Private supplementary insurance: More benefits, fewer costs – your path to optimal healthcare
6 Jun 2025
5
Minutes
Katrin Straub
CEO at nextsure
Is your statutory health insurance really sufficient? A private supplementary insurance offers you tailored health services and protects against unexpected costs. Learn how to optimise your coverage and benefit from first-class care.
The topic in brief and concise terms
A private supplementary insurance complements the benefits of the statutory health insurance and covers costs that would otherwise have to be borne by oneself.
Important areas include dental treatment, hospital stays, and additional outpatient services such as visual aids or alternative practitioners.
The costs vary depending on age, state of health, and the scope of services; a comparison is essential. [4,]
Effectively closing supply gaps in statutory health insurance
Legal health insurance (GKV) covers necessary medical treatments. The Social Code V stipulates that services must be "sufficient, appropriate, and economical" and "must not exceed the necessary level." Many modern or comfort-oriented services are therefore not covered by GKV. A private supplementary insurance can specifically address this. It covers costs for treatments that go beyond basic coverage. For example, during a hospital stay, you can secure accommodation in a single or double room. Without supplementary insurance, costs can quickly rise to up to 200 euros per day here. [4,]
This individual addition is worth considering for every legally insured person. The number of supplementary insurances has more than doubled since the year 2000. [4,-] This demonstrates the growing need for tailored health protection. With a suitable supplementary health insurance, you can close coverage gaps. This applies not only to inpatient care but also to outpatient treatments and dental prostheses. Choosing the right components is crucial for adequate protection.
Diverse service modules for individual needs
Private supplementary insurance offers a wide range of benefit modules. The most common include dental insurance, hospital insurance, and outpatient insurance. A dental insurance policy is particularly popular as dental prosthetics can become expensive. Here, statutory health insurance often only covers a fixed subsidy for standard care, such as 50 percent for a metal crown. [2,2,] If you wish for a high-quality implant, personal costs can quickly reach several thousand euros.
Hospital insurance, for example, enables you to have treatment by the chief physician and accommodation in a single or double room. Without this cover, you would have to expect almost 10,000 euros in additional costs for a single room with chief physician treatment during a twelve-day bypass operation. Outpatient insurance covers costs for visual aids, alternative practitioners, or extended preventive examinations. Many insurers also offer special tariffs, such as glasses insurance or alternative practitioner insurance. The flexibility to choose individual components allows for tailored coverage. For example, INTER Insurance offers tariffs that provide subsidies for visual aids up to 375 euros within 24 months. This ensures that only truly needed risks are covered.
Carefully weigh the costs and benefits
The cost of private supplementary insurance varies greatly. It depends on the chosen tariff, the scope of benefits, the age at entry, and the state of health. [4,] A young person (25 years old) can obtain hospital supplementary insurance for comfort cover from as little as 6.40 Euros per month. A dental supplementary insurance for adults is available with good benefits from around 7.78 Euros per month. [3,24] It is important to view the premium in relation to the potential costs without insurance. A professional dental cleaning, for example, can cost between 80 and 120 Euros.
Before taking out a policy, you should analyse your individual needs. Ask yourself: Which benefits are important to me? What is my budget? A care supplementary insurance can be sensible since statutory care insurance often only covers part of the costs. INTER, for example, offers daily sickness benefits of up to 300 Euros. A careful review of the contractual conditions, especially regarding waiting periods and benefit exclusions, is essential. Many providers now waive general waiting periods, but for certain benefits such as childbirth or dentures, they can last up to eight months.
Expert Tips: Legal Aspects and Optimization Potential
The legal foundations for private supplementary insurance can be found in the Insurance Contract Act (VVG) and the Insurance Supervision Act (VAG). These laws regulate the rights and obligations of insurers and insured persons. An important aspect is the health assessment before the contract is concluded. Always answer health questions truthfully to avoid jeopardising your insurance coverage. Incorrect information may lead to refusal of benefits or termination. Our expert tip: Regularly review existing contracts, at least every three to five years, for updates and possible premium adjustments.
Contributions to private supplementary insurance can be tax-deductible under certain conditions as preventive expenses. For employees, a maximum amount of 1,900 euros applies, while for self-employed individuals it is 2,800 euros annually, including contributions to basic health and long-term care insurance. Often, this maximum amount is already exhausted by mandatory insurance. A hospital supplementary insurance can still provide significant financial relief in the event of illness. The number of private supplementary insurances has steadily increased in recent years; in 2024, there were 31.02 million such contracts in Germany, an increase of four percent compared to the previous year. This highlights the growing importance of this form of protection. Pay attention to the precise regulations on premium adjustments in your contract. The Federal Court of Justice has issued several important rulings on this matter in recent years (e.g. Az. IV ZR 294/19). [6,]
The following points should be considered when selecting and optimising your private supplementary insurance:
Needs analysis: Which benefits are truly relevant to your life situation?
