Your private health insurance premium has gone up: what you can do

A letter announcing a higher premium is annoying. But cancelling is rarely the best solution. Here you can read why premiums rise and what options you have.

Uygar Vural, SIGNAL IDUNA insurance in Cologne · Updated: 14 October 2026

Why premiums rise

Private health insurers cannot raise the premium as they please. It may only be adjusted if the actual cost of treatment or life expectancy deviates from the calculation by more than a value set by law. A trustee (Treuhänder), that is, an external auditor, must approve every adjustment. Medical progress and rising prices in healthcare are the most common reasons.

Be careful about cancelling

Every year your insurer sets money aside for your higher costs in old age, the so-called ageing reserves (Alterungsrückstellungen). If you switch to another insurer, you only take part of them with you, and with policies taken out before 2009 usually nothing at all. On top of that come new health questions and a higher entry age. A switch is therefore rarely worthwhile and should be calculated carefully.

Your right to switch tariffs

You have the right to switch to another tariff with equivalent cover with your insurer. This is set out in Section 204 of the Insurance Contract Act (Versicherungsvertragsgesetz). The following applies:

• Your ageing reserves are credited in full.
• There is no new health assessment for the same benefits.
• Only for additional benefits may the insurer ask health questions and require a surcharge, a waiting period or an exclusion. You can avoid the surcharge and waiting period by waiving the additional benefits.
• You can ask your insurer which tariffs are suitable for you. From the age of 60, the insurer must name suitable cheaper tariffs on its own initiative when it raises your premium.

Other ways to adjust

• Deductible (Selbstbehalt): a higher deductible lowers the premium. It makes sense if you can comfortably pay bills up to that amount yourself.
• Daily sickness allowance (Krankentagegeld): does the amount still match your income? If it is too high, you are paying for a benefit you would not receive in full if it came to it.
• Premium relief in old age (Beitragsentlastung): with this module you pay a little more today so that your premium falls from retirement age. The earlier you add it, the stronger the effect.

Bear in mind: if you later want to lower the deductible again or increase the daily sickness allowance, you will usually have to answer new health questions. Make sure you do not save in the wrong place. A cheaper tariff may pay less, for example for dentures and crowns or in hospital.

How I can help

Are you privately insured with SIGNAL IDUNA and has your premium gone up? Then I will check with you whether a different tariff or a different deductible suits you better, and explain openly what changes in your benefits. If you are with another insurer, I will tell you openly whether switching to SIGNAL IDUNA is an option for you at all. If you want to switch tariffs with your current insurer, you apply to them directly. Please note: this is not legal advice.

This article gives a general overview. Exactly what is covered is set out in the terms and conditions of the plan. I am a tied insurance agent (gebundener Versicherungsvertreter) and exclusively arrange products of the SIGNAL IDUNA Group.