Glasses and contact lenses

Under certain conditions, we can provide you with a subsidy towards glasses lenses or contact lenses

If you have poor eyesight we may, under certain conditions, contribute towards the cost of glasses and contact lenses. For adults, the key factor is the number of dioptres in your eyes. For children and adolescents aged under 18, we cover the costs of glasses lenses up to a fixed price, applicable across Germany.

Glasses and contact lenses – your SBK benefits:

If you have any questions about our coverage of costs or your contribution towards the cost of lenses, please contact your personal consultant, who will provide you with advice tailored to your situation.
If your vision aids have been damaged or lost through no fault of your own, you can be sure that we will contribute to the medically necessary cost of obtaining new ones.
You can get high-quality vision aids through private additional insurance at affordable rates from our partner ARAG. Get further information from your personal consultant.

We will subsidise glasses lenses for adults over the age of 18 if you meet one of the following conditions:

You have short or far-sightedness of over six dioptres.
You have visual impairment of over four dioptres due to corneal curvature.
You have severe visual impairment in both eyes. This is considered to be the case if your better eye does not provide more than 30% of your vision despite wearing glasses.

Visual impairment may also be caused by eye injuries or eye diseases, in which case we cover the costs of therapeutic vision aids and contact lenses, if medically necessary.

: We cover the costs of glasses lenses or medically necessary contact lenses for children and adolescents up to the age of 18, up to the fixed price applied across Germany. The precise amount depends on the thickness of the lenses. If participation in school sports requires sports glasses along with normal glasses, we also contribute towards the cost of these lenses.

: We cover the cost of contact lenses if your doctor confirms that these are medically necessary. If you opt for contact lenses for aesthetic reasons, we cover the cost only up to the fixed amount for glasses.

: Patients suffering from visual impairment are increasingly getting laser eye treatment. Having such treatment means that wearing glasses and contact lenses is no longer necessary. If such treatment is performed for the sole purpose of correcting a visual impairment, it is deemed to be a private service and must be paid for in full by the patient. We do not cover any of the costs of such treatment.
For certain eye conditions – e.g. corneal scarring – we may be able to cover the costs. In this case, your ophthalmologist can charge us directly for the costs of the laser treatment via your healthcare card. Please talk to your personal consultant.

: Do you need special glasses for your workplace? Please contact your employer or your pension insurance provider. We cannot cover any of these costs.

How to get glasses and contact lenses:

In order for us to pay for or subsidise your vision aid, it needs to be subscribed by your ophthalmologist. They will check your eyesight and determine whether or not you need a prescription. If you do, they will issue a medical prescription. You can then submit this prescription to your optician. Your optician will then charge the fixed fee for the glasses lenses (between approx. €10.00 and €130.00 per glass) directly to us. Your optician will be able to tell you the exact amount. The reason for this is that this fee is based on different visual capacities and lenses. In addition, you will have to pay a statutory co-payment of 10% of the cost of the lenses, at least €5.00 but no more than €10.00.

You pay for any costs that exceed the statutory fixed amounts, as well as additional costs for enhancements such as anti-reflective coating or tempering. Our tip: get cost estimates from different opticians so that you can make savings where necessary. For legal reasons, we cannot cover the costs of glasses frames.

Children and adolescents who need subsequent glasses can purchase glasses lenses directly from their optician between their 15th and 18th birthdays. The same applies to children aged under 14 who need a replacement within three months, for instance in case of loss or damage. You do not need a new medical prescription unless there are any changes to your child’s visual impairment.

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Glasses and contact lenses

Glasses and contact lenses – your SBK benefits:

Detailed conditions for adults

Conditions for children and adolescents

Contact lenses

Laser eye treatment

Workplace glasses and computer glasses

How to get glasses and contact lenses: