Barmenia 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app for Meine Barmenia
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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Meine Barmenia is the online customer portal of the German insurer Barmenia, now part of the BarmeniaGothaer group. You use it, and the BarmeniaApp that shares the same login, to see your policies, download certificates, read your mail from Barmenia and send in medical bills. Here the second factor isn't optional. Every login needs your username, your password and a second check, and you choose between a text message (SMS-TAN-Verfahren) and a code from an authenticator app (TOTP-Verfahren) (Barmenia). Barmenia marks the app option as its recommendation.
This guide covers the authenticator app option. We use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone in the steps, but any authenticator app works the same way. Barmenia's own pages name Microsoft Authenticator and Google Authenticator as examples (Barmenia).
How we checked this guide: the Barmenia steps come from Barmenia's own help pages on barmenia.de, which are in German and linked below. We read them on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Barmenia account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Why choose the app over SMS
Barmenia's case for the app is practical: once it's set up, the codes keep working when you have no mobile signal or are traveling abroad (Barmenia). It does say you need a smartphone or tablet for it, and suggests text messages for people who don't have one (Barmenia).
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
You don't look for a switch in a settings menu first. Barmenia asks you to pick the second factor during your first login, right after your username and password (Barmenia):
- Sign in to Meine Barmenia (Login Webversion on barmenia.de) or in the BarmeniaApp with your username and password. On a first login with the password Barmenia sent you by post, you'll be asked to choose your own password.
- When Barmenia asks you to choose a second security factor, pick the TOTP-Verfahren.
- Add Barmenia to Novaz. If the screen shows a QR code, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If you're doing this in the BarmeniaApp on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- If you're shown a key you can type, tap +, then Enter key manually, and enter it as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Type the code from Novaz where Barmenia asks for it.
Barmenia's pages don't show the setup screens, so they don't say whether you get a QR code, a typed key or both, or what the key is called. They do say the codes have six digits. If both a QR code and a key are on offer, scan the code: it carries all the code settings, while a typed key always gives you the standard 30-second codes.
If you register in the BarmeniaApp instead, the order is the same. After your account is activated, the app's first setup asks whether to secure it with the SMS-TAN-Verfahren or the TOTP-Verfahren (Barmenia).
Switching methods later
Barmenia says you can change the method whenever you like, in your personal settings (persönliche Einstellungen), and move between text messages and the app (Barmenia). It doesn't list the exact menu path. The pages describe a second factor as part of every login and don't mention a way to turn it off.
No backup codes
Barmenia's pages don't mention backup or recovery codes. Its answer to a lost or replaced phone is a call to customer service (below). Unless you've made a Novaz backup, the keys exist only on your iPhone, so keep the old phone until the new one works, and know where to find your username, which Barmenia sent in a separate letter if it set up your access.
If Barmenia rejects your code
Barmenia's FAQ notes that each six-digit code is only valid for a short time, and that your authenticator app shows when it runs out. Wait for the next code and enter that one (Barmenia). If fresh codes still fail, check the iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?
If Barmenia blocks your authentication method, it asks you to call 0202 438-2255 so it can unlock it (Barmenia).
New phone or lost authenticator
Barmenia handles both the same way. Install an authenticator app on the new phone. If you have no backup of the old app, or can't reach it any more, call 0202 438-2255. Barmenia then resets the TOTP-Verfahren, and you register it again on the new phone (Barmenia). The line is open Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 20:00 and Saturday from 9:00 to 15:00, German time. Barmenia doesn't say what it asks on the phone to confirm it's you, or how long the reset takes.
Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file counts as that backup: restore it on the new iPhone and you can skip the reset. Without one, a new phone means this reset. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone and Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
After the reset, remove the old Barmenia entry in Novaz (open it and tap Remove account) so you don't mix up old and new codes.
