Dental insurance in Germany: waiting periods, benefit limits and ongoing treatment

• Start of insurance: the date from which the contract runs. Treatments before this date are not covered.
• Waiting period: a period after the start during which certain benefits are not yet paid. Example (provider information): ARAG's conditions (A899, 4.2026; tariffs Dent70 to Dent100, No. 3 “Supplementary tariff provisions”) waive the waiting periods for dental treatment, dentures and orthodontics when an ARAG dental supplement tariff is taken out for the first time; for later contract changes, the waiting-period rules apply to the added cover.
• Benefit limit: a cap on the amount paid, regardless of a waiting period. Example (provider information): the DFV ZahnSchutz conditions (08.2025, section 3) state that there are no waiting periods — but they do contain staggered limits in the first 48 months.

Many tariffs limit the total payout in the first years after the start of the contract and increase the limit step by step. Example (provider information): in DFV ZahnSchutz Exklusiv 100 (annex, version 01.08.2025, page 3) the limit is €1,750 in the first 12 months, €3,500 in the first 24, €5,250 in the first 36 and €7,000 in the first 48 months from the start of insurance. According to the annex, these limits do not apply to accident-related costs. Other DFV variants have lower amounts; other providers have different rules.

Fictitious example (not a real tariff): a tariff reimburses 90% of your own share, with a limit of €1,000 in the first 12 months. Six months after signing, a crown leaves you an own share of €1,500. 90% would be €1,350, but the tariff pays at most €1,000 in this period. Whether amounts above the limit can be claimed later depends on the conditions — check this specifically.

Limits can refer to different periods, sometimes within the same tariff. In the DFV ZahnSchutz conditions, for example, the staggered limits count in months from the start of insurance, while the amount for prophylaxis and bleaching applies per calendar year. An insurance year starts on the date of your contract start; a calendar year always starts on 1 January. If you sign in November, a calendar-year amount can renew after only a few weeks, while a limit counted from the start of insurance does not.

Without a waiting period, you can claim benefits for new insured events from the start of the contract. Staggered limits, maximum amounts per period, the reimbursement level, eligible fee rates and exclusions still apply. A tariff without a waiting period can therefore pay less in the first year than you expect. Read the waiting periods and the limits together.

These terms are not the same: recommended means a dentist has already advised the treatment; planned means it is scheduled, for example with a treatment and cost plan; started means the treatment has begun. Tariffs word their exclusions differently. The DFV ZahnSchutz conditions (08.2025, section 6), for example, exclude treatments started, medically recommended or known before signing, and the restoration of teeth that were already damaged, missing or not yet permanently replaced when the contract was signed. Whether a merely planned treatment falls under this depends on the exact wording and the circumstances.

Many providers ask health questions, for example about missing teeth, ongoing treatment or findings. Answer the questions actually asked in the application truthfully and completely. Incorrect answers can endanger your insurance cover. This guide is not legal or insurance advice.

• Before signing: ask for the conditions and the annex of the exact tariff and keep them.
• Before a treatment: if a treatment and cost plan exists, ask the insurer in writing which amount it will pay and which limits apply.