bKV Wiki

Flat-rate taxation of in-kind benefits at approximately 30 percent by the employer; applicable without a request, up to 10,000 euros per recipient per year.

Flat-rate taxation at an individually calculated average rate; requires an application; limited to 1,000 euros per employee per year.

Monthly limit under Section 8(2), sentence 11, of the Income Tax Act (EStG), up to which non-cash benefits remain exempt from income tax and social security contributions. Exemption limit; not a tax-free allowance.

When changing employers, employees can generally transfer their supplementary health insurance to an individual policy with the same insurer without undergoing a new medical examination. The employee then pays the premium themselves; their existing coverage remains in effect.

The employer contribution refers to the employer’s financial contribution toward the supplementary health insurance premium. In most supplementary health insurance plans, the employer covers 100 percent of the premium; hybrid models that include an employee copayment are more complex from both an operational and a tax perspective.

Assistance services are offerings related to medical care—such as scheduling appointments, obtaining second opinions, telemedicine, and consultation hotlines. They generally do not impact the health care budget and are often the starting point through which employees begin using their supplemental health insurance in the first place.

Wages paid in cash, subject to full tax and social security contributions. The 50-euro exemption limit does not apply.

With a modular plan, the employer specifically selects individual benefit categories—such as dental, vision, or preventive care—rather than providing a budget that can be used at the employee’s discretion. This allows for more precise control but offers less flexibility for employees; today, a hybrid approach combining a base budget with modules is common.

The premium waiver is a plan option that suspends premium payments in certain situations—such as during prolonged inability to work, parental leave, leave of absence, or family care leave. Insurance coverage remains in effect during this time.

Employer-sponsored disability insurance provides income protection in the event of disability through the employer. Its greatest advantage is access through a group insurance policy, often with no medical examination or a simplified one—for tax purposes, it follows a different system than the bKV.

Employer-sponsored health insurance (bKV) is a health benefit plan funded by the employer that provides employees covered by statutory health insurance (GKV) with private supplemental benefits—tax- and social security-contribution-free up to 50 euros per month.

Employer-sponsored long-term care insurance is a supplemental policy taken out through an employer to provide coverage in the event of a need for long-term care, which fills the gaps in statutory long-term care insurance. It follows the same structure and tax system as the bKV—and shares the 50-euro exemption limit with it.

Workplace health management is a systematic approach to promoting health in the workplace through structures and measures. While workplace health management has a preventive and collective effect, supplemental health insurance covers individual medical care—the two complement each other but are not interchangeable.

An expense that reduces the company's profit. bKV premiums are deductible as business expenses.

Eyeglasses, contact lenses, and vision aids are the most frequently used benefit category in many supplementary health insurance plans. Typical reimbursements range from 200 to 800 euros per year—often without a medical necessity and without set intervals between claims.

A type of supplemental health insurance plan in which employees are provided with a fixed annual budget that they can use at their discretion for health-related services.

DiGAs are digital health applications—apps and programs that have been tested, are listed in an official registry, and can be prescribed by a doctor. Under supplementary health insurance (bKV) plans, they are sometimes reimbursed up to a separate annual maximum amount, sometimes covered by the overall budget, and sometimes not reimbursable at all.

The reimbursement rate indicates the percentage of an invoice that the plan covers—often 70, 75, 90, or 100 percent for dental prosthetics and vision aids. It applies in addition to the budget and sublimits and is most often overlooked when comparing plans.

The Specialist Appointment Service helps insured individuals secure same-day appointments with specialists, arranged through the insurer or a service provider. It does not impact the healthcare budget and is often the first point of contact through which employees become familiar with the supplementary health insurance plan.

Family insurance allows family members—usually a spouse and children—to be covered under the employee’s supplementary health insurance plan. Depending on the provider and plan, it may be fully funded by the employer, partially funded, or offered as a self-pay option.

Workdays lost due to illness. Expressed in terms of cost as the ongoing personnel costs per workday; the absence rate is the ratio of days missed to workdays.

The total of all expenses incurred as a result of a position becoming vacant and being filled—recruiting, onboarding, lost productivity, and administrative costs. Typically modeled as a multiple of the annual salary.

A financial benefit that employees receive in addition to their salary and that is subject to taxation.

The annual amount available to employees for health care services under a budget-based plan.

A medical examination is the standard process by which an insurer asks about pre-existing conditions before a contract is signed. In bKV group policies, this is generally not required—all employees are eligible for coverage without having to answer medical questions, even if they have pre-existing conditions.

"GKV advance payment" means that statutory health insurance must first cover the costs before supplementary health insurance (bKV) reimburses the remaining amount. Plans without this requirement often apply a flat-rate deduction instead—which eliminates one step in the reimbursement process.

A group policy covers multiple insured individuals under a single insurance contract with more favorable terms. In supplementary health insurance (bKV), the group policy is the standard structure: the employer is the policyholder, and the employees are the insured individuals.

Services provided by alternative practitioners include treatments administered by non-medical practitioners in accordance with the Alternative Practitioners Act. Supplementary health insurance typically reimburses these costs up to the amount specified in the fee schedule for alternative practitioners (GebüH)—usually at 2.0 to 3.5 times the standard rate.

