Signal Iduna’s health insurance policy
To get private health insurance from Signal Iduna, you can request an online quote from their private insurance portal to see what tariffs are available for your lifestyle and personal situation.
Our methodology: How we compared private insurance companies
Everyone’s personal circumstances are unique. Determining the best health policy for an individual starts with understanding their personal situation and what they need from a health tariff.
Likewise, the costs and specifics of a private health plan also depend on factors like:
- Your current health status
- Age
- Number of dependents
- Income
- Occupation
Because of this, it’s impossible to compare plans across all circumstances.
As a result, we used a fictional customer profile to ensure that we compared plans against one set of information. This fictional customer is:
- 30 years old
- Earns €70 000 per year
- Has no dependents yet
- No chronic health conditions
- Is employed full time
This is intended as a guide to help compare different plans and does not replace getting a personalized recommendation to get the right cover for your specific needs.
The prices contained in this article are listed as current, but are subject to change. Readers are advised to verify all information with a provider before signing up for any services.
All information on price, coverage, limitations and accessibility, comes from information provided on each company’s website or policy document.
With that out of the way, let’s look at how we evaluated the products.
To evaluate the products, we looked at the following general methods for assessing a plan’s quality:
- Plan Flexibility: Here, we considered how easy it is for customers to customize or cancel their coverage to see if plans can evolve with their changing circumstances.
- Cost-Effectiveness: To do this, we compared the price of the tariff against the coverage it offers. For example, if our fictional customer required psychotherapy, we considered what share of the costs each plan covers, as well as the number of sessions covered.
- Limitations and Exclusions: For each company’s policies, we also looked at the list of exclusions, limits on consultations or services, and conditions affecting coverage.
- Convenience and Accessibility: Another factor we considered is the convenience and accessibility of health services under a given tariff or provider. This includes how easy it is to access specialist treatment without referrals or long waiting lists.
- Other Medical Considerations: We also looked at whether companies offer free choice of doctor and access to treatments that align with a person’s individual preferences like natural or alternative medicine.
- Customer Support: Good customer support is crucial in a health plan provider and ensures you’re able to navigate health services successfully. To evaluate the quality of customer service we looked at customer service hours, availability of live chat or phone support, customer reviews and availability of support in English (if you don’t speak German).
- Insurer Reputation: We looked at each company’s reputation and perceived quality from current and past customers. To do this, we looked at each company’s overall Trustpilot score and the general consensus on the quality of their services.
Conclusion
Feather is the best overall private insurance company in Germany due to its great coverage relative to its price, customer support in multiple languages, and coverage for mental health and natural therapies.
However, because everyone’s situation is unique, it’s important to assess if this is the right product for you.
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