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Independent insurance advisor for expats in Switzerland

New to Switzerland or reviewing your coverage? We read the Swiss insurance contracts so you don't have to. We spot the traps sales agents won't mention. We match you with what you actually need — not what someone's trying to sell.

Book your first Swiss insurance review

Free · 45 minutes · In English · With Robert or Nicole

Not ready to book? See how a first review works
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2,500+ expat households
advised since 2017

45 minutes with Robert. Free.

In English · With or

MonTueWedThuFriSatSun

We'll send you a short intake form so we understand your needs before we speak.

Your details

You're booked

Check your email for a calendar invite and a video call link.

What a review covers

One advisor, every layer — and the trap that hides in each.

Most people meet Swiss insurance one product at a time, sold by whoever called first. A review reads the whole stack in one sitting, in the order that matters.

  1. 01Privathaftpflicht · Hausrat

    Liability & household

    The layer nobody thinks about until a landlord asks for proof — or a flooded floor becomes a bill. We check the cover amount, gross negligence, and whether a bank or card bundle already covers it.

    The trap here

    The layer you pay for twice.

    Two policies for the same risk is the most common thing we cancel — and usually the cheapest fix on the whole list.

  2. 02KVG · re-checked every October

    Basic health insurance

    Identical benefits at every insurer by law, so this layer is pure price and fit: model, franchise, premium region. We re-run it against the newly approved tariffs each autumn.

    The trap here

    The three-month deadline.

    New residents must register within three months of arrival. Miss it and cover is assigned to you, backdated, with penalty surcharges on top.

  3. 03VVG · read, not switched

    Supplementary hospital cover

    Here the contracts genuinely differ: ward class, hospital lists, what is paid abroad. Underwritten, so the door narrows with every birthday and every diagnosis.

    The trap here

    The age-curve trap.

    A premium that looks generous at 32 can triple by 55 on the same contract. We model the whole curve before you sign, not after.

  4. 04Disability · life · mortgage

    Income, life & family

    What happens to the household if income stops — the gap between IV and your pension fund, cover for a mortgage or a partner who isn't earning.

    The trap here

    Coverage that pays vs coverage that fights.

    Every brochure reads generously. We have filed claims with these carriers and know which turn a straightforward case into a case-manager dispute.

  5. 053a · 3b · the tax effect

    3rd pillar, pension & tax

    3a and 3b, bank against insurance, and what each actually saves at your income and canton — including the parts that only make sense once you know how long you plan to stay.

    The trap here

    The policy sold as savings.

    An insurance-wrapped 3a locks you into decades of premiums with a surrender value that can sit below what you paid in. Sometimes right — rarely by accident.

Five layers, five traps — and one pattern that is ours.

We match coverage to your life. We recommend only what fits — sometimes fewer products than you expected, and often the sentence keep what you have. Then every October, for as long as you are with us, the whole file is read again.

See how a first review runs

Case notes

Some of the people we've advised.

Three reviews from the last two years. First names only, shared with permission. Every number is the real number.

Illustrated portrait of Priya

Priya

Dubai → Zürich, 2022

Priya arrived with the basic insurance her employer's HR had suggested. On review, her franchise was wrong for her usage, and she was one month from the end of the window to add supplementary coverage without a health check. We switched her basic plan and added supplementary before the deadline. She saved CHF 84/month on the change and kept her future options open.

"They spent forty minutes talking me out of switching to the plan I thought I wanted. It was the right call.
Illustrated portrait of Rohan and family

Rohan & family

Mumbai → Zürich, 2019

Four years in, two kids at the ICS, first house in prospect. Rohan was paying into a bank pillar 3a at 1.1% fees and unaware his canton allowed a second deduction for his wife's employer-sponsored plan. We moved the pillar 3a to a lower-fee option and filed the TOU recalculation for two prior tax years. The family recovered CHF 11,400 in overpaid tax.

"We thought tax was a solved problem. It turns out it was just an unreviewed one.
Illustrated portrait of Lucía

Lucía

Madrid → Zürich, 2018 · freelance, three currencies

Self-employed documentary producer with income in CHF, EUR and USD, and a UK-based pension from an earlier life. Her accountant was treating the UK pension as inaccessible; a comparison site had offered her the maximum supplementary plan. We restructured her 3rd pillar, kept her existing KVG basic, and connected her accountant with a cross-border specialist for the UK pot. Total extra coverage bought: none.

