Massive increase of some private health insurance tariffs expected

In the coming weeks, the private health insurance companies (PKV) will inform their members about the tariff adjustments for the year 2013. In some private health insurance plans, according to media reports, premium increases of up to 40 percent are to be expected. Private insured who do not want to accept the tariff increases should look in time for a new health insurance or a new tariff.

29.11.2012

The possibility of premium adjustment distinguishes the private health insurance in principle from the statutory health insurance (SHI). Since the private insurers calculate their contributions taking into account the actual costs incurred, the private health insurance companies have to reckon with annual adjustments of the contribution rates. In recent years, the sometimes drastic increases in contributions have already led to strong criticism of the system of private health insurance. The privately insured would be overwhelmed by the massive increase in their insurance premiums often financially, criticized, for example, the consumer center of Rhineland-Palatinate in April this year.

Significant premium increases in numerous tariffs
While some large private insurers, such as Debeka and DKV, do not want to increase their contributions until 2014, it has long been clear that other private health insurance companies such as Central, Gothaer or Hallesche will increase their contributions significantly in the coming year. In the case of national health care, too, premium adjustments for individual tariffs are expected for 2013. This affects both old and new customers. The rates of full insurance for employees, the self-employed and freelancers, as well as tariffs for children and adolescents, but also for supplementary health insurance, are largely based on premium increases of between ten and twenty percent.

Private insured in the cost trap?
If the insured persons can not or do not want to accept the tariff increases, they will have the option to switch to another tariff or to look for a completely new private health insurance. If they switch providers, they usually lose some of their retirement provisions. Although the law offers the privately insured the opportunity to change tariffs or to change the insurance, but the private health insurers have here partially burdens considerable bureaucratic and financial hurdles, criticized the consumer center Rhineland-Palatinate therefore already months ago. The consumer advocates had evaluated after the drastic increases in the contributions of some private insurers at the beginning of 2012, a large number of complaints of private insured. They found from the documentation that in only four of the 144 cases reviewed „the change could be done easily.“ Privately insured are therefore often trapped in the cost trap. In particular, the increasing contribution rates in the increasing age of many private individuals certainly to create, especially since many can not afford the contribution rates of sometimes more than 1,000 euros with rather low pension income. (Fp)

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Unisex rates: Many insurance companies are attracting
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Switch to statutory health insurance for private persons easier
Complaints about increase in PKV contributions
Health insurance: What changes 2016351a2cc0b08c03> Image: s.media