2027 review season. Two different deadlines: most supplementary contracts must be cancelled by 30 September, basic insurance by 30 November. We read both — and only move what should move. Supplementary by 30 Sep · basic by 30 Nov.
Mandatory for every resident, two separate federal laws, and premiums that vary by canton by more than CHF 250 a month — for identical basic benefits. This page is the system in one read. Then it routes you to the right next step: setting up, choosing, or switching.
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Direct answer
Mandatory
Basic health insurance is compulsory for every Swiss resident (Art. 3 KVG), regardless of nationality, age, or health history — and every insurer must accept you. New arrivals have three months from taking up residence.
Enrolled on time, cover and premiums run from your arrival day.
Two layers
Basic (KVG) benefits are fixed by federal law — identical at every insurer, so only price and service differ. Supplementary (VVG) is optional, medically underwritten, and varies contract by contract.
The cost
Same benefits, different price. 2026 median for an adult (age 30, Franchise 300): from CHF 363 in Zug to CHF 640 in Ticino. The levers you control — franchise, model, insurer — move it further.
01 · Start where you are
This page explains the system. The real decisions live one level down — pick the page that matches where you are, and it takes you through the whole sequence.
You usually have three months — and enrolled on time, cover and premiums run from your arrival day. The sequence: accident cover, franchise, model, supplementary.
The newcomer setup → Choosing an insurerBasic benefits are identical by federal law, so "best" is really canton × franchise × model × supplementary underwriting. We rank what actually differs.
The insurer comparison → Already insuredSupplementary usually by 30 September, basic by 30 November. We read both contracts and only move what should move — often the answer is stay.
The switching review →02 · The structure
The Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG) mandates basic insurance for every Swiss resident and fixes the catalogue of covered care. The Federal Insurance Contract Act (VVG) governs optional supplementary insurance, which insurers underwrite individually. The two layers can sit with the same insurer or different insurers — the law explicitly permits the split, and most readers don't know it.
Basic — KVG
Required for every Swiss resident under Art. 3 KVG. Catalogue of covered medical care identical at every insurer (Art. 25 KVG): doctor visits, general-ward hospital stays in your canton, listed medications, maternity care. 50+ Swiss basic insurers; you choose freely (Art. 41 KVG) and every one of them must accept you.
Supplementary — VVG
Hospital supplementary (semi-private, private, worldwide), outpatient supplementary (complementary medicine, prevention, glasses, dental), travel and emergency abroad. Each insurer writes its own contract terms, waiting periods, age-based price curves, and exclusion lists — two "semi-private" plans can differ dramatically.
03 · What it costs
Two adults on the same insurer's same plan with the same Franchise can pay materially different premiums depending on canton — the federal funding split (Art. 49a KVG) and cantonal cost-of-care drive the pattern. Below: verified 2026 median monthly premium for an adult age 30, Standardmodell, Franchise 300 with accident — live BAG data via primai.ch. Each linked canton page runs the full breakdown.
| Canton | 2026 monthly · median | vs federal avg |
|---|---|---|
| Zug | CHF 363 | −15% — lowest in Switzerland |
| Appenzell IR | ≈CHF 380 | −12% |
| Nidwalden / Obwalden / Uri | ≈CHF 390–410 | −9% |
| Zürich | CHF 556 / 501 | +5% / −4% — city vs rest of canton |
| Bern | CHF 583 / 522 / 494 | +10% / −1% / −7% — three regions |
| Basel-Stadt | CHF 604 | +14% |
| Vaud (Lausanne) | CHF 605 | +14% |
| Geneva | CHF 635 | +19% |
| Ticino (Lugano) | CHF 640 | +21% — highest |
Median across insurers per canton · age 30 · Standardmodell · Franchise 300 · with accident · 2026 approved tariffs.
Moderate-earning households can claim IPV (Individual Premium Reduction / Prämienverbilligung) — a cantonal subsidy with materially different thresholds per canton. For most newcomers it becomes relevant in year 2, once Swiss tax residency is established.
04 · The four levers
Federal law fixes the benefits; four levers set your price. Most readers focus on the first when the largest swings come from the fourth — and the cheapest single decision is often the third. The order matters, and the levers interact.
Lever 01
50+ Swiss basic insurers, identical federal benefits (Art. 25 KVG). Competition runs on premium, model availability per canton, claim-handling reputation, and supplementary product range. The largest insurer in your canton is rarely the cheapest — and cheapest-on-paper changes year to year as insurers re-price.
Lever 02
Premium varies materially by canton through the federal funding split (Art. 49a KVG): cantons fund at least 55% of inpatient hospital costs, insurers the rest. Geneva runs ≈+19% above the federal average; Zug ≈−15% below. Within cantons, premium regions add another step — the Zürich city line is worth CHF 57/month on identical coverage.
Lever 03
Six legal adult tiers under Art. 64 KVG: 300, 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, 2,500 CHF — plus 10% coinsurance above the Franchise, capped at CHF 700/year. Higher Franchise, lower premium. The right tier depends on actual care usage, not optimism — the calculator below runs the federal math for your situation.
Lever 04
Standardmodell, Hausarzt, HMO, Telmed, Pharmed. 8–18% premium variance across models within the same insurer — the largest single saving lever for healthy adults, and frequently overlooked because it means committing to a network GP or a telehealth-first protocol. English-language availability varies by canton; verify before signing.
