Working Life > Social Insurance > Health Insurance > Company Health Insurance Fund

Company Health Insurance Fund

Definition, Explanation

Larger companies, having more than 1,000 employees subject to health insurance obligation, may constitute a company health insurance fund. The only prerequisites are that the majority of the company’s employees supports constituting a company health insurance fund, and that permanent service capability of the company health insurance is secured. A company health insurance fund, in Germany, is a statutory health insurance with the according organization comprising a director’s board and an administrative board. Such company health insurance funds have been set up in Daimler, BMW, Deutsche Bahn, Post, Siemens (SBK) etc.

As a corporation under public law, a company health insurance fund is part of the social insurance, and subject to the regulations for statutory health insurances. They administrate themselves.

Membership in a company health insurance, in most cases, is not reserved for the company’s employees. Rather, most company health insurances are open for other insured, i.e. there need not be company staff membership given. Around 13 million people, that is 18 % of all Germany’s statutory health insured are insured in a company health insurance.

Company health insurances are organized in regional company health insurance associations according to their headquarters location, which in turn make up the Federal company health insurance together with the Bahn company health insurance. the Federal one represents its members’ political and professional interests on a national level.

Among the insured are:

• Apprentices
• University students
• Singles and couples
• Families
• People aged 50 plus, so-called best-agers
• Unemployed – for which contributions are paid by the Federal Employment Agency 
• Important: Self-employed, normally, are not obliged to be insured. Private insurance in company health insurances, is possible

The contributions are equal for all statutory health insurances and thereby the same for the company health insurances. However, additional contributions are possible, also refunds of contributions. Additional contributions must be approved by the German Federal (Social) Insurance Office (Bundesversicherungsamt).

Tips, Checklist

• Even statutory health insurances differ in their benefits. Benefits are offered in additional packages and optional tariffs. Therefore, you should look at the benefits thoroughly and select your health insurance according to whether they offer benefits matching you, e.g. homoeopathic treatment
• Changing from a statutory health insurance, also from a company health insurance, to another is possible at any time whereas certain cancellation periods are compulsive. Whenever contribution amounts are raised, there is a special right to cancel with a cancellation period of 2 months

Last update: 08/06/2010