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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

FINMA F01067278 · Independent · Paid via courtage, disclosed under Art. 45 VAG · Reviews always free

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 cover

    Outpatient extras, dental, and the hospital layer — ward class, hospital lists, what is paid abroad. This is where contracts genuinely differ, and all of it is underwritten: 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

Where do you stand?

Three situations, three different first moves.

Arriving: everything set up right, once.

Three months from arrival to register — and your first choices set the pattern for years. One call covers all of it, in English, before any deadline bites.

  • Basic cover chosen inside the deadline — pure price, since benefits are identical by law
  • Supplementary while underwriting is still a formality; household and liability alongside
  • You sign only what fits — the reasoning comes in writing

Set it up right the first time·The full index

Settled: what you signed then, read against now.

Premiums re-price every autumn and supplementary contracts age with you. A review reads what you hold against today’s market — and often the verdict is to change nothing.

  • Your existing contracts read line by line, October’s new tariffs alongside
  • The age curve you’re riding, made visible before it steepens
  • The verdict in writing — often keep what you have

The October switch, explained·The hospital cost index

Planning: life, savings and pension, split correctly.

A family, a mortgage, income worth protecting. The statutory schemes replace less than most people assume — the review sizes the real gap and puts each franc where it works.

  • Your pension certificate first — the gap is usually there
  • The gap sized on the statutory tables, not a sales sheet
  • Savings at a bank, risk at an insurer — we split the advice

Size it properly — every assumption yours·3a: bank vs insurance

How a review works

Five stops, one route — ending in your report.

First-time setup or a review of what you already have — the route is the same. It ends with something you keep, and it doesn't end when the call does.

  1. 1

    The intake

    A short form right after booking — your situation, existing cover, what's ahead. The 45 minutes start prepared.

  2. 2

    The evaluation

    Your life first, policies second. New arrivals get the full setup map; settled clients a read of what they hold. Nothing quoted yet.

  3. 3

    The consultation

    45 minutes in plain English. Insurers compared on how they behave in your case — existing contracts read line by line.

  4. 4

    Your report

    Within 3 working days, everything in writing: what to keep, what to change, what not to buy. Sometimes: keep what you have.

  5. 5

    Every year after

    We observe your policies each autumn and contact you proactively. Reviews are always free — this year and every year. The homework, public.

Stop 4, in your hands

The actual sample, live in both views — the Hartmann family. Open it full-screen · What’s inside

Nine chapters: Overview · Your situation · How we decided · Side by side · Cost at a glance · Member by member · The cover in depth · Recommendation — including what not to buy · Documents & next steps

45 minutes. By video or in our Zürich office. Always 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 courtage disclosed under Art. 45 VAG and verifiable on the FINMA public register.

Book your first Swiss insurance review

From the advisory desk

Three ways people arrive here — and what a review found.

Three composite cases, drawn to the pattern we see every week. The people are illustrative — every number is taken from our published indices and premium bands.

Illustrated portrait of Sofia

Sofia

London → Geneva, 2025 · via her relocation agency

Her relocation agency sent one link; she booked the assessment online before her boxes arrived. The advice surprised her: take the private tier — now. At her age our index prices it around CHF 144 a month; the same cover costs a 65-year-old CHF 466, and supplementary is underwritten, so the best terms of her life were on the table exactly once. One more line came out of HR’s default plan on the way: accident cover she already carried by law through her employer.

"I expected to be talked into the minimum. They told me to take the best — and showed me why it was the cheap decision.
Illustrated portrait of Manthan, Ananya and their daughter

Manthan & Ananya

Seattle → Zürich, 2024 · big tech · found us online

Relocated with their daughter, and did it the American way: assume the employer handles the insurance. In Switzerland it doesn’t — health cover is personal, and the three-month clock was already running for all three of them. Basic and supplementary were set up in a week. Then Ananya asked Nicole to read the pension certificate too — and there it was, in one line: if his income stopped, the fund would replace barely a third of the salary they actually live on. Term cover at roughly CHF 35 a month, inside our published band, closed the biggest part of the gap.