The IVFP rating is an evaluation of insurance plans conducted by the Institute for Pension and Financial Planning, which also includes supplementary health insurance plans. It serves as a filter for preliminary selection—the actual decision is based on sublimits, reimbursement rates, and services.

The waiting period is the time after the contract begins during which certain benefits cannot yet be accessed, or can only be accessed to a limited extent. In group supplementary health insurance (bKV) contracts, it is often eliminated entirely because the pool of insured individuals is already mixed due to the enrollment of the entire workforce.

A framework agreement between an employer and an insurer under which employees are insured at group rates.

The minimum number of participants is the number of insured individuals that an insurer requires for a group supplementary health insurance policy—sometimes as an absolute number, sometimes as a percentage of the workforce. These requirements vary considerably across the market and narrow down the pool of potential providers early on.

An option in which the employer pays the tax and the full social security contribution, including the employee's share.

The utilization rate describes the percentage of employees eligible for the company health budget who actually make active use of it within a year. Industry averages range from 15 to 52 percent—well-communicated programs reach 60 to 70 percent.

The enrollment window is the provision in the policy that specifies the period of time after the policy’s effective date during which new participants or family members can be enrolled without a medical examination. The longer the enrollment window, the more flexible the policy terms.

Osteopathy is a form of manual therapy that treats musculoskeletal complaints and functional disorders using targeted manual pressure. Supplementary health insurance typically covers osteopathic treatments as part of holistic healing methods.

The flat-rate taxation provision under Section 37b of the German Income Tax Act (EStG) allows employers to tax non-cash benefits provided to employees at a flat rate of 30 percent. For supplementary health insurance premiums exceeding 50 euros per month, this is the standard approach to ensuring that the benefit remains net-neutral for employees.

Portability refers to the option to continue bKV coverage privately after leaving the company—often without having to undergo another medical examination, but under the terms of an individual contract. This right is usually subject to a time limit following departure from the company.

The framework contract number is the unique identifier for a supplementary health insurance group policy with the insurer. Employees need it for onboarding, claims processing, and communication with the insurer. Employers should keep a central record of it and make it easily accessible.

The tax-free benefit in kind under Section 8(2), sentence 11 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG) allows employers to provide employees with up to 50 euros per month free of tax and social security contributions. The supplementary health insurance premium is one of the most common uses of this provision.

The non-cash compensation card is a prepaid card that employers use to provide non-cash benefits. It counts toward the same 50-euro exemption limit as the bKV—if both are used simultaneously, the amounts are added together and may collectively exceed the limit.

Wages paid in the form of benefits in kind rather than cash. Only when paid as benefits in kind does the bKV qualify for tax benefits.

A sublimit is a monetary limit within a plan that caps reimbursement for a single category of benefits—even if the overall budget has not yet been exhausted. Sublimits are the most common reason why two plans with the same budget provide different levels of coverage.

Telemedicine includes medical consultations and treatment via video, phone, or app—such as video appointments, online dermatology consultations, or symptom checkers. In supplementary health insurance plans, it is usually available without affecting the coverage limit and is one of the most frequently used services.

Under the Uni-Age pricing model, the premium is the same for all insured individuals, regardless of their age at enrollment. The insurer bases its calculations on the age distribution of the entire group—this greatly simplifies budget planning and administration and is widely used in supplementary health insurance.

The coverage policy is the document in which the employer specifies which employee groups are eligible for supplemental health insurance and under what conditions. While it is not legally required, it is strongly recommended—it protects against lawsuits under the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) and disputes regarding the inclusion or exclusion of individual employees.

Preventive medical examinations are health screenings designed to detect diseases at an early stage. Supplementary health insurance (bKV) typically also covers preventive medical examinations that are not included in the statutory health insurance (GKV) coverage list—such as comprehensive checkups, HPV tests, colorectal cancer screening for people under 50, or IGeL services.

The waiting period is the time after the policy takes effect during which no benefits are paid out. In modern budget-based supplementary health insurance plans, this waiting period is usually eliminated entirely—employees can use the budget starting on the first day of coverage.

Dental care—crowns, bridges, implants, dentures—is one of the most financially burdensome categories of healthcare and, at the same time, one of the most frequently used areas of supplementary health insurance. Budget plans typically reimburse dental care in full within the limits of the available annual budget, sometimes with phased caps during the first few years of the policy.

The dental reimbursement schedule is a time-based scale for dental coverage: The maximum reimbursable amount increases gradually over the first few years of the policy. Many group supplementary health insurance plans either do not include this schedule or have a shorter schedule than individual policies.

The “additionality” requirement stipulates that a benefit must be provided in addition to the wages already owed and must not result from a salary conversion. In employer-sponsored supplementary health insurance, this is usually not an issue—but it becomes problematic when the supplementary health insurance replaces existing components of compensation.

The second-opinion service provides an independent second medical assessment prior to major procedures, arranged through the insurer. It is part of the assistance benefits and, in most plans, does not count toward the health care budget.