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What insurance you need in Switzerland — and what you can skip.

Switzerland requires fewer insurances than a sales agent will suggest. Three are legal duties for most newcomers, one is a practical duty when you rent, and the rest is a decision about your life — not a package.

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In brief

Legally required for most newcomers: basic health insurance (KVG), accident cover through your employer (UVG), and motor liability if you register a car. Personal liability is not required by law but is effectively needed when you rent. Household contents, supplementary health, life and income protection, and pillar 3a are optional — buy only what fits your life.

The checklist

Mandatory, needed when renting, optional.

Ten covers, in three groups. Where we hold a figure in our own data it is shown; where we do not, the row carries no number rather than a guess.

CoverWho needs itWhat it costsWhat to skip, and why
Mandatory · Basic health insurance (KVG) Everyone resident in Switzerland — within three months of registering with your commune (Art. 3 KVG, Art. 7 KVV). On time, cover starts on the registration date. Set by canton, model and deductible — the 2027 premiums by canton. Nothing to skip on the basic cover itself; every insurer must accept you (Art. 5 KVAG). What you can skip is the extras an insurer attaches to it.
Mandatory · Accident insurance (UVG) Employees. Your employer insures you for accidents at work; if you work eight hours a week or more for one employer, non-work accidents are covered too (Art. 13 UVV). Arranged and largely handled by your employer. The accident cover inside your basic policy is then a saving: CHF 443 a year in 2027 (Zürich Region 1, Standard model, deductible CHF 2,500). Paying twice. Once your employer covers non-work accidents, switch accident cover off in your basic policy and tell your insurer. Below eight hours a week, you keep it on.
Mandatory · Motor liability (SVG) Anyone who registers a car or motorbike — no vehicle enters public traffic without it (Art. 63 SVG; minimum cover CHF 5 million per accident). No figure in our data — price depends on the vehicle, your driving record and canton. Comprehensive cover (Kasko) is your choice, not a legal duty — unless a leasing contract requires it. Decide on the car's value, not on the offer.
Mandatory · Buildings insurance Owners only. Compulsory against fire and natural hazards in most cantons — through the cantonal insurer in 19 of them; through a private insurer in Uri, Schwyz and Obwalden. Not compulsory in Geneva, Ticino, Valais and Appenzell Innerrhoden. No figure in our data. If you rent, nothing: the building is your landlord's. If you buy in a canton without the duty, insure it anyway.
Needed when renting · Personal liability Anyone who rents. No federal law requires it, but landlords often ask for proof, and you carry the cost if you damage the flat or someone else's property. See the household and liability page for what it costs and how to set it up. A second liability policy — one covers the household. Check your existing household policy before you buy another.
Optional · Household contents People whose belongings would be expensive to replace. Voluntary in most cantons — Vaud, for one, requires contents to be insured against fire and natural hazards (ECA Vaud). See the household page. Add-ons you will not use (bicycle theft away from home if you do not ride). Do not insure below replacement value: the insurer pays in proportion.
Optional · Supplementary health insurance People who will actually use what it adds — semi-private hospital, dental, alternative medicine. Insurers may decline it or exclude a condition; basic they may not. Rises with age — the age-curve trap. What it costs and when it is worth it. Buying it to “complete” basic cover. Basic covers the statutory treatments; supplementary is comfort and choice.
Optional · Life and income protection People whose income others depend on — a partner, children, a mortgage. Your pension fund pays some death and disability benefits; the question is the gap above it. See life insurance for how a gap is sized. A policy for a single person without dependants, or one that mixes savings with protection. Keep the two separate.
Optional · Legal protection Renters and employees who would not pay a lawyer out of pocket for a tenancy or employment dispute. See the legal protection page. Cover you already have through another policy or your employer; waiting periods apply, so it cannot be bought once a dispute begins.
Optional · Pillar 3a Employees with a pension fund, and the self-employed. It is tax planning, not insurance: contributions are deductible up to CHF 7,258 a year for employees with a pension fund, or 20% of income up to CHF 36,288 without one (2026 limits, BSV). You choose the amount, within those limits. Insurance-wrapped 3a when all you want is the tax deduction — a bank 3a account is often cleaner. The 3rd pillar compares the two.

Sources: KVG and its ordinance; UVG and non-work accident cover (KMU portal, Confederation); SVG; Obwalden building insurance duty; pillar 3a limits (BSV). Cantonal rules differ — check your canton's building and contents insurer before you sign a lease or a purchase. Not legal advice.

The steps

Your first 90 days, in order.

  1. Register with your commune

    Do this first. Your registration date starts the clock: basic health insurance has to be arranged within three months of it (Art. 7 KVV).

