# What Insurance Do You Need in Germany? (2026) > Practical guide to insurance in Germany: statutory health cover (GKV) and private substitute cover (PKV), Kfz-Haftpflicht, Privathaftpflicht, Hausrat, Rechtsschutz, dental, pet and travel. What is mandatory and what is not. By Jules de Bruin · URL: https://www.guide-germany.com/insurance **The verdict** **Health insurance is mandatory for everyone resident in Germany**, either statutory (**GKV**, income-linked at 14.6% plus a fund-specific Zusatzbeitrag, split with your employer) or private (**PKV**, rated on age and health). There is no tax-funded national health service covering everyone by default. **Kfz-Haftpflicht**, third-party motor liability, is mandatory for every registered vehicle, and **dog liability** is decided by each Bundesland, mandatory for all dogs in seven of them. Privathaftpflicht, contents, legal expenses, dental, pet and travel cover are all voluntary. The market is supervised by **BaFin**. ## How does the German insurance system work? Insurance companies in Germany are licensed and supervised by BaFin. The part that differs most from other countries is health cover: there is no tax-funded national health service that covers every resident by default. Instead, holding health insurance is a legal requirement, and you belong to one of two separate systems. ### GKV: the statutory funds Around a hundred competing funds pay for the same legally defined catalogue of treatment. This catalogue tracks 17 of them, including Techniker Krankenkasse, BARMER, DAK-Gesundheit, hkk, AOK Bayern and BKK firmus. What differs is the contribution: 14.6% of gross income plus a fund-specific Zusatzbeitrag, which in 2026 is 2.69% at TK against a 2.9% average, split 50/50 with your employer and capped by the assessment ceiling of EUR 5,812.50 a month. On EUR 3,500 gross that is EUR 386.57 a month at TK as the employee's share of health and long-term care contributions. There are no health questions and pre-existing conditions are covered in full. ### PKV: the private substitute insurers PKV replaces the statutory fund, it does not supplement it. The premium is set by your entry age and your state of health at underwriting, not by your income. A 30-year-old employee on ottonova's Komfort tariff pays EUR 264.54 a month net of the 50% employer subsidy, while the 2026 market band for premium tariffs at age 35 in good health runs from EUR 543.60 to EUR 829.79 a month gross. Whether you may switch depends on income, employment status and profession. Dependants are never co-insured free of charge in PKV. ### Supplementary cover: not the same as PKV Private supplementary cover sits on top of a GKV membership and pays for what the statutory catalogue does not. The dental add-on test winners cost EUR 25 to EUR 58 a month for a 43-year-old with no existing dental findings, and simple tariffs start at around EUR 6. A hospital add-on with a two-bed room and chief-physician treatment runs about EUR 15 to EUR 30 a month at age 30. ## What insurance is mandatory in Germany? ### Mandatory - Health insurance: mandatory for everyone resident in Germany, through a statutory fund (GKV) or a private substitute policy (PKV). There is no automatic state cover to fall back on. - Kfz-Haftpflicht, third-party motor liability: mandatory for every registered vehicle. Every car tariff in this catalogue is flagged mandatory by law. - Dog liability (Hundehaftpflicht): there is no federal rule and each Bundesland decides. It is mandatory for ALL dogs in Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia, mandatory only for listed or dangerous dogs in eight more, and voluntary only in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. ### Voluntary but near-universal - Privathaftpflicht, personal liability: not required by law, but the first policy people buy in Germany. HUK24's Classic tariff starts at about EUR 34 a year for a single person, covers up to EUR 100,000,000 and carries a EUR 150 excess. - Hausrat, contents insurance: covers what you own inside the flat. HUK24's Classic tariff starts at EUR 27.64 a year for a 75 m2 flat, with a EUR 52,500 sum insured in the reference tariff. ### Purely optional Legal expenses (ARAG Aktiv-Rechtsschutz Komfort: EUR 343.47 a year for a single 30-year-old, with a three-month waiting period), dental add-ons, pet health and surgery cover, building insurance for owners, term life, occupational disability and travel medical cover. For a Schengen visa, German missions require at least EUR 30,000 of cover. ## What changes when you have just arrived in Germany? Statutory membership needs a trigger: a job, [university enrolment](/moving/student-visa), or family co-insurance through a GKV member. Until one of those exists you cannot simply buy your way into a fund. Incoming policies fill that gap: Feather's basic tier costs EUR 72 a month, is bought online without an [Anmeldung](/moving/address-registration) and issues the visa certificate immediately. Care Concept starts at EUR 26 a month, MAWISTA at EUR 28 and DR-WALTER educare24 at EUR 34.50. All of them are time-limited, and you move to GKV or PKV afterwards. Then check what language your policy is written in. Among the statutory funds, Techniker Krankenkasse and BARMER document in English, while DAK-Gesundheit and the AOK funds are only partly translated. In PKV, ottonova and the Hallesche book sold through Feather document in