Teacher training insurance runs through four stages. In the bachelor’s and the master’s of education, you are usually compulsorily or family-insured as a student. During the preparatory service, you are usually a civil servant on probation with state aid. After that, your employment decides your status. The first real decision comes at the start of your studies, because the exemption from compulsory insurance is possible only within the first three months.
Key points in brief
- At a state university, you are compulsorily insured as a student (base contribution €87.38 plus additional contribution plus long-term care insurance), or family-insured up to age 25 if your total income is no more than €565 per month.
- Teacher trainees are usually civil servants on probation. They receive state aid (Beihilfe) and need supplementary health insurance, which can be statutory or private.
- State aid and status are a matter for each state. What counts is what your appointment notice and your state’s state-aid office say.
- An expectancy cover in private health insurance keeps your access to a later civil service tariff open. It costs money and pays off only in certain situations.
- For future teachers, the occupational disability clause (Dienstunfähigkeitsklausel) matters most for disability cover.
What are the stages of the teacher training path for insurance?
The path comprises the bachelor’s, the master of education, the preparatory service (traineeship) and career entry as a teacher. The timeline shows which rules apply in which phase.
| Phase | Typical status | Health insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor and master of education | Student at a state university | Compulsory student insurance until the end of the semester in which you turn 30; alternatively family cover up to age 25 |
| Between studies and traineeship | Varies with your situation | Family cover, follow-on insurance, or compulsory insurance with unemployment benefit I |
| Preparatory service | Usually civil servant on probation | State aid plus private or voluntary statutory insurance |
| Career entry | Appointed as civil servant on probation, or employed | With appointment, private insurance with state aid; with employment below €77,400 annual salary, statutory compulsory insurance |
How are you insured during the teacher-training degree?
If you are enrolled at a state or state-recognised university, you are compulsorily insured under statutory health insurance, unless a prior insurance applies. The contribution in 2026 is the nationwide base contribution of €87.38 (10.22 percent of €855) plus your fund’s additional contribution plus long-term care insurance. With an additional contribution of 2.9 percent and no children from age 23, that comes to about €148 per month (€87.38 plus €24.80 plus €35.91).
Alternatively, you can be covered as a family member through a parent until your 25th birthday, if your total income in 2026 is no more than €565 per month. BAföG and child benefit do not count as income. How the options fit together is explained in detail in the guide Health insurance for students (in German). The Consumer Advice Centre also gives an overview.
When should you consider private insurance as a teacher trainee?
The question arises at the start of your studies, and again when you move into the traineeship. At the start of your studies, you can apply for an exemption from compulsory insurance. The application must reach your health insurer within three months of the start of compulsory insurance. The exemption is irrevocable and normally applies for the entire degree. Free family cover then no longer applies, and a return to statutory insurance is possible only in narrow cases.
For children of civil servants, private insurance during the studies can initially be cheap, because the parents’ state aid covers a large part of the costs. Hamburg, for example, cites 80 percent for eligible children. State aid usually ends at the 25th birthday, when the family supplement ends, and then the burden rises considerably. So calculate the contribution for the time after age 25 before you decide. Contribution increases occur in private insurance.
Answer the health questions in an application completely and truthfully, because the insurer can withdraw from the contract if your answers are wrong. Before you apply, an anonymous risk enquiry can help.
Is an expectancy cover worth it during teacher training?
An expectancy cover secures your current health status for a later entry into private insurance. The small expectancy cover secures your health status but builds no ageing provisions, so the later contribution depends on your age when you return. The large expectancy cover also secures your entry age and continues to build provisions, so it costs correspondingly more. Reactivation usually takes place within two months after the reason for the gap has ended.
Whether it is worth it depends on your health, timetable and budget. If you are concerned about a later health check, you should also know the PKV opening campaign (Öffnungsaktion). It applies to civil servants on probation, for a fixed term, for life and, since 2019, also to civil servants on probation for revocation. The application must be made within the first six months after first appointment as a civil servant, and no earlier than after any preparatory service. The risk surcharge is at most 30 percent, with no exclusions of benefits and no maximum age. The entitlement applies only to tariffs that comply with state-aid rules and only to the first company to which you submit a formal application. The details are in the information sheet of the PKV association (German). Whether an expectancy cover makes sense in your case is explained in the guide Expectancy cover in private insurance (in German).
How are you insured between your studies and the traineeship?
Student insurance does not end with your final examination, but usually with the semester of your last enrolment or re-enrolment. Receipt of unemployment benefit I (with a pre-insurance period of twelve months within 30 months) or basic security benefit creates compulsory insurance. Without benefit receipt, family cover (income limit €565, and age limit 23 for unemployed persons) or compulsory follow-on insurance as voluntary membership can apply.
After membership ends, benefit claims continue for at most one month, as long as you are not in employment and no other insurance takes precedence. If your contract runs privately, you will find the details in the guide Private insurance after your studies (in German).
What changes for teacher training insurance during the traineeship?
