Visa-ready plans from $721 per adult, billed annually · see your exact price by age.
The rule in writing
“For Germany’s national visa, health insurance must include the benefits statutory-insured persons are entitled to under §11(1–3) SGB V, and the contract must be open-ended — no expiry or cancellation clauses tied to age, employment, or residence status. Travel insurance is insufficient.”
Official source: German Federal Foreign Office — health insurance in the national visa procedure — Last verified:
Health insurance cost in Germany starts low, but price isn't the hard part
Getting a price for health insurance in Germany is the easy half of the question. Regency prices by rate region, and all eight countries we cover, Germany included, sit in the same EU region. At age 18, from-prices run from $392/year for Essential up to $1,906/year for Fully Comprehensive.
The harder half is Germany's own rule: your residence permit application expects benefits equivalent to the statutory §11(1-3) SGB V standard, an open-ended contract with no expiry tied to age, employment, or residence status, and a deductible no higher than about €300 a year under official guidance. Travel insurance does not meet this bar. That is why price and equivalence have to be checked together, not separately.
Every tier carries the same baseline terms: no medical exam, cover starts the same day, a 14-day cooling-off period, pre-existing conditions excluded, and treatment inside the United States is not covered. Annual limits run from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 depending on tier.
What health insurance actually costs at 40, 55, and 65
These are real annual-billing prices for the same EU rate region Germany sits in, shown at three common ages.
| Tier | Age 40 | Age 55 | Age 65 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | $589/yr ($57/mo) | $926/yr ($90/mo) | $1,731/yr ($167/mo) |
| Major Medical | $1,081/yr ($104/mo) | $1,701/yr ($164/mo) | $3,180/yr ($307/mo) |
| Standard | $1,804/yr ($174/mo) | $3,199/yr ($309/mo) | $5,367/yr ($519/mo) |
| Comprehensive | $2,475/yr ($239/mo) | $4,334/yr ($419/mo) | $6,917/yr ($669/mo) |
| Fully Comprehensive | $3,094/yr ($299/mo) | $5,418/yr ($524/mo) | $8,646/yr ($836/mo) |
Essential is written to age 80; the other four tiers are written to age 70. For your exact household figure, use the pricing calculator, which prices each family member by their own age.
Family pricing: what children add
Children aged 0 to 17 are priced as a single flat rate per tier rather than by individual age, which makes budgeting for a family move to Germany simpler.
| Tier | Child (0-17) per year |
|---|---|
| Essential | $308 |
| Major Medical | $566 |
| Standard | $853 |
| Comprehensive | $1,151 |
| Fully Comprehensive | $1,439 |
Add a child's flat rate to each adult's age-based price for the household total, or run the whole family through the pricing calculator for an exact figure.
Annual vs monthly billing, the Germany check, and what to do next
Paying annually is always the cheapest way to buy any tier. The monthly figures on this page are not the annual price divided by twelve; they are the insurer's real monthly-billing installments, and they include a loading for paying month to month.
Price is the part we can quote instantly. Whether a plan fits Germany's residence-permit rule is not something we assume. A person verifies whether your case fits our partner's arrangement (confirmed July 2026) before you buy, and if a German incoming-style product suits your case better, we say so rather than force a fit.
Next steps: get your exact household price with the pricing calculator, start a quote, read the public vs private comparison, or work through the pre-application checklist before you apply.
Honest limits: Cover is worldwide but excludes treatment in the United States. Pre-existing conditions are excluded, including conditions you did not know about. We disclose this before you request a quote. Consulates keep discretion, and requirements can change. We show the published rule and its source; the final decision is the consulate’s.