Tarifwechsel: your legal right to switch tariffs within your insurer
Section 204 VVG gives every privately insured person in Germany the right to change tariffs within their insurer, keeping entry age and aging reserves in full. It is the most underused money lever in German private health insurance.
What Section 204 guarantees you
A right, not a favour
For tariffs with comparable cover, the insurer must accept your switch request. No deadline, no minimum age, no year-end window.
Everything carries over
Entry age, acquired rights and 100 percent of your aging reserves move into the new tariff. This is what makes it safer than changing insurers.
Health check only for upgrades
A new assessment applies only to additional benefits in the target tariff. Equal or lower benefits switch without any health questions.
The waiver option
If extra benefits would trigger a surcharge or waiting period, you can waive exactly those extras and switch cleanly. Few people know this option exists.
Tarifwechsel vs. new insurer vs. Basistarif
The three realistic moves when your premium no longer fits, side by side.
Tarifwechsel
Same insurer, Section 204
New insurer
Full application
Basistarif
The safety net
The essentials
Choose a plan to compare
Basistarif premium capped at EUR 1,017.18 per month in 2026; access depends on contract date and age. Figures are 2026 values.
How the process actually works
You request the change in writing and ask your insurer for all tariff alternatives with comparable cover. Under the industry tariff-change guidelines, advice is free and complaints must be answered within 15 working days; from age 60 insurers must also point out cheaper comparable tariffs with every premium increase notice. Savings are case-dependent, often several hundred euros per month for long-insured clients, but beware the catch: a cheaper target tariff can hide a higher deductible or trimmed benefits, and the insurer's own suggestions may favour tariffs that suit the insurer. An independent check of the full tariff list is exactly what a broker is for, and it costs you nothing.
- Written request; the insurer must show you comparable alternatives free of charge.
- Watch for hidden deductible increases and benefit cuts in the target tariff.
- From age 60, insurers must flag cheaper tariffs with every premium increase.
Common questions about the Tarifwechsel
Check your situation in
Related guides
Two more pages that come up most often when people are at this stage.
Tariffs and premium changes
Switching tariffs and why premiums adjust over time.