Teacher trainees are usually civil servants on probation with state aid. What counts is the appointment certificate, status and employer, not the name of the training. As a civil servant on probation, you are exempt from health, long-term care and unemployment contributions, and the principle of self-provision applies: you insure yourself, privately or through voluntary statutory insurance, and state aid covers part of the medical costs.
For teacher trainees, the state aid law of your state applies. The assessment rate is usually 50 percent for you and 80 percent for eligible children, although some states differ. Your state-aid office is the binding source.
State aid does not cover everything. Typical gaps are dental prostheses, therapeutic aids and visual aids, which is why a state-aid supplementary tariff is often recommended. Some states also offer a flat-rate state aid, for example Hamburg. It pays 50 percent of the statutory contribution including the additional contribution, but no subsidy towards long-term care insurance, and it requires a permanent waiver of individual state aid. The application takes effect only for the future. Details on state aid, private or statutory insurance during the traineeship are in the guide Health insurance during the traineeship (in German). For the legal traineeship, different rules apply, which the guide Law: insurance from studies to traineeship (in German) explains.
What applies after the traineeship?
With direct appointment as a civil servant on probation, you remain in private insurance. If you instead start as an employed teacher and your salary is below the annual earnings threshold (2026: €77,400 per year), statutory health insurance is compulsory. A private insurance expectancy cover then allows a return without a new health check, and the return deadline is usually two months. You can switch from the trainee tariff to the standard tariff later, again without a new health check. The criteria for career entry are summarised in the guide Private health insurance at career entry (in German).
What role do inability to serve and occupational disability play?
For civil servants, inability to serve (Dienstunfähigkeit) is a separate topic. An occupational disability insurance policy can include an occupational disability clause for this purpose. With the genuine clause, the insurer pays as soon as the employer determines inability to serve, without its own occupational disability assessment. With the non-genuine clause, the occupational disability standards apply, and the insurer makes its own assessment. Occupational disability insurance without this clause can be unsuitable for civil servants, because it remains unclear whether inability to serve creates an entitlement.
Even as a civil servant on probation or for revocation, occupational disability cover can be important if you are not appointed or change career. If you already have occupational disability insurance without the clause before appointment, first keep it and check whether a change makes sense. The clause narrows the field of providers. The basics are explained by the Consumer Advice Centre Rhineland-Palatinate, and the specifics for teaching in the guide Occupational disability insurance in teacher training (in German).
Do you need liability insurance, and what about official liability?
During your studies, you are usually co-insured under your parents’ personal liability insurance, as long as you are unmarried and studying. The conditions depend on the policy. The cover can end with a late master’s after the bachelor’s, or with permanent employment or the traineeship, and some insurers apply an age limit. So have the answer confirmed in writing and report your student status. Check your own policy by the time of the traineeship at the latest. The Consumer Advice Centre recommends a minimum cover of €10 million.
How official liability is covered during the preparatory service is something to ask the appointing authority or the seminar. Ask there about official liability insurance and compare the answer with your private policy.
Frequently asked questions
When should I consider private insurance as a teacher trainee?
At the start of your studies, when the three-month deadline for an exemption from compulsory insurance runs. The decision applies to the whole degree and cannot be reversed. A second decision point comes at the preparatory service, when state aid and your own tariff work together. Calculate the contributions in advance.
What changes for health insurance during the traineeship?
You are usually appointed as a civil servant on probation. State aid covers part of the costs, and you insure the rest yourself, privately or through voluntary statutory insurance. Statutory contributions for health, long-term care and unemployment insurance do not apply to civil servants on probation. The exact rates depend on your state.
Do I need state aid as a trainee teacher?
As a civil servant on probation, you are entitled to state aid, and it is part of the system. In some states, you can waive individual state aid in favour of flat-rate state aid if you insure yourself under statutory insurance. The waiver is final and applies only for the future.
Is an expectancy cover worth it before the civil service?
That depends on your health, plans and budget. An expectancy cover costs money on an ongoing basis and keeps your access to private insurance open, while the large version also secures your entry age. For a later appointment as a civil servant, there is also the opening campaign. Compare both routes in the guide on expectancy cover.
How am I insured between my studies and the traineeship?
Student insurance runs until the end of the semester of your last enrolment or re-enrolment. After that, family cover, follow-on insurance or compulsory insurance with benefit receipt may apply. Since you only have one month of continued benefit claims, plan the transition early.
What to do now
- At the start of your studies, check whether compulsory student insurance or family cover suits you, and note the three-month deadline for an exemption.
- Ask your state’s state-aid office early in the master of education about rates and options, and read your appointment notice to see which status applies.
- Before the traineeship, clarify whether a state-aid supplementary tariff and an occupational disability clause in your disability policy are needed.
- Report your student status to your liability insurer and get written confirmation of co-insurance.
If you want to talk through your situation, you will find the route to advice on the Academycon homepage.
You can find reviews of us on ProvenExpert, Trustlocal and Trustindex.
Related articles
- Health insurance during the traineeship: state aid, private or statutory? (in German)
- Expectancy cover in private insurance: when it pays off for students (in German)
- Occupational disability insurance in teacher training (in German)
Last updated: October 2026. This guide is general information, not individual advice. The German version is authoritative.