"The first time an insurance conversation has ever felt like a conversation.

We compare 11 Swiss health insurers — CSS, Helsana, Swica, Sanitas, Concordia, Atupri, Sympany, Visana, Assura, Groupe Mutuel, KPT. See the profiles

Layer one · basic insurance (KVG) · from our 2026 index

New here, or here for years? The basic layer needs one look every autumn.

Basic insurance is identical by law at every insurer, so only the price differs — and it is re-set every autumn. That is why we optimise the two layers separately: the basic layer follows the price, the supplementary layer follows your contracts. Slide to your arrival year, pick the insurer you actually signed with, and see what a decade of never looking cost — on the officially approved tariffs.

250 350 450 550 1617181920212223242526 CHF/mth you arrive
—

more than the yearly review, cumulated since arrival

—

what the median payer gave up over the same window — the cost of never comparing at all

—

switches your strategy made — each one is one letter before 30 November

The lottery of your arrival year — cost of never reviewing, per cohort

Whether "never looking again" cost you CHF 82 or CHF 1'766 depends on which insurer happened to win your arrival year — pure luck, only visible in hindsight. The yearly review removes the lottery.

Simulation on the officially approved tariffs of the 27 insurers present in Zürich region 1 for the whole decade (every year's cheapest is among them). "Review" = move to the cheapest at your cadence, hold in between; the yearly path is the same with cadence one. List prices, reference profile.

This is the part we take off your hands — permanently. Every October we re-run this comparison for our clients against the newly approved tariffs, for as long as they are with us. The goal is the same each year: never pay more than necessary for coverage the law makes identical, while the cover that isn't identical stays the best available for your life. If a switch pays, we prepare the letter; if it doesn't, we say so — and staying put is a frequent, honest outcome. An app that keeps this layer optimal on its own is in final testing (iPhone first); the supplementary layer stays with a human, on purpose.

Read the full Expat Health Insurance Index — regions, insurers, inflation, and who is the biggest

The layer we read · from our 2026 index

Basic in place? Then the cover that actually differs.

Once the basic layer is optimal, the question moves to supplementary hospital insurance — where benefits, underwriting and contracts genuinely differ, and switching on price alone would be a mistake. This layer we don't automate; we read it. We quoted every hospital-supplementary premium from the insurers' own calculators — one identical person, six cantons, eight insurers — then read all eight sets of conditions in the binding German, article by article, and cite them. Four findings.

Choose a finding
Semi-private Private
Sympany Full cost, up to a year Full cost, up to a year
Helsana CHF 1,500 a day No cap on documented costs
SWICA CHF 100/day + 10,000/yr CHF 150/day + 30,000/yr
Concordia Nothing Full cover, worldwide

What each tier pays for an emergency hospital stay abroad — from each insurer's own supplementary conditions, read August 2026. Planned treatment abroad is separately gated everywhere.

0 150 300 450 26385365 CHF entry age Private · 430 Semi-private · 260 142 88

Average monthly premium for a new applicant, six cantons and both sexes · quoted 10.08.2026

Read the full index — league tables, the abroad comparison, methodology, and the PDF

How a review works

What a first review looks like — and what you get in writing.

Setting up Swiss insurance for the first time, or reviewing what you already have — the process is the same, in this order.

1

The demand intake

Right after booking, we email you a short intake form — just arrived or years in Switzerland, your situation, any cover you already hold, what's ahead. So the 45 minutes start prepared, not with paperwork.

2

We evaluate your situation

Not policies first — your life first. New to Switzerland? We map everything you need to set up, starting with basic health insurance (KVG) inside the three-month deadline. Already settled? We read your lifestyle, plans and expectations against the cover you have. We don't quote anything yet.

3

The consultation

We answer every question you bring, in plain English. We compare all Swiss insurers on how they'll behave in your situation — age curves, underwriting windows, claim behavior — and if you already hold contracts, we read them line by line. No product pitch.

4

Your Private Client Report

Within 3 working days you receive your Private Client Report — a written, in-depth analysis: your situation, how we evaluated it, costs at a glance, and our recommendation with the reasoning behind each choice. What to set up, what to keep, where you save — including on tax. For those already covered, sometimes it says "keep what you have." The report is yours either way.

