Student health insurance in Germany: what it costs and when it stops
Facts as of 09/2026 · re-checked at least every 6 months · by Benjamin Farmer
The short answer
Enrolled students under 30 pay a reduced public rate: for 2026 that is €87.38 in health insurance plus a fund-specific surcharge of roughly €19–€38, plus long-term care insurance of €30.78 if you're under 23 or have children and €35.91 otherwise. In practice most students land somewhere around €137 to €161 a month. The reduced rate ends at the close of the semester in which you turn 30 — extensions exist for illness, disability or caring for a relative, but they are exceptions, not the rule. After that you move to voluntary public insurance or a private policy, and the cost changes category rather than just number.
- Health insurance 2026
- €87.38 per month (reduced student rate)
- Fund surcharge
- roughly €18.64–€37.62 depending on the fund (~2.9%)
- Long-term care insurance
- €30.78 under 23 or with children · €35.91 from 23 without children
- Typical total
- roughly €137–€161 per month
- Age limit
- ends at the close of the semester in which you turn 30
- Before enrolment
- an incoming/travel policy bridges arrival to enrolment
Three numbers, one bill
Your monthly cost is built from three parts: the statutory student rate, your fund's own surcharge, and long-term care insurance. The first is identical everywhere; the second is where funds actually differ, which is the only real price lever you have as a student; the third depends on your age and whether you have children.
The reduced rate is tied to enrolment, not to age alone. Take a semester off without enrolling and the reduced rate does not apply to that period.
The gap nobody plans for
You need cover from the day you travel — the visa application asks for it — but the reduced student rate only starts once you are enrolled, which happens after you arrive. Those weeks in between are bridged with a travel or incoming policy. Buy the bridge with an end date you can adjust: enrolment dates slip, and a policy that expires the week before your matriculation certificate arrives leaves you uninsured at exactly the wrong moment.
Your enrolment itself usually depends on proof of insurance, so the sequence is: cover first, then enrolment, then the switch to the student rate.
Turning 30 mid-degree
This is the single most under-planned moment in a long degree. The reduced rate ends with the semester in which you turn 30 — after that, voluntary public insurance or a private policy applies, and the monthly figure typically moves into a different bracket entirely.
If your programme will still be running when you turn 30, work the change into your budget a year ahead rather than discovering it in a letter. Extensions exist — illness, disability, caring responsibilities, and some delays that were not your doing — but they must be applied for and evidenced.
Public or private?
Most enrolled students under 30 are in the public system, and the decision is less free than it looks: opting out of public insurance as a student is generally binding for the whole of your studies. That makes it a decision worth taking slowly and in writing, with your own situation in front of you — age, programme length, whether you'll work alongside, whether family will join you.
SettleWell's founder, Benjamin Marcel Farmer, is a licensed insurance broker in Germany (§ 34d GewO) and can work through that decision with you against your actual case. This guide deliberately names no provider and makes no recommendation.
Common mistakes
- Letting the bridging travel policy expire before enrolment is confirmed.
- Assuming the reduced rate runs to the end of your degree — it ends with the semester you turn 30.
- Comparing funds on the base rate, which is identical, instead of on the surcharge, which isn't.
- Opting out of public insurance as a student without realising it is generally binding for the whole degree.
- Dropping enrolment for a semester and expecting the student rate to continue.
Student visa readiness check
Checks insurance alongside admission, funds and language.
Benjamin Farmer
Executive German coach and licensed § 34d insurance broker in Bavaria. I coach international professionals on exactly these steps every week, and run a placement service that introduces them directly to German employers.
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This guide is general information for orientation — not legal, tax or insurance advice. Rules, fees and thresholds change; the facts above were last verified 09/2026 against the sources listed below and are re-checked at least every six months — monthly where the figures move. For decisions about your specific case, rely on the responsible authority or on qualified professionals. We do not give legal or tax advice — where your case needs it, we will arrange a review by an immigration lawyer or a tax adviser on request.
Sources: Studis Online — Krankenversicherung im Studium · AOK — Kosten der studentischen Krankenversicherung