# €30 per month health insurance?



## Zon

So I have just spent two days of calling insurance brokers, visiting their offices and going through all the ridiculously expensive German health insurance companies hearing offers of €200-€300 per month and not covering barely anything......

Reason is I unemployed/soon to be self employed here...

Finally I asked another expat friend what he does and he told me he has insurance from a company called care-concept which he pays €30 per month. It doesn't cover much but it's good for the basics. He also said he showed it to the auslanderbehorde when applying for a residence permit and it was accepted there as well. 

So I am just wondering if this is valid or not in Germany? I know there is a lot of grey areas at the moment regarding what insurance is good enough or not, but as I know at the moment it is fine to use one of these such companies, at least for now. And of course if that changes I can always take another look at my situation. 

Does anyone know anything about this, and in general the international health care companies?


----------



## James3214

I have never heard of this 'Care Concept' company, but after reading a bit of research, I personally won't go near them. Lots of bad reviews and refusals to pay out for bills that have been submitted and none of them mention the cost as 30€ a month either!
Has your expat friend ever tried claiming any bills with his/her 30€ a month cover? It might be acceptable to the 'behorde' but your friend might be in a for a shock if any large bills come in and they refuse them, which sounds like has happened to a lot of others.
200-300€ quotes from the other companies seems like a lot more reasonable to me. 
You can also reduce your premiums by offering to pay the first 500€ each or so. 
Do you really want the shock of not being able pay a large bill when you a lying in a hospital bed somewhere? German health care is excellent but it also costs.
There is a saying in German (just like in English ) that 'the last shirt has no pockets'.
Don't pinch the pennies when it comes to your health. If you survive, you might end up paying it back for the rest of your life.


----------



## beppi

Health insurance by a German provider (or at least an international one that fulfils German standards - most don't!) is compulsory for anybody living in Germany.
The public health insurance system charges according to your income, and if you're self-employed the €300 you mention are indeed the minimum. Private health insurers, which charge by the risk you present to them, might be cheaper if you are young and have no pre-existing conditions (a health check is required to join them - and once in you cannot change back to the public system, even if fees increase substantially!).
There are three ways out of paying these fees:
1. People living off government handouts (unemployment benefits, Hartz4, etc.) are covered free of charge
2. Matriculated full-time students with no (or very little) own income pay a subsidized rate of €80/month
3. EU nationals can get coverage by their home country system by fulfilling some formalities and pay the fees at home (inquire there!)
If none of these applies to you, you will have to pay the stipulated fees, just like everyone else. Or don't move to Germany.


----------



## Zon

beppi said:


> Health insurance by a German provider (or at least an international one that fulfils German standards - most don't!) is compulsory for anybody living in Germany.
> The public health insurance system charges according to your income, and if you're self-employed the €300 you mention are indeed the minimum. Private health insurers, which charge by the risk you present to them, might be cheaper if you are young and have no pre-existing conditions (a health check is required to join them - and once in you cannot change back to the public system, even if fees increase substantially!).
> There are three ways out of paying these fees:
> 1. People living off government handouts (unemployment benefits, Hartz4, etc.) are covered free of charge
> 2. Matriculated full-time students with no (or very little) own income pay a subsidized rate of €80/month
> 3. EU nationals can get coverage by their home country system by fulfilling some formalities and pay the fees at home (inquire there!)
> If none of these applies to you, you will have to pay the stipulated fees, just like everyone else. Or don't move to Germany.


Yes, actually this is more my concern as to whether this insurance covers the German law requirement, and what would happen if it didn't?? 

The other thing I guess I forgot to mention is, I don't qualify for handouts, am not officially a student, I don't work for someone else and as I am not yet making money from my own self employed goals I can not apply for public OR private. It seems the German system has basically forgotten me. As a job seeker I have the right to be here for 6 months, but there doesn't seem to be any insurance options for me in until I am employed or self employed. 

I did research about being covered by the NHS in the UK. The only information I got was that I should apply for an EU health card before leaving, but this seems to only be for the first 3 months. I didn't see any longer term options than that.


----------



## Tellus

As far as I can see Care Concept is an agent of Hanse Merkur Insurance, primarely travel insurances.
But it seems to be more insurances for hosts who 'll give a letter of commitment for Non-EU nationals to the authorities. For me this construct is a bit fishy...


----------



## Zon

I've been researching for what seems like forever and as I can tell I am not eligible for public OR private insurance so one of these "international companies" as they seem to get called is my only option. The problem is there is no solid information available on what is actually allowed or not, everyone on forums has a different opinion and there also seems to be a suspicious number of insurance brokers commenting on the expat forums who would obviously have biased reasons to dislike cheaper internet based companies which people can sign up for without them...

Some people say that SOME international companies are ok and some are not, some people say they are only ok if you are not a permanent resident (donno what that's supposed to mean though), and some people say none of them are ok and you MUST get public or private which as I've already said is not possible....

I've never felt so stuck in my life, can anyone please help me on this  I desperately need health insurance for many reasons, the options are ridiculously expensive for a person who is currently living from savings, and I am very scared I may end up with a bill for 1000s of euros some day 

Just curious... What would a dependent partner (like a housewife for example) usually do about insurance in Germany if they were not receiving benefits from the government? My wife is actually planning to work and receive public insurance, could I not claim to be a dependent partner and receive from her in some way?