Scope of benefits: Do the tariffs cover your desired benefits (e.g., single room in hospital, high-quality dental materials)?
Cost-benefit ratio: Is the premium in reasonable proportion to the services offered?
Waiting periods: Are there waiting periods, and how long are these for the services relevant to you?
Health questions: Be absolutely honest and complete in answering them.
Contract terms: Read the fine print, especially concerning exclusions and benefit limits.
Provider comparison: Obtain several offers and compare not only the price but also the detailed benefits.
A well-considered choice ensures optimal long-term protection. Continuously reviewing your insurance helps to always be appropriately covered.
Finding the right supplementary insurance for specific needs
In addition to the main categories, there are private supplementary insurance policies for very specific needs. This includes, for example, hearing aid insurance or tariffs that cover alternative healing methods. INTER Versicherung, for instance, reimburses costs for osteopathy or naturopathy. For frequent travellers, foreign travel health insurance is essential, which also covers medically necessary repatriation – a benefit that often goes beyond the protection of a regular outpatient supplementary insurance. This often costs only a few euros per year.
There are also tailor-made offers for children. A dental supplementary insurance for children can cover orthodontic treatments, which can quickly incur costs of several thousand euros. Allianz offers tariffs here that cover up to 3,000 euros for orthodontics. It is important to adapt the insurance cover to the respective phase of life. A young single person has different needs than a family with two children or a pensioner. The modular structure of many offers allows for flexible adaptation. Remember, it's often easier to secure coverage while you’re young and healthy, as this usually means lower premiums and fewer or no health checks are required. Early consideration of private supplementary insurance pays off.
Your next step towards optimal protection
A private supplementary insurance is an important component for comprehensive healthcare provision. It fills in the gaps of the statutory health insurance and provides access to high-quality medical services. An individual needs analysis is the first step to your tailored protection. At nextsure, we support you in finding the private supplementary insurance that suits you. Our experts analyse your situation and create a non-binding offer for you. This way, you secure the best possible coverage without breaking your budget. Take your healthcare provision into your own hands.
Request an individual risk analysis now: Have your insurance situation checked for free and receive specific optimisation suggestions.
More useful links
The Federal Ministry of Health provides comprehensive information on private health insurance.
The Federal Ministry of Health explains the private long-term care insurance.
The Association of Private Health Insurance (PKV) provides information about healthcare in Germany.
The Bavarian State Ministry for Health and Care clarifies who covers which hospital costs.
Wikipedia offers a detailed overview of private supplementary health insurance.
Wikipedia provides comprehensive information on private health insurance.
Wikipedia explains inpatient supplementary health insurance.
Wikipedia offers an extensive article on dental supplementary insurance.
The Consumer Advice Centre informs about sensible supplementary insurances for statutory health insurance.
The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) provides current data on healthcare expenditure in Germany.
FAQ
Why is a private supplementary insurance important?
It fills coverage gaps in statutory health insurance and provides access to enhanced medical services, such as treatment by senior consultants or high-quality dental prosthetics, helping to avoid high out-of-pocket costs.
Who can benefit from a private supplementary insurance?
It is worthwhile for anyone with statutory health insurance who values medical care beyond basic provision and wants to protect themselves from high co-payments.
What does dental supplementary insurance cover?
It covers costs for dental prosthetics (e.g., implants, crowns), dental treatments (e.g., high-quality fillings), prophylaxis (e.g., professional teeth cleaning), and often also orthodontics for children that go beyond the statutory health insurance subsidy.
What advantages does supplementary hospital insurance offer?
For example, it allows accommodation in a single or double room, treatment by the chief physician, and free choice of hospital, which can significantly enhance comfort and treatment quality during an inpatient stay.
What should be considered when taking out a private supplementary insurance?
An honest response to health questions, checking waiting periods, exclusions of benefits, and a precise definition of the desired scope of services in relation to the contribution are important.
How do I find the right private supplementary insurance for me?
Analyse your individual needs, compare offers from various insurers regarding price and performance, and consider seeking independent advice if necessary. nextsure offers a free risk analysis.
