Health insurance contribution for students

Uncomplicated by direct debit:

You can simply set up a direct debit for your contributions. To do so, send us a direct debit authorisation via your personal online self-service branch in Meine SBK. We will then debit your contributions from your account on time, every time. Alternatively you can give us a SEPA direct debit mandate. Please contact your personal consultant to do so.

Or you can transfer the contributions by yourself:

The contributions must be credited to the SBK account by the 15th of the following month at the latest. For example, contributions for January must reach our account by 15 February at the latest. 

Please transfer your contributions to the following bank account: SBK, HypoVereinsbank, IBAN: DE58 7902 0076 0027 9131 99, BIC: HYVEDEMM455

In order to enrol at a university or college, you must have health insurance. You can let us know which university or college you wish to enrol at in your online Meine SBK office. We will take care of all the formalities directly with your university, so you don't need to take any actions. 

We will send a notification to the university's enrollment office as a confirmation of your insurance. The university will confirm your enrollment digitally to us. Alternatively, you can ask your personal customer consultant about this. You can also find the contact details in "Meine SBK" or in the customer consultant search.

In your online branch Meine SBK you are independent of opening hours and can easily take care of many matters around the clock from home, such as applying for an insurance confirmation for your university or college, participating in the bonus program and much more. You can also register for online mail in Meine SBK and no longer receive paper mail from us. This way we save paper and help the environment together.

Yes, quite simply via app. Download the Meine SBK app, take a photo of your study certificate with your smartphone and send it directly to SBK. This saves you time and postage.

You want to work during your studies to earn some extra money or to gain practical experience? This may affect the type of health insurance you have and you may have to pay contributions.

If your job is subject to compulsory health insurance, your employer will register you with us for health and nursing care insurance and pay the contributions directly to us. Your share of the contributions will be deducted from your gross salary. Pension and unemployment insurance contributions are also paid in the case of employment subject to compulsory insurance.

If you have a job that does not trigger compulsory health and long-term care insurance, this can still have an impact on the type of insurance you have and the amount of your contributions. For example, if you earn more than €505 (2024) per month, we will check whether you can continue to be insured in the free family insurance scheme.

Here you will find a brief overview of different jobs during your studies with the most important regulations.

Mini job

Any job with less than €538 (2024) per month does not result in compulsory insurance and has no effect on your existing health insurance. If you have several mini-jobs at the same time, the salaries are added together. If your earnings are less than €538 (2024) per month, you will remain insured as before - for example with free family insurance or the low-cost student deal.

The only exceptions are prescribed pre- or post-internships. These are not considered mini-jobs and always trigger a health and nursing care insurance obligation.

Temporary jobs

Do you have a job that is limited from the outset to a maximum of three months or 70 working days? Then this does not lead to compulsory insurance. You remain insured as before, for example under the free family insurance or the low-cost student insurance cover.

If you have several short-term jobs within a calendar year, these are added together and may total up to three months or 70 working days. If the total duration is longer, your temporary job will also trigger compulsory insurance. In this case, you can use our SBK working student tool to check whether your job is or will be subject to compulsory health and long-term care insurance.

Internship

An internship is only assessed under special insurance law if it is prescribed in the degree course, i.e. it is a compulsory internship. A voluntary internship is assessed in the same way as all other jobs described here.

In the case of a compulsory internship, a distinction is made between a pre- or post-internship and an intermediate internship. In the case of a pre- or post-internship, the decisive factor is whether you are paid a salary. If this is not the case, you remain insured as before - for example with free family insurance or the low-cost student insurance.

If you receive a salary during a pre- or post-internship, you are subject to compulsory insurance. Your employer will register you for health and nursing care insurance and you will pay half of the contributions if you earn more than €325 (2024) per month. The contributions are calculated as a percentage of your salary.

In the case of an interim internship required as part of your studies, you are not required to pay insurance contributions via your employer. Depending on the duration and the salary paid, you may even be able to remain in the free family insurance scheme. Or you can insure yourself with the affordable student insurance deal.

Working student jobs

As long as you are enrolled and have a permanent job with a salary of more than €538 per month, this is referred to as a working student job.

A distinction is made in health and nursing care insurance as to whether the focus is on your studies or your employment. Your employer will register you for health and nursing care insurance if you work more than 20 hours a week. Then you count as an employee under insurance law and no longer primarily as a student. Unless you work during the lecture-free period, for example in the evenings or during the semester break.

If you only work during lecture-free periods or less than 20 hours a week, your working student job does not trigger compulsory health and nursing care insurance. As a rule, you are then insured under the low-cost student insurance, as the salary in working student jobs often exceeds the permissible income limit for free family insurance (2024: €505 per month).

If you have a working student job, you collect pension points. Your employer and you each pay half of the pension insurance contributions. If you earn up to € 2,000 per month (2024), you pay a lower contribution share.

Check with the SBK working student tool

It is often not easy for students to know whether they are subject to compulsory insurance. Make it easy for yourself and use our SBK working student tool. You can use it to easily test whether you are subject to compulsory insurance.

The student insurace is available until the end of the semester in which you turn 30. If your studies end, the student insurance also ends with the semester of exmatriculation.

If your health insurance for the student insurance ends, you will continue to be insured with the SBK as a voluntary member. This voluntary membership continues until a so-called priority insurance comes into effect. This is the case, for example, if you begin an employment. You can find out about the amount of your voluntary insurance contributions here or you can seek personal advice. Simply contact your personal customer consultant.

Extension: The student insurance deal can be extended if you were unable to start your studies earlier for certain reasons (e.g. because you were admitted later in the selection process for your degree course) or if you had to interrupt your studies (e.g. due to the birth of a child or a prolonged illness).

A dual work–study degree combines studying at a university with in-company vocational training. People who take part in such a course of study are considered trainees.

You can learn how you can benefit from optimum insurance cover from SBK during a dual course of study on the SBK page for trainees.

During a semester abroad, you remain covered by German health insurance as long as you are enrolled in Germany.

If you live in Germany and start studying at a recognized university in another EU country, you can take out German health insurance at the student deal - as long as you have no other health insurance abroad. Our team of experts from the SBK Overseas Consulting Service will be happy to advise you on all questions relating to health insurance abroad. One call is all it takes: +49 800 072 572 570 90 (toll-free within Germany). Or simply send an e-mail to Auslandsberatung@sbk.org.

Do you come from an EU member state and already have health insurance there? Then you do not need to take out health insurance in Germany again. WYour European Health Insurance Card will get you medical treatment directly. Exception: Austrian insurance providers do not issue a European Health Insurance Card.

If you come from a non-EU country, you must take out health insurance in Germany. You can take out insurance under the SBK student deal. In this case, please contact the SBK Overseas Consulting Service.