Portability

What happens to insurance coverage when an employee leaves the company? The answer is portability—the option to continue coverage as a private policy instead of losing it entirely.

Why is that even a question?

Supplementary health insurance (bKV) is provided through a collective bargaining agreement with the employer. If the employment relationship ends, membership in this plan generally ends as well. Without the option to continue coverage, employees who leave the company would face the challenge of having to obtain new private insurance—but this would involve a medical examination, waiting periods, and, by that time, a higher age of enrollment.

This is exactly where portability comes into play: It allows you to switch to an individual policy with the same insurer, often without having to undergo another medical exam.

What Changes When You Switch

• The premium: Individual contract terms apply instead of group terms—the premium generally increases significantly.
• The calculation: With Uni-Age plans, the age-independent premium is eliminated; the actual age becomes the determining factor.
• The Payer: Starting on the effective date of the change, the former employee is responsible for making the payments.
• Scope of services: Often comparable, but not necessarily identical.

Deadlines are the critical issue

The right to continue coverage is usually subject to a deadline—the application must be submitted within a few weeks or months of leaving the plan. Anyone who misses the deadline loses that right permanently, even if they would later be willing to pay the higher premium.

In practical terms, this means that information about the option to continue coverage should be included in the offboarding process, not in a footnote to the benefits policy. The time when someone leaves the company is rarely the time when they are concerned with insurance coverage periods.

Credited Periods of Previous Insurance Coverage

An often-overlooked benefit: The time spent under the group policy is generally counted toward the waiting periods and coverage tiers of the individual policy. Anyone who has been insured for two years has thus completed the usual waiting periods and can continue to receive benefits seamlessly.

The Other Scenario: Switching to a New Employer

If the new employer also offers a supplementary health insurance plan, the question of continuing coverage through a private plan often doesn’t even arise—the employee is simply added to the new group plan, again at group rates and, as a rule, without a medical exam.

What to Look for When Comparing Options

• Is there a right to continue coverage —and does it apply without a new medical exam?
• How long is the application period after leaving the company?
• Are prior periods of insurance taken into account?
• By how much will the premium increase under an individual policy, especially for older employees?
• Does this coverage also apply to co-insured family members?

Conclusion

Portability is the feature that can turn a temporary benefit into long-term coverage. For employers, it’s a key selling point—supplementary health insurance doesn’t necessarily end when the employment relationship does. For this to be the case, however, the continuation of coverage must actually be discussed during the offboarding process before the term expires.