Save time with the right health insurer
Your personal consultant will show you how.
As a self-employed worker, there’s mainly one thing you have very little of: time. That’s why, with SBK, your personal consultant is there to support you, to take care of lots of things for you and give you advice – especially when it comes to money-related topics like contribution amounts and relief, proof of income and protection in the event of an illness. With SBK on your side, you are in the best position to handle any situation. That way you can focus on what’s important to you.
The good news:
You can become an SBK member in just two steps and enjoy all of the benefits of membership. Find out more
The circumstances of every self-employed worker are different: at SBK we recognise that and address your needs on an individual and personal basis. We are on your side and will provide comprehensive advice to suit your situation. Call us on 0800 072 572 587 00 (free of charge within Germany) or send us a message.
Strong services, fair contributions
As a self-employed worker, you can get voluntary insurance through SBK and enjoy the many excellent services we provide, as well as individual support. Your personal consultant is always on your side, a specialist when it comes to everything relevant to self-employed workers. Whether it concerns protection in the event of illness, income thresholds or changes to your income, potential contribution relief or bonus rewards.
You decide what solution suits you best. The contribution amount always depends on your income, so your contributions are adjusted to match your individual financial situation.
The legally prescribed minimum assessment threshold is €1,178.33 (value 2024). The ceiling threshold for self-employed workers is €5,175.00 (value 2024). So if you earn less than the minimum assessment threshold, your contribution is calculated from this threshold amount. If you earn more than the ceiling threshold, this ceiling threshold is the maximum amount used to calculate your contribution. Your contribution is currently 15.7% (or 16.3% with sick pay entitlement) of your income, taking the specified assessment thresholds into account.
Whatever your pay, with SBK you get a wide range of benefits and services for overseas stays, alternative medicine, preventive care and much more. And you get the peace of mind of knowing you are protected in any eventuality and can always get the right answers to your questions from your personal consultant.
Important questions about insurance cover for self-employed workers
With SBK you can voluntarily take out statutory health insurance as a self-employed worker. The contributions are based on your income. As a self-employed worker insured through SBK, you get a personal consultant who is your point of contact and can answer all of your questions competently as a specialist. Our special service for self-employed workers: we are happy to advise you on whether your tariff really is the right one for you and can check your contribution calculation at any time to ensure it is correct. We will also send you regular reminders to submit your current income tax assessment. We’ll sort it all out for you, so you have time for the important things.
If you are both an employee and a self-employed worker, your situation needs to be examined to determine which of these activities would be considered your main employment. If the analysis of your weekly working hours, the amount of your salary and your projected earnings determines that your self-employed work is your main employment, this will naturally affect your insurance status and the contributions. At SBK you can get comprehensive advice about this as well, so you can have the peace of mind of knowing you are paying the right amount.
Long-term loss of earnings over several weeks can quickly have financial consequences for self-employed workers and freelancers. That’s why a quick recovery combined with good protection is especially important for self-employed workers. You can enjoy comprehensive insurance cover with the sick pay entitlement option. This option can cover up to 70% of your average gross income. You can also use the SBK Premium Sick Pay Tariff to get other benefits in the event of loss of earnings or get additional protection with extra insurance through our partner ARAG – we’ll be happy to advise you on this.
Especially when compared to private health insurance, statutory health insurance is seen to have more stable contribution rates. For example, if your income is reduced because you retire or because your business did not do so well one year, your contributions for voluntary statutory health insurance will also be reduced. In the case of private health insurance, contributions may increase drastically with age, as they do not depend on your income. With statutory health insurance you can therefore have greater peace of mind with your financial planning.