05 · The calculator
Enter your approximate medical spend in a typical year. The calculator runs the federal-rule math — the regulated premium discount per tier, 10% coinsurance, the CHF 700 annual cap — and shows the total annual cost at each Franchise level. Verify against your insurer's published premium for your canton, age, and model before committing.
Interactive · Indicative figures
Enter your approximate yearly medical costs, your canton, age tier, and model. The calculator runs the federally-regulated Franchise math (Art. 64 KVG: six tiers, 10% coinsurance up to CHF 700/year cap) and shows total annual cost for each tier. Lowest tier is highlighted. Premium baselines are verified 2026 BAG data via primai.ch for the major cantons. Adults only — Swiss basic insurance has just two adult age tiers under KVG (19–25 and 26+); children have separate Franchise tiers and a family cap, see family Franchise strategy.
| Franchise | Monthly premium | Annual premium | Out-of-pocket | Total annual cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHF 300 | — | — | — | — |
| CHF 500 | — | — | — | — |
| CHF 1'000 | — | — | — | — |
| CHF 1'500 | — | — | — | — |
| CHF 2'000 | — | — | — | — |
| CHF 2'500 | — | — | — | — |
Choose a value to see the lowest-total Franchise tier for your situation.
The Franchise decision compounds — once a year, every year. We model this against your actual 3-year care history in the 45-minute review.
06 · The optional layer
Supplementary insurance is optional and individually underwritten (Art. 4 VVG). The pattern we repeat in reviews: take it before you need it, switch it rarely, and skip what doesn't fit your life.
01
Semi-private adds a 2-bed room and free choice of doctor within the contracted network; private adds a single room with chief-physician access; worldwide tiers extend cover internationally. The age curve at signup decides the lifetime cost — the entry premium doesn't. Mechanics and current price bands in the Hospital Insurance Cost Index and the semi-private vs private deep-dive.
02
Complementary medicine through EMR/ASCA-registered practitioners, prevention contributions (gym, fitness), glasses, travel emergency, limited adult dental. Per-product contract reads in our SWICA review and our Sanitas review.
03
Every supplementary application triggers a fresh health questionnaire (Art. 4 VVG), and answers must be complete — incomplete disclosure can void the contract (Art. 6 VVG). Conditions developed since the original signing become potential exclusions, surcharges, or rejection on any switch. The four possible outcomes sit in our pre-existing-conditions reference.
07 · By life stage
The federal system is the same for everyone; the right architecture depends on where the household is in its life. Pick the row closest to yours.
| Life stage | What matters most | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| New arrival in Switzerland | The three-month deadline, first-decision architecture | Newcomer setup → |
| Existing resident considering a switch | 30 November deadline, four levers | Switching → |
| Pregnant or planning a baby | Pre-birth registration, supplementary timing | Maternity & newborn → |
| Family with children | Family Franchise cap, model choice, school-age care | Expat family matters → |
| Self-employed | UVG opt-in, KVG accident inclusion, 3a regime | Self-employed 3rd pillar → |
| Executive with international package | KVG-exemption rules, IPMI vs Swiss supplementary | IPMI vs supplementary → |
| Mental health support | What KVG covers under the Anordnungsmodell | Mental health services → |
| Leaving Switzerland | Coverage transition, pension withdrawal | Leaving Switzerland → |
08 · Portals vs advice
Comparison portals are useful for premium comparison once you have decided canton, age band, Franchise, and model. They are not regulated as insurance intermediaries, and they do not read contracts. The structural difference matters at the moment a claim is contested.
We use priminfo.ch — the federal premium portal — ourselves for cross-canton lookups. The longer answer to what an independent Swiss insurance advisor is sits at our positioning piece.
09 · The review & your report
The useful review is not a product list. It is your situation run through the whole system — deadline, layers, levers, supplementary — and then in writing.
Canton, household, employment, existing coverage, the year ahead. Robert runs the health setup; Nicole joins if pension, 3rd pillar, or cross-border tax appears.
Insurer, canton region, Franchise, model — the four calculations against your actual usage, not a price list's assumptions.
Basic and supplementary, page by page — the age curves, the exclusion lists, the claim-handling record behind the brochure language.
Within 3 working days, everything in writing: what to set up, what to keep, what to skip, the reasoning, and the next administrative step. Most reviews end with stay or restructure — not switch.
10 · From our 2026 indexes
how much faster premiums grew than consumer prices over the decade
the Zürich city line — region 1 vs region 2, identical coverage
how long a "cheapest" insurer keeps the crown in Zürich, on average
The Expat Health Insurance Index (basic) · The Hospital Insurance Cost Index (supplementary)
What clients say.
4.8 from 57 reviews on GoogleShe assisted and guided me through the entire process of obtaining my Swiss pension refund.
What I appreciated the most is that she was trying to help me solve my problem, not simply sell me an insurance policy.
After several bad experiences with other brokers, working with Mr. Robert Kolar was a completely different experience.
Robert is the best person to partner with if you need to do difficult things such as relocate.
My session with Robert was one of the most efficient consultation sessions I'd ever had.
I was looking to change a supplementary insurance plan, and Robert guided me with professionalism and patience.
After returning to Switzerland from abroad, Robert was a tremendous help consulting me about all the changes.
Highly recommend consulting Expat Savvy before making any online insurance comparisons.
Working with Ben was great. Very prompt and responsive. Would highly recommend to anyone.
Beide arbeiten Hand in Hand und haben die individuellen Anforderungen unserer Kunden immer im Blick.
The 45-minute review is free, in English, with Robert or Nicole. We map the system to your situation — and most reviews end with us recommending stay or restructure rather than switch.
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