Proof of health insurance - how does it work?

Proof of health insurance is required upon enrolment. This is due to the fact that students are normally compulsorily insured in the statutory student health insurance scheme, similar to employees who have the status of dependent employment. The university is obliged to check this situation and therefore requires confirmation from a statutory health insurance provider on this matter. For the digital notification, the health insurance company then needs the key number of the university, which you should find in the enrolment documents.

Even if you would like to be privately insured or covered by state aid, you must then register with a statutory health insurance provider in order to be exempted from compulsory statutory insurance. If you are already thirty years old at the time of enrolment, the check is not necessary, but you should still be insured (e.g. "voluntarily insured" by law).

What types of health insurance are there?

If your parents are insured with a statutory health insurance fund, your health insurance will be free of charge at the start of your studies - provided you are under 25 years of age. If you are married to a partner with statutory health insurance or registered as a civil partner, family insurance is even available without age limit. You will then receive confirmation from the family health insurance fund.
Further important information on statutory family insurance...

If the option of family insurance is cancelled, it will be replaced by the statutory "student health insurance" mentioned above (approx. €134 per month, as of winter semester 2024/25, with an additional contribution of 1.5%). You then decide for yourself which health insurance company you want to join and submit an application for enrolment.
Further important information ...

If you are already over 30 years old when you start your studies (and not covered by family insurance through a partner), student health insurance does not apply, provided no reasons for extension can be given. If you were covered by statutory health insurance before your studies, you can usually take out voluntary insurance there (approx. € 230 per month, with 1.5% additional contribution, as of 2024).
Further important information ...
Taking out private insurance in this situation is not necessarily cheaper at this age.

If your parents have private health insurance, this will also apply to you via an additional contractual element. If you want to keep this private insurance, it would make no sense to pay the statutory student health insurance that comes with enrolment. To do this, you must apply for an exemption from student health insurance with any statutory health insurance provider, which is usually valid for the entire duration of your studies and cannot be cancelled!

If your parents are civil servants and you already receive health insurance through this status ("Beihilfe"), a decision on exemption from student health insurance is also pending here (similar to privately insured persons).
However, the allowance only lasts as long as the child benefit payment, which usually ends on your 25th birthday. You can no longer return to statutory health insurance (approx. €134 per month) after the exemption and must take out full private insurance from the age of 25.