Family Insurance
As a ZF BKK policyholder, you can generally add your family members to your coverage at no additional cost. This means: one premium, many benefits— for you and your loved ones—as long as they do not have their own primary insurance.
Who is covered under family insurance?
Family insurance covers:
- Spouses and domestic partners (under the Domestic Partnership Act)
- Biological and adopted children
- Stepchildren and grandchildren, if you are primarily responsible for their support or if they live with you in the same household
- Foster children (provided they are not in professional foster care)
For Spouses and Domestic Partners
Your partner may be covered under family insurance if:
- they are not self-employed as their primary occupation
- they are not subject to mandatory statutory insurance
- their total regular income in 2026 is less than €565.00, or
- in the case of minor employment, they do not earn more than €603.00 per month
For Children
Children are covered free of charge:
- up to age 23, provided they are not employed
- until age 25, if they are enrolled in school, vocational training, or college
Periods of volunteer service, military service, or alternative civilian service may extend the coverage.
For children with disabilities, family coverage is valid indefinitely—provided the disability existed while eligibility for family coverage was still in effect.
Application for Family Insurance
- Simply online through your online account
- Or the traditional way, by paper application
Be aware of income limits
The following applies to co-insured family members:
- For income from self-employment, rental and leasing income, investment income, or a pension:
a maximum of €565.00 per month - For mini-jobs:
up to €603.00 per month
If this limit is exceeded, the premium-free family insurance coverage ends. Please notify us promptly of any changes in income—this helps prevent coverage gaps.
Special Provisions
If a parent has private health insurance, or if the child is a stepchild or grandchild, we review the eligibility requirements on a case-by-case basis. For example, children can only be covered at no additional cost if:
- the income of the privately insured partner in 2026
does not exceed 6,450.00 € per month, or - the child’s own income is higher than that of the privately insured parent
Annual Audit – Please Help Out
As a statutory health insurance provider, we are required to review your family coverage once a year. When the time comes, you’ll receive a letter from us with a personal access code. You can also access the questionnaire without the access code—simply by using your login credentials for the online portal.
Please complete the online questionnaire within 10 days —even if nothing has changed. This ensures your information remains up to date—and your family’s coverage remains seamless.
Frequently Asked Questions
With family coverage, you can easily include certain family members under your statutory health insurance—at no additional cost. This includes, for example, spouses and domestic partners, as well as children. Stepchildren, grandchildren, foster children, and adopted children can also be covered under family insurance under certain conditions.
We’d be happy to check for you whether family insurance is an option.
In general, spouses, registered domestic partners, and children can be covered under family insurance.
Among other things, it is important that the person in question has their domicile or habitual residence in Germany, is not primarily covered by another insurance plan, is not self-employed as their primary occupation, and does not exceed the applicable income limit. For children, age and personal circumstances also play a role. Since every case may be slightly different, we’re happy to review each situation individually to determine whether the requirements for family insurance are met.
In 2026, your total regular monthly income generally may not exceed 565 euros. For part-time employment—that is, a “minijob”—the limit is 603 euros per month. If you have multiple sources of income or if your income changes, the assessment may be somewhat more complex. Please feel free to let us know about any changes. We’ll check for you whether your family insurance coverage can continue.
Total income may include various sources of income, such as:
- Wages
- Income from self-employment
- Pensions
- Income from renting and leasing
- Income from capital assets
- Severance pay
Your personal income situation is always the deciding factor.
If you’re not sure which types of income apply to you, we’d be happy to assist you and review your case individually.
Children can generally remain covered under family insurance until their 18th birthday. If they are not employed, family insurance is generally available until their 23rd birthday. If children are in school, vocational training, or college, family insurance can generally continue until their 25th birthday. Special rules apply to children with disabilities under certain conditions.
We’d be happy to check for you how long family insurance is available for your child.
Students can generally remain covered under their parents' family health insurance until they turn 25 —provided that the other requirements are also met. Certain periods of volunteer service or military service can extend the duration of family health insurance. When family health insurance ends, student health insurance is often an option.
Yes, that is generally possible. Spouses and registered domestic partners can be covered under family insurance if the legal requirements are met. Factors such as income level, whether they have their own insurance, and self-employment play a role in this.
We’d be happy to review your specific situation to determine whether family insurance is an option for you.
Family insurance coverage may end, for example, if your spouse or partner begins employment subject to mandatory insurance, becomes self-employed as a primary occupation, or regularly exceeds the applicable income limit. Other changes may also affect your family insurance coverage.
It’s best to let us know about any changes as soon as possible. We’ll then work with you to determine how your insurance coverage will proceed.
Yes, it may still be possible to enroll the child under a family health insurance plan. However, if one parent has private health insurance and the other has public health insurance, special conditions apply. Among other factors, this depends on the amount and ratio of the parents’ incomes.
Therefore, it’s not always possible to provide a general answer for such cases. We’d be happy to review your situation individually to determine whether your child can be covered under family insurance without paying premiums.
You can easily apply for family insurance through our online office. Alternatively, you can use our paper application form. On the application, we’ll need some information about your family members, such as their previous insurance coverage, family relationships, and, if applicable, their income.
If you have any questions while filling out the form, we’re of course happy to help. Feel free to use our online consultation service for this as well.
The documents we need from you depend on your personal situation.
Depending on the case, the following documents may be required, for example:
- Birth, marriage, or civil partnership certificates
- School or college transcripts
- Proof of specific periods of employment
- Income tax assessment notices
- Proof of income for a spouse or civil partner
We will inform you on a case-by-case basis which documents are actually required.
We are legally required to periodically verify that the eligibility requirements for family coverage continue to be met. That is why we regularly ask our insured individuals to provide updated information regarding their family coverage. Even if nothing has changed for you, we need your response.
If you need help filling out the questionnaire, we’re happy to assist you. Feel free to use our online consultation service for this as well.
Family insurance coverage ends when the legal requirements are no longer met. This may be the case, for example, if the income limit is regularly exceeded, if you begin employment subject to mandatory insurance, if you start working as a full-time self-employed person, or if you reach the age limit.
Important: This does not automatically mean that your health insurance coverage ends.
Yes, that may be possible. If you meet the requirements for family insurance again at a later date and do not have any other insurance that takes precedence, you can generally be covered under family insurance again. Whether this is possible—and, if so, when—depends on your personal situation.
Just get in touch with us. We’ll be happy to check for you whether it’s possible to switch back to family insurance.
