Private health insurance explained simply

In private health insurance, aging reserves (or old age provisions) are portions of your premiums that are set aside so that they can remain as stable as possible in old age.

The allowable charge is the maximum amount covered by your insurance for a given treatment.

The "basic tariff" is a special tariff that every private health insurance must offer by law (and in which they may not refuse admission). The benefits are similar to those in the statutory health insurance and the contribution may not exceed the maximum contribution of the statutory health insurance.

Non-EU nationals require some form of residence permit if they plan to stay in Germany for longer than 12 months. A Blue Card is essentially the EU equivalent of the US Green Card. It is a simple process that enables highly qualified non-EU professionals to put their talents to use in 25 of the 27 EU member states (Denmark and Ireland are not included).

All German citizens are obliged to be insured with health insurance.

The contribution is the amount of money to be paid monthly for private health insurance. It depends on age, health condition and desired coverage but unlike in statutory health insurance not on income.

The daily sickness allowance is the amount you receive from your daily sickness allowance insurance if you are unable to work for a longer period of time. It secures your income and is usually paid from the 43rd day of the illness and until you can work again.

The term "deductible" or "excess" refers to the amount that an insured person pays himself, either as a percentage or in full, in the event of a claim. The amount is determined when the contract is concluded.

The earning ceiling is the maximum amount of an employee's salary from which health insurance contributions are charged in public health insurance.

Family insurance is a special feature of statutory health insurance: If they don't have an income or a very low income, you can insure children and partners free of charge.

All residents of Germany must have health insurance. There are two kinds of health insurance – public or statuary, known as the gesetzliche Krankenversicherung, and private, known as private Krankenversicherung. In short, these two are referred to as “GKV” and “PKV.”

With the health check, also called risk assessment, the private health insurance company uses health questions to evaluate at what conditions it can insure someone according to their health status.

If you are an inpatient (stationäre in German), you will be admitted to hospital and assigned a bed and a room. You will stay overnight and perhaps longer to prepare for and recover from surgery or an illness.

Once you select a health insurance provider and tariff and pass any medical examinations required, you will likely receive an insurance card other or another form of ID. This ID card contains information about you and your insurance and enables healthcare providers to bill correctly for their services.

The JAEG (short for Jahresarbeitsentgeltgrenze = annual treshold limit or upper income limit) is the limit above which employees become exempt from insurance and can switch to private health insurance.

Krankenversicherung means an insurance against costs incurred due to illness. “gesetzliche Krankenkasse” refers to the statutory health insurance in Germany, whereas “private Krankenversicherung” the private health insurance means.

(Compulsory) long-term care insurance is part of the social insurance system and is intended to protect you from high costs in the event that you need long-term care. Everyone who has statutory health insurance is automatically insured in the social long-term care insurance. Those with private health insurance must take out private long-term care insurance.

The maximum contribution is the maximum amount that can be charged for contributions to statutory health insurance. It depends on the income threshold. From this income onwards, statutorily insured persons pay the maximum contribution.

In addition to doctors and traditional medical professionals, there are many non-medical practitioners in the German healthcare system. It’s a professional title for a person licensed by the state who cures diseases by alternative healing methods.

In private health insurance, old-age-reserves (or aging reserves) are portions of your premiums that are set aside so that they can remain as stable as possible in old age.

If you are treated as an outpatient (ambulant in German), you will attend your appointment at the hospital for an examination, treatment, or minor surgery before going home the same day.

The premium is the amount of money to be paid monthly for private health insurance. It depends on age, health condition and desired coverage but unlike in statutory health insurance not on income.

A private health insurance is a private company that provides health insurance benefits to individuals. These benefits are available as a supplementary tariff (e.g. dental or clinic) for people with statutory health insurance and for those not subject to compulsory insurance as a comprehensive health insurance.

A quote, also known as cost and treatment plan, is an outline of a project's estimated costs and required resources and how to use and control them.

The risk surcharge in private health insurance is a percentage or fixed amount that is charged in addition to your premium. It applies to insured persons with an increased risk of medical costs who are likely to use more services in private health insurance than other insured persons.

The daily sickness allowance is the amount you receive from your daily sickness allowance insurance if you are unable to work for a longer period of time. It secures your income and is usually paid from the 43rd day of the illness and until you can work again.

The transfer value is the portion of the old-age provisions that you can take with you when you switch to another private health insurance company.

The upper income limit (or annual threshold limit) is the limit above which employees become exempt from insurance and can switch to private health insurance.

The waiting period in private health insurance refers to the time at the beginning of your insurance, in which no costs are reimbursed. However, this is unusual in comprehensive health insurance.

If you want to live and work in Germany as a Non EU-Expat, you’re probably going to need a work visa. This visa allows you to live in a country for a certain amount of time. If you want to stay and work longer than 12 month in Germany you have to get a residence permit. You can apply for the residence permit at your local immigration office.

Most supplementary dental insurances and private health insurances have a “Zahnstaffel”, dental scale in English, for their insured persons. This determines the maximum amount the insurance will reimburse for dental treatment, orthodontics or dentures in the first few years. After a certain period of time, the entire benefit set out in the tariff is then covered.