English. Every other line runs the other way: HUK24's car, contents and liability tariffs, ARAG's Aktiv-Rechtsschutz, Continentale's CEZE dental cover and AGILA's pet policies are all marked German-only in the catalogue. For English paperwork in those lines the digital brands Getsafe, Feather, Lemonade and Lassie are the exceptions. ## Which insurance topics should you explore? [### Health insurance The guide that matters most: mandatory for everyone, the GKV versus PKV choice, contributions and supplementary cover.](/insurance/health-insurance)[### Car insurance Kfz-Haftpflicht is mandatory for every registered vehicle. Plus Teilkasko, Vollkasko and how the no-claims discount works.](/insurance/car-insurance)[### Liability insurance Voluntary, but from about EUR 34 a year with EUR 100,000,000 of cover it is the first policy to buy.](/insurance/liability-insurance)[### Travel insurance German missions require at least EUR 30,000 of cover for a Schengen visa.](/insurance/travel-insurance)[### Dental insurance GKV pays only a fixed 60% to 65% subsidy on dentures. The add-on closes the rest of the bill.](/insurance/dental-insurance)[### Pet insurance Vet bills for dogs and cats, plus the dog liability that is mandatory for all dogs in seven Bundesländer.](/insurance/pet-insurance)[### Dog liability insurance Compulsory for every dog in seven Bundesländer, for listed dogs in eight more, and voluntary only in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. From EUR 36.89 a year.](/insurance/dog-liability-insurance)[### Life insurance Pure term life with no savings component, from EUR 105.84 a year for EUR 200,000 of cover over 30 years.](/insurance/life-insurance)[### Legal insurance Lawyer and court costs in tenancy, employment and traffic disputes, with a three-month waiting period at ARAG Komfort.](/insurance/legal-insurance)[### Best insurance providers One strong provider per line, from the statutory health fund to pet cover.](/insurance/providers)[### Insurance price research Every published premium in the catalogue, filterable and sortable, always with the profile it was read on.](/insurance/price-research) ## Related Guides [### Health insurance GKV, PKV and supplementary cover compared.](/insurance/health-insurance)[### Car insurance Mandatory liability, Teilkasko and Vollkasko.](/insurance/car-insurance)[### Liability insurance The cheapest policy in Germany that really matters.](/insurance/liability-insurance)[### Travel insurance Schengen visa cover from EUR 30,000.](/insurance/travel-insurance)[### Dental insurance Closes the gap the statutory denture subsidy leaves.](/insurance/dental-insurance)[### Pet insurance Dog health, cat health and dog liability.](/insurance/pet-insurance)[### Dog liability insurance Compulsory for every dog in seven Bundesländer.](/insurance/dog-liability-insurance)[### Life insurance Pure death cover, with no savings component.](/insurance/life-insurance)[### Legal insurance Modules, waiting periods and the excess.](/insurance/legal-insurance)[### Insurance price research Every published premium in the catalogue.](/insurance/price-research) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Is health insurance mandatory in Germany? Yes. Everyone resident in Germany must hold health insurance, either through a statutory fund (GKV) or through a private substitute policy (PKV). Unlike countries with a tax-funded national health service, there is no default coverage that applies to everyone automatically. Enrolled students pay a nationally fixed rate of about EUR 146.29 a month in 2026, and the non-earning spouse and children of a GKV member are co-insured free of charge through the Familienversicherung. ### What is the difference between GKV and PKV? GKV is the statutory system: around a hundred competing funds pay for the same legally defined catalogue of treatment, and the contribution follows your income, at 14.6% plus a fund-specific Zusatzbeitrag, split with your employer. PKV replaces the statutory system entirely and is rated on your entry age and your health at underwriting, not on your income. Which one you may join depends on income, employment status and profession. Private supplementary cover is a different thing again: it sits on top of a GKV membership. ### Which insurance is mandatory besides health cover? Kfz-Haftpflicht, third-party motor liability, is mandatory for every registered vehicle. For dog liability there is no federal rule and each Bundesland decides: it is mandatory for ALL dogs in Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia, mandatory only for listed or dangerous dogs in eight more, and voluntary only in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. ### Is Privathaftpflicht mandatory? No, Privathaftpflicht is voluntary. It is still the policy Germans buy first, because it costs almost nothing relative to what it covers: HUK24's Classic tariff starts at about EUR 34 a year for a single person and carries EUR 100,000,000 of cover with a EUR 150 excess. ### Who regulates insurers in Germany? BaFin, the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht. It licenses insurance companies and supervises them. Statutory health funds are public-law bodies and additionally sit under their own social-insurance supervision. --- Source: https://www.guide-germany.com/insurance Last updated: n/a Format: LLM-readable Markdown twin (.md) of the canonical HTML page.