Private health insurance: Almost 95,000 can no longer pay contributions

Privately insured

Almost 95,000 people can no longer pay their contributions

Private health insurers gained many customers last year. However, the federal government’s current plans are clouding the good mood in the industry.

While the statutory health insurance companies are struggling with high deficits, the private health insurers are looking back on the past year with satisfaction. The number of fully insured customers rose again, at 50,000 even more than in 2024 (30,000). This means that at the end of 2025, a total of 8.8 million people in Germany had private health insurance.

Private health insurers also continued to increase their supplementary insurance: compared to the previous year, the number of supplementary dental, supplementary hospital or daily sickness benefit insurance rose by 2.8 percent to 32.2 million. In total, the companies now have 41 million customers in Germany.

Thomas Brahm, Chairman of the PKV Association and CEO of Debeka Insurance, was satisfied with the result: “People in Germany trust in the performance and long-term stability of PKV. The stable growth is a clear vote of confidence.”

What is only mentioned in passing: The number of people insured in the so-called emergency tariff also increased. According to the current annual report from private health insurers, around 94,700 people were insured under this industry-wide tariff in 2025. For comparison: In the previous year the number of insured people here was 89,100.

The emergency tariff is significantly cheaper than regular private health insurance. The last known information assumed a contribution amount of around 155 euros per month, plus nursing care insurance. However, the scope of services is also significantly limited: only the costs for the treatment of acute illnesses and pain conditions as well as pregnancy and maternity are reimbursed.

Only after the debt has been paid will the insured return to their original tariff. However, this is usually more expensive after you return. Part of the contribution for the emergency tariff is financed from the retirement provisions that the insured have made in their previous tariff. These are intended to cushion future premium increases. However, if these are used up, this can have a negative impact in the long term.

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