  2. Arrange basic health insurance in the first weeks

    You have three months, and cover on time starts on the registration date — but leave margin, because an application takes a few weeks to confirm. Every insurer must accept you for basic. Model and deductible follow your doctor habits: health insurance when moving to Switzerland sets out the order.

  3. Check your accident cover through your employer

    Ask HR whether you are insured for non-work accidents — that applies from eight hours a week with one employer. If so, switch accident cover off in your basic policy: CHF 443 a year in our Zürich example for 2027.

  4. Insure your liability before you sign the lease

    Many landlords ask for proof of personal liability at signing. One policy per household is enough; the household page shows how to set it up together with contents.

  5. Register a car only with liability in place

    Motor liability is required before a vehicle goes on the road (Art. 63 SVG). Skip this step if you do not drive.

  6. Decide the optional covers — one at a time, without a deadline

    No legal date forces these. Household contents, supplementary health, life and income protection and pillar 3a each answer a specific need. If you cannot name the need, you do not need the cover. The one place timing matters is supplementary: apply while you have no Swiss medical history, since an insurer may decline or exclude later.

What the review adds

Beyond this guide — the 45-minute review.

The 45-minute review with Robert does the opposite of a sales call: it goes through this list against your job, your flat, your family and your plans, and ends with the covers you need — often fewer than you were pitched. Where you already hold a policy, we read the contract and tell you whether to keep it.

Book your first Swiss insurance review

Free · 45 minutes · In English · With Robert

Illustrated portrait of Robert Kolar

Robert Kolar

Insurance advisor — health insurance specialist

20+ years in Swiss insurance. Reads the basic and supplementary contract for every review. The 45-minute review covers the four-lever framework applied to your address, age, household and existing coverage. German, English, Czech.

What we routinely catch

Common mistakes.

Buying everything in the first month

A sales agent's package is built around what is easy to sell. Only basic health and, where they apply, accident, motor liability and buildings are legal duties — the rest can wait until you can name the need.

Paying for accident cover twice

Employed for eight hours a week or more? Your employer's insurer covers non-work accidents, and the accident cover in your basic policy is redundant.

Treating supplementary as part of the set

It is underwritten, it rises with age, and an insurer may decline you. It is a decision, not a step in setting up.

Assuming one rule fits every canton

Building insurance and, in Vaud, contents insurance are cantonal duties. Check your canton's rules before you buy or lease.

Common questions

Frequently asked — what insurance you need in Switzerland.

What insurance do expats need in Switzerland?
Basic health insurance is the one every resident must have — within three months of registering with the commune (Art. 3 KVG, Art. 7 KVV). Employees are also insured against accidents through their employer (UVG). If you register a car you need motor liability (Art. 63 SVG), and owners need buildings insurance in most cantons. Personal liability is not required by law but is effectively needed when renting. Everything else — household contents, supplementary health, life, pillar 3a — is a choice.
Is liability insurance mandatory in Switzerland?
Not by federal law for private individuals. Motor liability is compulsory if you register a vehicle (Art. 63 SVG). Personal liability (Privathaftpflicht) is not, but many landlords ask for proof before a lease, and without it you pay any damage you cause from your own pocket. The household page explains how it works.
Do I need household insurance in Switzerland?
Household contents insurance is voluntary in most cantons — Vaud, for one, requires contents to be insured against fire and natural hazards (ECA Vaud). Whether you need it depends on what it would cost to replace your belongings. The liability part is the one to have when renting. Household and liability insurance.
Is accident insurance mandatory in Switzerland?
For employees, yes — through the employer. The employer insures you against accidents and occupational illness; from eight hours a week with one employer, non-work accidents are covered as well (UVG, Art. 13 UVV). If you are not covered that way, accident cover in your basic health policy applies.
Is supplementary health insurance mandatory in Switzerland?
No. Only basic health insurance is compulsory. Supplementary insurance is voluntary, underwritten by the insurer, and may be declined or carry exclusions. When it is worth having.
Is building insurance mandatory in Switzerland?
For owners in most cantons. The duty covers fire and natural hazards: through the cantonal insurer in 19 cantons, through a private insurer in Uri, Schwyz and Obwalden. It is not compulsory in Geneva, Ticino, Valais and Appenzell Innerrhoden. Renters do not need it.
Which insurance can I skip in Switzerland?
Anything you cannot attach to a specific need. Renters can skip buildings insurance; employees can skip the accident cover in their basic policy; people without dependants can usually skip life insurance; and supplementary health is a choice, not a set-up step. We match coverage to your life — which often means fewer products than a sales agent would sell.

What you need, and no more.

We read the Swiss insurance contracts so you don't have to, and match coverage to your life — including telling you what to leave out. Free, 45 minutes, in English.

Book your first Swiss insurance review

Free · 45 minutes · In English · With Robert

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