45 minutes. By video or in our Zürich office. Free. No obligation to change anything.

Independent by law, not by claim. A FINMA-registered non-tied intermediary, F01067278 — no exclusive arrangement with any insurer, paid a regulated commission disclosed under Art. 45 VAG and verifiable on the FINMA public register.

Book your first Swiss insurance review

Health is the loud layer. Pension, 3rd pillar (3a / 3b), life cover and the tax effect are the quiet ones — usually settled once the health layer is right. How we handle those

The team

The people who'll review your situation.

Specialists by topic. Robert handles health insurance; Nicole handles life insurance, 3rd pillar, and tax optimization. Hans remains visible for existing planning relationships.

Illustrated portrait of Robert Kolar

Robert Kolar

Health insurance

Over twenty years of experience reviewing Swiss basic and supplementary plans. Speaks German and English. Has personally navigated the Swiss system from the outside in.

Book with Robert
Illustrated portrait of Nicole Bohne

Nicole Bohne

Life · 3rd pillar · Tax

Former Basler Versicherung and Zurich Insurance specialist. FINMA F01536402. Nicole reads life-insurance and insurance-wrapped 3a decisions against the household, the BVG, and the tax effect.

Book with Nicole
Illustrated portrait of Hans Steiner

Hans Steiner

Pension · Tax · Cross-border

Financial Planner IAF & Federal Diploma of Higher Education. Speaks German, English, French. Hans remains available for existing planning relationships and long-running client files.

More about Hans

What clients say.

4.8 from 55 reviews on Google
After several bad experiences with other brokers, working with Mr. Robert Kolar was a completely different experience.
Dragos H.2026
Illustrated portrait of a Scandinavian client.
Robert is the best person to partner with if you need to do difficult things such as relocate.
E. Burke-Murphy2026
Illustrated portrait of an American client.
Illustrated portrait of a South Asian client.
My session with Robert was one of the most efficient consultation sessions I'd ever had.
Milad F.2025
Illustrated portrait of a Slavic client.
I was looking to change a supplementary insurance plan, and Robert guided me with professionalism and patience.
Diana M.2025
After returning to Switzerland from abroad, Robert was a tremendous help consulting me about all the changes.
Steven2025
Illustrated portrait of a client.
Highly recommend consulting Expat Savvy before making any online insurance comparisons.
Zendaya B.2025
Illustrated portrait of an East Asian client.
Illustrated portrait of a Central European client.
Working with Ben was great. Very prompt and responsive. Would highly recommend to anyone.
Michele2025
Illustrated portrait of a Latin American client.

Common questions

Questions expats actually ask.

Do I actually need Swiss health insurance?

Yes. Swiss law requires every resident to hold basic health insurance (KVG) within three months of arrival — whatever your nationality and whatever cover you held abroad. The basic benefits are identical at every insurer; what changes is the price, the service quality, and the supplementary options you can add on top.

What happens if I miss the three-month deadline?

Your canton assigns you to an insurer and you face a back-dated penalty surcharge — often as expensive as the premiums for the months you weren't covered. The clock starts on your registration date, not your move-in date, so it's easy to lose track. If you're close to the deadline, talk to us before it passes.

Is the consultation really free?

Yes — every consultation with Expat Savvy is free, not just the first one. 45 minutes, in English, with no obligation. We're paid by insurer commission (disclosed under Article 45 VAG), not by you, so there's no fee for your review, your Private Client Report, or any follow-up conversation.

Who are the Expat Savvy advisors?

Every Expat Savvy advisor is FINMA-registered (the Swiss financial regulator — our registration is F01067278, verifiable on the public register), and the team holds Certified Financial Planner (IAF) and Swiss federal insurance qualifications. That means supervised, independent advice — legally required to serve your interest, not tied to any single insurer.

Can one advisor handle health, pension and tax together?

Yes. Most expat situations connect — your health cover, your 3rd pillar (3a / 3b) and your tax position all interact. In one 45-minute review we look at all three together, so you're not stitching advice together from three separate places.

Ready for a calm conversation about Swiss insurance?

A first review is free, 45 minutes, in English, with Robert or Nicole. We'll listen first. We'll tell you what we'd do in your situation. You decide what happens next.

Book your first Swiss insurance review

Or send us a WhatsApp at +41 76 364 88 88 — we reply within the working day.