A Special Case From Day One
Civil-servant candidates and trainees — Anwärter (for example trainee police officers or teachers) and Referendare (legal and teaching trainees) — occupy a special position in the German health system. From the start of their training they are usually entitled to Beihilfe, the state's contribution toward their medical costs, and they pair it with private health insurance (private Krankenversicherung, PKV) to cover the rest. For most, this makes PKV the natural — and very affordable — choice.
How Beihilfe works: the state reimburses a percentage of a candidate's medical costs (commonly 50%, often more for those with children). PKV then covers the remaining percentage, so the candidate only insures the gap — which is why premiums are low.
Why Beihilfe Makes PKV Cheap for Candidates
Because Beihilfe pays a large share of costs, a candidate's PKV only needs to cover the complementary percentage (the beihilfekonforme portion). Insuring, say, 50% of costs is far cheaper than insuring 100%. Combined with a young entry age, this means trainee civil servants often secure excellent comprehensive cover for a modest premium — usually far less than voluntary statutory insurance would cost them.
Special Candidate Tariffs (Anwärtertarife)
Insurers offer dedicated candidate tariffs (Anwärtertarife / Ausbildungstarife) for this group, with specially reduced premiums during training. These recognise the trainee's lower income and the Beihilfe entitlement. When training ends and the candidate becomes a tenured civil servant (Beamter auf Lebenszeit or similar), the policy transitions to a standard Beihilfe-complement tariff.
| Stage | Cover |
|---|---|
| Trainee (Anwärter/Referendar) | Beihilfe + reduced candidate tariff |
| Tenured civil servant | Beihilfe + standard complement tariff |
What Candidates Should Check
- Beihilfe percentage — confirm your entitlement, which can rise with children
- Beihilfe-compliant tariff — ensure your PKV matches the complementary percentage exactly, with no gap
- Candidate-tariff terms — and how the policy transitions after training
- Entry age and health — joining young and healthy locks in the best long-term terms
Get It Right at the Start
Because the Beihilfe-plus-PKV combination is specific and the candidate stage is time-limited, it is worth setting cover up correctly from the outset — matching the right percentages and choosing an insurer whose standard tariff you will be happy to continue with afterwards. Trainee civil servants are one of the groups for whom PKV is almost always the sensible choice; the key is structuring it to complement Beihilfe precisely. Independent advice tailored to your federal state's Beihilfe rules is especially valuable here.
Frequently Asked Questions
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