"Back home the company handles this. Here, nobody tells you that you are the company.
Illustrated portrait of Claire

Claire

Brussels → Basel, 2019 · recommended by a colleague

She came with a cheaper offer in hand — and an old contract she was undervaluing: semi-private on an entry-age tariff, still priced at the age she signed, years ago. The new policy was cheaper today because it was attained-age: it rides the curve our index draws, where the same two-bed cover runs CHF 167 a month at 53 and CHF 260 at 65. Hers doesn’t ride it. We put the two lines side by side and she stayed — and found benefits she had paid years for without using: her gym, partly covered all along.

"The cheaper policy was cheaper for a few more years — nobody selling it had mentioned that.

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; and three colleagues cover international health insurance for the years before Switzerland and after it.

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 Virginie Josten

Virginie Josten

International health insurance

Came to insurance from luxury and consulting, where the clients were demanding and the work was international. Then a Swiss insurer's international desk — cross-border employees, expats and retirees abroad. Legal training and a master's from Paris Dauphine. English and French.

Illustrated portrait of Davide Nezel

Davide Nezel

International health insurance

FINMA-certified independent insurance intermediary, who began in financial advice at Swiss Life. He works with globally mobile households, and coordinates with the insurer when a medical need actually arises — which is where a policy is finally tested. German, French and English.

Illustrated portrait of Chantal Leprêtre

Chantal Leprêtre

International health insurance

Client advice for internationally mobile households. English and French. Her fuller biography follows shortly — until it does, this card carries only what we can stand behind.

What clients say.

4.8 from 57 reviews on Google
She assisted and guided me through the entire process of obtaining my Swiss pension refund.
Ryan K.2026
Illustrated portrait of a Scandinavian client.
What I appreciated the most is that she was trying to help me solve my problem, not simply sell me an insurance policy.
Thomas P.2026
Illustrated portrait of an American client.
Illustrated portrait of a South Asian client.
After several bad experiences with other brokers, working with Mr. Robert Kolar was a completely different experience.
Dragos H.2026
Illustrated portrait of a Slavic client.
Robert is the best person to partner with if you need to do difficult things such as relocate.
E. Burke-Murphy2026
My session with Robert was one of the most efficient consultation sessions I'd ever had.
Milad F.2025
Illustrated portrait of a client.
I was looking to change a supplementary insurance plan, and Robert guided me with professionalism and patience.
Diana M.2025
Illustrated portrait of an East Asian client.
Illustrated portrait of a Central European client.
After returning to Switzerland from abroad, Robert was a tremendous help consulting me about all the changes.
Steven2025
Illustrated portrait of a Latin American client.
Highly recommend consulting Expat Savvy before making any online insurance comparisons.
Zendaya B.2025
Working with Ben was great. Very prompt and responsive. Would highly recommend to anyone.
Michele2025
Illustrated portrait of a European client.
Illustrated portrait of a Middle Eastern 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.

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. Advice is paid on a courtage basis: the insurer pays a percentage of the premium when a policy is placed, disclosed under Article 45 VAG. There's no fee for your review, your Private Client Report, or any follow-up conversation.

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.

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.

Is my salary protected if I can't work?

Partially — and the illness case is the weak spot. Accidents are covered through your employer under UVG, but for illness the statutory layers (IV pension plus your pension fund's minimum) typically replace only a fraction of a higher salary. Your Pensionskasse certificate states your actual figures; the review reads it, sizes the real gap on the official tables, and — where cover is worth it — checks your case with insurers before you apply.

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.

Expat Savvy at a glance

Registered
FINMA F01067278, non-tied
Advising since
2017, from Zürich — online across Switzerland
Languages
English · German · French
Reviews
Always free — this year and every year
How we're paid
Courtage from insurers, disclosed under Art. 45 VAG

One advisor reviews your whole situation — basic and supplementary health insurance, household and liability, life and disability protection, and 3rd-pillar pension decisions. The review ends in a written Private Client Report, and sometimes its recommendation is to buy nothing.