Health insurance increases the additional contribution: millions of insured people are affected

Millions of insured people affected

Large health insurance companies increase their additional contributions

For millions of insured people, health insurance will become more expensive from August. The IKK Classic is increasing its additional contribution – if you want to save, you now have to act quickly.

While politics with the recently passed GKV savings law If you want to ensure stable additional contributions, the new rules for a health insurance company come too late. The IKK Classic has now announced that it will increase its additional contribution by 0.45 percentage points with effect from August 1st of this year. In the future this will be 3.85 percent. Together with the regular health insurance contribution of 14.6 percent, IKK Classic insured people will pay 18.45 percent for their health insurance in the future, with the contribution being financed equally by employers and employees.

For employees, contributions increase by up to 13 euros per month. Self-employed people who have to shoulder the costs alone pay up to 26 euros more per month.

With its additional contribution of 3.85 percent, IKK Classic is in the upper midfield when compared to all health insurance companies. The BKK24 currently charges the highest additional contribution at 4.39 percent. The cheapest of all health insurance companies open nationwide is currently Tui BKK with an additional contribution of 2.5 percent.

As of June 1, 2026, the IKK Classic had a total of 2.3 million members. With children and spouses also insured, the fund has a total of 2.86 million insured people, making it the tenth largest health insurance company in this country.

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Due to the increase in the additional contribution, they now have a special right of termination – even those who have been insured with IKK Classic for less than twelve months can now look for a new health insurance company. However, this option does not apply indefinitely: termination must be made no later than the end of the month in which the higher contribution is first charged. Accordingly, IKK Classic policyholders can make use of their special right of termination until the end of August.

In the future, however, it could become significantly more difficult for insured persons to exercise this right. As part of the Statutory Health Insurance Stabilization Act, the Federal Government determines that the health insurance companies will support their members in the future no longer have to inform about increases in the additional contribution. Ramona Pop, board member of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, called the reform an “absurdity” for the insured. “In effect, this undermines the special right of termination.”

An adjustment of the additional contribution does not necessarily only occur at the turn of the year. Many health insurance companies also increase or decrease the contribution during the year. Only recently shared the BMW BKK a reduction in the additional contribution by one percentage point. Two other health insurance companies – IKK Südwest and BKK Würth – have increased their additional contributions this year.