Family insurance

As a rule, you have the option of including the following family members in your family insurance:

Family insurance is also an option for the following individuals:

• Stepchildren and grandchildren, if you are the primary caregiver 
• Foster children, as long as you are not caring for them in a professional capacity

Age limits for family insurance:

Children are included in family insurance free of charge in principle until they reach the age of 18. They can continue to be covered by family insurance up to the following age limits: 

• Until the age of 23 if they are not working as an employee or self-employed worker 
• Until the age of 25 if they are still in school or university or if they are completing a social or ecological year as part of voluntary civil service and do not receive any remuneration from these activities. If your child is taking part in voluntary civil service abroad and receives remuneration for this work, it depends on which country they are working in as to whether or not they can continue to be covered by the family insurance. Please contact your personal consultant to discuss this.

Children who are unable to support themselves due to a physical, mental or emotional disability are not subject to any age limits and can continue to be included in the family insurance. The disability must occur while family insurance is in place and must have an unforeseeable duration. 

When is family insurance not an option?

Contribution-free family insurance is not an option in the following cases:

• Your family members’ primary residence is not in Germany. 
• Your family members are themselves members of a health and nursing care insurance fund (such as pensioners, regardless of the amount of their monthly pension). 
• Your family members are exempt from compulsory insurance (except for those who are very low earners). As civil servants are exempt from compulsory insurance, for example, they cannot be included in family insurance. 
• Your family members are self-employed full-time. 
• Your family members have a regular total income that exceeds €445 per month. For very low earners the limit for inclusion in family insurance is €450. Total income includes, among other things, wages from a job (including expected bonuses such as a Christmas bonus or earnings from self-employed work), rental income, capital assets, pensions (including surviving dependants’ pensions) or taxable maintenance payments. Professional expenses, write-offs, tax-exempt amounts on savings and pension benefits for childcare periods do not count.

Applying for family insurance

Register your family members directly for contribution-free family insurance. Simply contact your personal consultant to do so.

Health insurance during parental leave

Special rules apply to statutory health insurance when a parent takes parental leave, depending on the insurance status of the parents. Your personal consultant will be happy to help you.

The end of family insurance – what now?

At some point there will come a time when contribution-free family insurance ends for you. This occurs, for example, when you start training or you get your own insurance as a student. In this case you can learn what options are available to you in order to continue being insured with us on the following pages:

• School pupils and trainees
• Students

Or speak with your personal consultant directly. Together we will find the best way for you to stay insured. 

We’re happy to advise

Questions about family insurance? Your personal consultant will be happy to help you.