Health insurance reserves
What are the health insurance reserves?
Health insurers bear a great economic and social responsibility. They have to be in a position at any time to pay bills for medical care claimed by their insureds. To prevent them from suddenly being unable to meet these obligations, they have to build up sufficient reserves. This obligation is defined in the Health Insurance Act (KVG/HIA). This is important to secure against unforeseen risks.
How high are the health insurance reserves?
The Health Insurance Act (KVG/HIA) stipulates that insurance companies have to build up reserves to compensate for risks. A special solvency test at the beginning of the year checks how great the risks of a health insurance company are and whether it would be able to meet its financial obligations even in the worst case. The health insurance reserves correspond to about two monthly premiums per insured person. If the reserves fall below the minimum required by law, the supervisory authority intervenes.