Planning a family in Germany? Health insurance rules for pregnancy differ significantly between GKV and PHI — and there is one detail (the 8-month waiting period) that catches many expats off guard.
Public (GKV): the simple case
Prenatal, delivery and postnatal care are fully covered. Maternity pay (Mutterschaftsgeld) runs 6 weeks before and 8 weeks after birth. Newborns join Familienversicherung for free.
Private (PHI): what you need to know
PHI covers the same medical scope but there is typically an 8-month waiting period for maternity benefits after policy start — so switch or start your PHI well before conception, not during pregnancy.
Insuring your newborn
In PHI, you have a statutory right to insure your newborn without a health check if you insure them within 2 months of birth and the mother has been insured for at least 3 months. This is called Kindernachversicherung.
Based on 11 Google reviews
As an international student, navigating the health insurance requirements can be confusing, but their team made the entire process smooth and stress-free. They were always responsive, professional, and willing to answer my questions.
I have been working with Ms. Fröhlich for several years and I am extremely satisfied. As an outstanding insurance broker, she finds excellent tariffs, and communicating with her makes dealing with insurance genuinely pleasant. Her expertise across all insurance topics makes her an incredibly reliable specialist. I consider myself lucky to have such a competent insurance broker by my side and can recommend her to anyone without reservation.
Nobody enjoys dealing with the topic of insurance. With Ms. Fröhlich by my side that has changed: perfect advice tailored individually to me, always reliable — without ever building any pressure. On top of that, Ms. Fröhlich works in an extremely service-oriented way. Compared to online services, she offers real added value. In short: I'm thrilled. Thank you so much!
Some client reviews have been translated from German into English for better readability. The original reviews are available on our Google Business Profile.
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Editorial Review
Reviewed by our advisory team
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Tina Fröhlich
Founder & Managing Director
Independent German Health Insurance Broker (§ 34d GewO)
Tina is the founder of Happy Expats and a licensed independent broker under § 34d GewO. She specialises in independent PKV strategy for internationals and is legally bound to act in the client's interest.
Joachim Wiedmann
International Health Insurance Advisor
Joachim advises expats, freelancers and employees on German private health insurance. He focuses on making the German system understandable in plain English and matching each client with a tariff that fits their life in Germany.
Happy Expats provides independent guidance on private health insurance in Germany for internationals. Every article is reviewed before publication and updated regularly to help ensure that the information remains accurate and relevant.