----------



## Nononymous

If your wife lands a job with decent health insurance, and you don't have any, you should be covered as a dependent.

Common sense tells me that a cheap travel insurance is not going to work for you. Either it won't cover a pre-existing condition (which is what you have if you are worried about something that's been going on for a while) or will have high deductibles or be designed for travel emergencies.

In your situation I would say suck it up, pay 300/month for public insurance as self-employed, and get to a doctor to deal with what's worrying you. There's probably no cheaper, safe alternative. You can't (legally) continue living in Germany without insurance, and you shouldn't put your health at risk.

It's not a cheap or easy situation, but that's the deal you accepted when you moved to Germany.


----------



## beppi

Everyone (yes, EVERYONE) legally residing in Germany is eligible for either the public or private insurance scheme. Just approach a public insurer about this and, if they reject you let them give you this in writing and then approach a private insurer with that letter!
If your wife is working and in the public insurance, you can be covered free of charge as long as you have no own income.


----------



## Zon

In the case of being a dependent partner (as I don't have any income at the moment) how much would my wife need to make, is it still the same €450~ per month rule I have read or would it increase as she would be expected to support me?

Nononymous I am not technically self employed yet as I do not have any income, it is my plan to become self employed in the future, although plans also change. And as I know I can not get public insurance without an income, self-employed or not.


----------



## Nononymous

I would look into the self-employed option a bit further. At the very least AOK might be obliged to accept you even if you have not successfully found work, as long as you are legally resident and all that.


----------



## beppi

You still have various misconceptions here:
- The possibility to cover a dependent (without own income) exists regardless of income.
- Health insurance is also compulsory regardless of income (below EUR450 the employer's share is reduced, so she'd pay more herself - or can be co-insured as dependent, which is the constellation this was created for)
- You can get public insurance, regardless of income, if certain other criteria are met (in short: If you were in German public insurance before or in a similar scheme in your home country). If this does not apply, you must join the private health insurance (again regardless of income). In both cases, you need to pay the full fees yourself until you either have an employer or get government handouts.
Please visit an office of a public health insurer and get more authoritative advice than from an Internet forum!


----------



## ALKB

Zon said:


> Just curious... What would a dependent partner (like a housewife for example) usually do about insurance in Germany if they were not receiving benefits from the government? My wife is actually planning to work and receive public insurance, could I not claim to be a dependent partner and receive from her in some way?


The difference between you and a housewife/househusband is that you are new to Germany.

The government expects you to arrange for travel insurance/EHIC or such before arriving in Germany to be covered until you take up employment. 

A housewife/househusband would have been first a child in Germany - covered under their parents insurance for free. Then maybe a student - still either covered under their parents' insurance or from a certain age at a very much discounted rate. Then they would either have worked or been registered as unemployed and received insurance as part of their benefits.

As a stay at home spouse they would also be covered by their spouse's insurance - either through employment or again benefits.

There used to be a horrible, scary gap in this system when ALG II was introduced.

Health insurance only covers married partners, not unmarried cohabiting partners. So, if one partner became unemployed and the other partner earned so much that the household income was above the threshold for receiving ALG II benefits, then the unemployed, unmarried partner was left without affordable health insurance.

I think there has been a solution for that now, though...


----------



## jebadad

Zon said:


> In the case of being a dependent partner (as I don't have any income at the moment) how much would my wife need to make, is it still the same €450~ per month rule I have read or would it increase as she would be expected to support me?


Yes, if she makes more than € 450.-/month she will be "sozialversicherungspflichtig" and be eligible for public insurance which would cover you as a dependent for free as long as you don´t have an income. I´d recommend  TK rather than AOK as they are offering to communicate in English and offer slightly better benefits than most AOKs.


----------



## sandeepkhaira

Zon - I think you can go for International Travel Insurance. When I moved here on JSV in June last year from India, I got myself insured from India through travel insurance company and when I got the job, I applied for public Insurance and TK just asked me if I have International Travel Insurance. No other information requested.

International Travel Insurance are quite cheap and you have to pay nominal amount for 6 months at once.


----------



## vronchen

sandeepkhaira said:


> Zon - I think you can go for International Travel Insurance. When I moved here on JSV in June last year from India, I got myself insured from India through travel insurance company and when I got the job, I applied for public Insurance and TK just asked me if I have International Travel Insurance. No other information requested.
> 
> International Travel Insurance are quite cheap and you have to pay nominal amount for 6 months at once.


Just make sure to read the fine print of the travel insurance. Every travel insurance I ever had had the prerequisite that you must sign up BEFORE you travel. So if you are already in Germany those insurances would not work.


----------



## Nononymous

sandeepkhaira said:


> Zon - I think you can go for International Travel Insurance. When I moved here on JSV in June last year from India, I got myself insured from India through travel insurance company and when I got the job, I applied for public Insurance and TK just asked me if I have International Travel Insurance. No other information requested.
> 
> International Travel Insurance are quite cheap and you have to pay nominal amount for 6 months at once.


The OP was very concerned about a potentially dangerous pre-existing condition. I've yet to see cheap travel insurance cover that sort of thing.


----------

