When am I eligible to receive allowances for long-term care and health insurance?
Allowances for a student’s own health and long-term care insurance as per § 13 a BAföG are only awarded if your statutory health insurance provider supplies a certification for the semester for which you are applying for aid according to § 5 no. 9, 10, or 13 SGB V or according to § 9 SGB V. It is therefore important that your health insurance provider lists the legal basis for your obligation to obtain insurance in this certificate each semester.
If you are privately insured (yourself or through your parents), allowances are only awarded if you provide, along with your BAföG application, proof of your monthly premium that shows that the insurance provider meets the requirements of § 257 para. 2 a SGB V. Increases in your premium will not be taken into consideration later during the grant period after application. Generally, holders of private health insurance policies are not obligated to pay into long-term care.
Since in cases where study regulations stipulate that family insurance policy holders are not obligated to pay a social security premium, BAföG will not award allowances during such a period if the applicant is liable to pay into insurance as an employee as per § 5 no. 1 SGB V due to the level of income. In such cases, allowances will not be awarded when the applicant earns income through part-time work, voluntary internships during the semester break, or during the holidays. Since January 2012, students in a dual program are also insured as per § 5 para. 1 no. 1 SGB V and are therefore not eligible to receive BAföG allowances when they provide the relevant certification.
Students who receive an orphan’s pension are also not eligible to receive allowances, as their obligation to obtain insurance rests on § 5 no. 12 SGB V, which is not covered by § 13 a BAföG.