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"Why can't I remain insured with my current non-German health insurance?"​​

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You may currently be covered under travel insurance, tourist insurance, or a similar non-German plan and are now wondering why you cannot simply extend it. The reason lies in the laws governing employment and social contributions in Germany.

By law, all German employers must make social security contributions.

 

These include contributions to:

• Health insurance

• Nursing care insurance

• Statutory pension scheme

• Unemployment insurance

• Statutory accident insurance

• Other related programs

 

These contributions are mandatory and non-negotiable between employer and employee. The total cost is split between both parties. The employee’s share is automatically deducted from their salary, while the employer’s share is added and both are transferred to a collecting office, which then distributes the funds to the relevant social insurance institutions.

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The health insurance provider – such as TK (Techniker Krankenkasse) or BARMER – acts as this collecting office. As such, German health insurers are responsible not just for health coverage, but also for coordinating the collection and distribution of contributions to other branches of social security.

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Clearly, your existing travel or foreign insurance cannot fulfill this role. Therefore, your German employer is legally required to register you with a German health insurance provider. While you can choose your preferred provider, this decision must be made quickly.

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If you do not notify your employer in time, they are legally allowed to register you with any provider of their choice – without further consultation. That’s why Wilde Relocation may seem insistent when it comes to selecting your health insurance provider: we want to ensure you make the best choice, especially since the German system may be unfamiliar to you.

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We recommend TK and BARMER due to their excellent reputations and service quality.