Reg­is­ter­ing with a health insur­ance company

Every­one in Ger­many is required to have health insur­ance and there are a lot of health insur­ance com­pa­nies to choose from. You can decide which Krankenkasse (health insur­ance com­pa­ny) you want to reg­is­ter with yourself.

Tip:

• If you have a job or receive social secu­ri­ty ben­e­fits, your employ­er or the job cen­tre can also reg­is­ter you with a health insur­ance company.
• You can find a list of statu­to­ry health insur­ance com­pa­nies here: www.krankenkassen.de/gesetzliche-krankenkassen/
• If one par­ent already has health insur­ance, their spouse and chil­dren can be insured as fam­i­ly mem­bers free-of-charge with the same health insur­ance company.

You will receive a health insur­ance card (Kranken­ver­sichertenkarte) which you must take with you every time you vis­it a doctor.

Good to know: Civ­il ser­vants, high earn­ers and free­lancers can reg­is­ter with a pri­vate health insur­ance com­pa­ny in Germany.