Health insurance during your apprenticeship
If you are doing your apprenticeship in Germany, you must take out health insurance with a health insurance company. However, apprentices are free to choose their health insurance company.
Your contributions to health insurance - but also to long-term care, pension and unemployment insurance - are deducted directly from your apprenticeship salary. The apprenticeship company takes care of this.
Here you can find out what health insurance contributions apprentices pay and the benefits of DAK–Gesundheit membership.
Health insurance contributions for apprentices in Germany
Exactly how much you have to pay for health insurance depends on your income. You pay a certain percentage of your salary as a contribution.
At DAK–Gesundheit, you pay a total contribution rate of 17,4 percent. You share this with your employer so that each of you pays 8,7 percent of your gross salary.
If you earn less than EUR 325 per month, you do not have to pay any contributions yourself. Your employer will then pay the contributions in full.
Benefits at DAK–Gesundheit
Particularly rewarding for apprentices:
Bonus program
With DAK AktivBonus you can collect points – and exchange them for cash bonuses or subsidies, for example for a fitness tracker or running shoes. Or for a gym or sports club membership. You can get up to EUR 500 for your fitness tracker or sports shoes.
EUR 90 extra per year
With our Guarantee Plan 90, you receive EUR 90 a year. And for at least three years. Conditions: You remain insured with us for this period and can do without certain benefits such as periodontal treatment or travel costs. And if you don't, you will have to pay an excess of EUR 120. However, you will still receive the premium of EUR 90, so you will have to pay a maximum of EUR 30 yourself.
Travel vaccinations
We reimburse 100 percent of travel vaccinations. Simply submit your invoice and doctor's prescription via the DAK app. The money will be refunded to your account.
Illness during your apprenticeship: What happens?
If you fall ill during your apprenticeship, you should inform your apprenticeship company. If you need a certificate of incapacity for work (also known as a sick note or electronic Certificate of Incapacity for Work, eAU), you will receive this from your family doctor. The practice will send the certificate of incapacity for work electronically to your health insurance company. They will then forward it to your apprenticeship company.
You will initially continue to receive your apprenticeship allowance for up to six weeks. After that, i.e. from the seventh week, the health insurance company will pay you sick pay amounting to 70 percent of your gross pay, but no more than 90 percent of your net pay.
If you fall ill during the first four weeks of your apprenticeship, your employer will not pay anything. In this case, you will receive sick pay directly from the health insurance company.
Health insurance after your apprenticeship
If you remain employed by your apprenticeship company after your apprenticeship, your insurance will continue as before. However, as your salary is likely to increase, your health insurance contributions will also increase, as these are calculated on the basis of your gross salary.
If you change employer, your health insurance will not change. You just need to tell your new employer where you are insured so that they can pay the contributions due.
