PKV tariffs are very unstable

Partial massive premium increases in private health insurance

16/06/2011

The contributions in the private health insurance (PHI) drift further and further apart. While in some tariffs the contributions remained almost stable or continue to rise moderately, in other tariffs more and more massive premium adjustments are due, according to a recent study by the rating agency Morgen & Morgen.

In private health insurance, the contributions are generally subject to annual adjustments, with the insurance companies opting for an increase in rates almost every year for reasons of economy. The experts state that there is a clear divergence between the very good and the particularly bad insurance rates, even though the premium adjustments this year were roughly in line with the previous year.

13 percent premium increases in individual PKV tariffs
The rating agency Morgen & Morgen has analyzed more than 3,500 insurance rates for private health insurance as part of its current study and found that the development of premiums is fundamentally different and that the gap between the particularly favorable and the particularly expensive tariffs is widening. Although the premium adjustments in the private health insurance from the year 2010 to 2011 did not show a big difference to the previous years, in some tariffs there were extreme increases in premiums, according to the results of Morgen & Morgen. „We talk about an average of over 7 percent adjustment per year - in extreme cases, but by almost 13 percent“, the experts report. Overall, the massive premium increases in some tariffs in the last ten years with 3,428 euros to beat book, reported the CEO of morning & morning dr. Martin Zsohar. Affected by the current results, according to the already worse tariffs in the first place, so that the gap between the very good and the particularly bad tariffs significantly widened.

Wide gap between cheap and bad PKV rates
Dr. According to Zsohar, the chances of catching a particularly good tariff as well as the possibility of obtaining a particularly bad tariff have increased significantly when taking out insurance in private health insurance. Thus, the number of very unstable rates with only one star in the rating has increased by 60 percent, reports the expert. On the other hand, the particularly good rates, so-called top performers with a rating of five stars, have increased by 40 percent. While premium increases of up to 13 percent were not uncommon among the particularly expensive tariffs, top performers only recorded average increases of 2.7 percent a year. In the more than 3,500 insurance rates surveyed, average premium increases of 4.9 percent were due this year. In the end, only the thorough research will remain as an option for the willing-to-change insured in order to gain some clues as to the choice of their future insurance, according to Morgen & Morgen. (Fp)

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Picture credits: Margot Kessler