Insurance · 4 min read

Private health insurance for the self-employed

This guide refers to German law and the German tax system. It is a translation of our German original and does not replace individual tax or legal advice.

For every freelancer and self-employed person, health insurance is the elephant in the room. Having only just started out, the term private health insurance quickly raises a big question mark. Which benefits can self-employed people expect, and which health insurance is the best choice? As independent advisers on private health insurance, we bring clarity to these topics. In this article, we present the best approach for self-employed people and freelancers and answer the question of which private health insurance is best suited to you.

Neo Capital is your partner for comprehensive advice on private health insurance (PKV, private Krankenversicherung) for the self-employed. In addition to the tax optimisation of your private retirement provision, we advise our clients on the benefits and premiums of private health insurance even before they become self-employed. This ensures that your health is protected by the best benefits for every risk. We also keep an eye on the level of premiums and enable insured persons to escape the sometimes four-figure monthly contributions of the low-benefit statutory health insurance (GKV, gesetzliche Krankenversicherung).

Who needs private health insurance

Private health insurance is particularly suitable for freelancers and self-employed people who have high expectations of their own healthcare. As soon as you leave the role of an employee, you have to take out insurance with one of the many private health insurers. Despite better benefits on average, various challenges and hurdles await on the way to optimal cover. The full potential of private health insurance can therefore only be realised if, in addition to premiums and benefits, the savings compared with statutory health insurance and low premiums through tax-deductible health funds are also taken into account. It is in this interplay that the true strength of private health insurance for the self-employed, freelancers and discerning employees becomes apparent. Many people see joining private health insurance as a necessity rather than an investment in their own health. In doing so, they often forget that the current contribution to statutory health insurance is already around €1,000 a month, even on a moderate income. Anyone who thinks back to their last visit to the doctor with this knowledge will, in most cases, feel a large gap between contribution and benefit. Here, private health insurance for the self-employed and freelancers can provide a remedy at an early stage, as considerably more benefits await behind premiums that are in some cases lower. Depending on their state of health, almost every self-employed person can meet the requirements for switching to private health insurance, which further lowers the barriers to entry.

The best private health insurance for the self-employed

When looking for the optimal insurance, there are various factors to consider. The benefits, which are set against premiums, are always based on your personal requirements. That is why we work together, in good time, to determine your individual needs. This way you not only save money but also avoid costly mistakes when choosing from tariffs that can be quite opaque. When selecting, our focus is on the quality of the protection for your health. Cover for the main earner and their family, as well as fast doctor's appointments, are therefore a matter of course when switching to private health insurance. In contrast to statutory health insurance, every tariff we propose gives you full coverage of these components. Alongside a fast appointment, the quality of treatment is the most important criterion. That is why self-employed people and freelancers enjoy the best insurance cover with unrestricted professional treatment in our tariffs. Especially in comparison with statutory health insurance, this shows what often remains hidden from you as an employee. This is due in particular to the free choice of practice and doctor for those with private health insurance. Top-level medical care is therefore not reserved for the elite, but is attainable for your self-employed business at a comparable premium. Whether a switch involves high follow-up costs or rising premiums can be answered transparently below.

Neo Capital: private health insurance with optimised premiums

A choice of more than 2,000 tariff options allows us largely to avoid premium increases and high costs in old age. Bearing in mind the sometimes four-figure monthly contributions to statutory health insurance, the expenses for self-employed people can be planned and overseen much more easily. This is due to the transparent pricing policy of private health insurers, in contrast to the sometimes arbitrary adjustments to the maximum rate of the GKV. Since many people start self-employment as a sideline while still employed, the ticket into private health insurance is a good option for optimal cover in the future. This option entitlement (Anwartschaft) keeps the door to private health insurance open for you in good time, a door that could otherwise close at any moment due to various events. As experts in private health insurance, we advise freelancers, self-employed people and high earners on joining or switching to private health insurance. Together, with your requirements and our experience, we get the best out of your private health insurance while keeping your premiums low. Here we draw on knowledge from the tax optimisation of insurance and pension products, so that you can continue to enjoy a high standard of living in retirement. By switching to private health insurance in good time, you avoid high back payments to statutory health insurance and use the savings from low premiums to build tax-optimised wealth. Together with our modern advisory approach, private health insurance for the self-employed and freelancers becomes a transparent and cost-optimised task.