Book your first Swiss insurance review Book your insurance review

Switching guide · 2027 season

Switching Swiss health insurance — when it actually makes sense.

Basic insurance is usually safe to compare every year. Supplementary insurance is where people make expensive mistakes.

Supplementary (VVG)

30 Sept 2026

Many contracts need three months' notice to year-end — before the new premiums are even published. Terms differ per contract: check yours. Never cancel before the new insurer's written acceptance.

Basic (KVG)

30 Nov 2026

Cancel once you've seen the new tariffs — the letter must arrive by this date. Acceptance at the new insurer is mandatory, and the law allows no coverage gap.

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

Client portrait
Client portrait
Client portrait
Client portrait
Client portrait
Client portrait
Client portrait

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.

Quick answer

Can you switch Swiss health insurance?

Basic insurance

Usually safe to switch.

Basic benefits are identical by federal law. Every Swiss basic insurer must accept you, so the decision is mostly premium, model, Franchise, and administration.

Good reason to compare: your new premium letter rises more than the federal average or your canton has a better model available.

Supplementary insurance

Do not switch blindly.

Supplementary is underwritten again. A new insurer can exclude, surcharge, or decline conditions that developed after your original contract.

Good reason to review: no flagged history, outdated contract, weak benefits, or a clear product upgrade.

Deadline

The annual date is 30 November.

The cancellation must arrive by 30 November. Postmark is not enough. Registered mail is the clean proof.

For basic: register with the new insurer and cancel — acceptance is mandatory, and the law allows no coverage gap. For supplementary: written acceptance first, always.

Illustrated portrait of Robert Kolar

Reviewed by Robert Kolar, insurance advisor and health insurance specialist · 20+ years in Swiss insurance · Last updated 23 August 2026

01 · The deadline path

The deadline path is simple when the order is right.

For basic insurance the order is forgiving: register with the new insurer and cancel the old one — acceptance is mandatory (Art. 4 KVG) and the law allows no gap (Art. 7 Abs. 5). Only supplementary demands patience: written acceptance first, always.
01

Late September

Premium notice

Your current insurer sends the new premium.

02

October

Compare

Use priminfo.ch for the price grid. Then check Franchise, model, insurer, and split.

03

Early November

Register

Register with the new basic insurer and send your cancellation — acceptance is mandatory (Art. 4 KVG), so for basic cover there is nothing to wait for. Only supplementary needs written acceptance before anything is touched.

04

Mid November

Send

Send the cancellation by registered post — by 25 November at the latest, earlier if you can.

05

30 November

Arrive

Cancellation must arrive by this date, not merely be postmarked.

06

1 January

Start

New basic coverage begins. Art. 7 Abs. 5 KVG allows no gap: the old cover only ends once the new insurer confirms to the old one.

For the full procedural detail — letter template, registered-mail rule, the mid-year cancellation rights under Art. 7 KVG — see our cancellation-deadline reference. Or have it run for you: we draft and send the cancellation for clients — the review is free.

02 · Decision table

When to switch, when to pause.

Most people ask whether they can switch. The better question is which contract can move safely. Basic and supplementary need different answers.

Trigger First check Basic insurance Supplementary insurance
Premium jumped in September Compare basic insurance, model, and Franchise Usually yes, if the same coverage path is cheaper Only after underwriting review
Claim was not paid or service got painful Check whether the issue is basic administration or supplementary contract behaviour Often worth comparing Depends on health history and exclusions
Moved canton Run the canton × age × model grid again Often yes, because premiums are cantonal Usually keep until accepted elsewhere
GP, HMO, or Telmed no longer fits Change model before changing insurer blindly Sometimes the model switch is enough Separate decision
Planning treatment or pregnancy Read supplementary contract first Basic can still move if timing is clean Usually do not switch without advice
New to Switzerland Use the first 90-day setup process instead Different deadline logic Different underwriting window

Table logic for the review: basic can usually move; supplementary is read before it is touched. The usual triggers: a September premium letter · a canton move · a model that no longer fits · the wrong Franchise · painful service · arriving in Switzerland (a different deadline entirely).

03 · Basic vs supplementary

Two contracts. Two different decisions.

The most common switching mistake is treating basic and supplementary as one product. They are governed by different statutes and create different risks. Pick your contract:

Compare yearly. Switch when the maths works.

Every Swiss basic insurer covers the same federally-defined catalogue of medical care under Art. 25 KVG. Acceptance is mandatory under Art. 4 KVG. Switching changes the premium and model, not the medical benefits.

The conditions to change

  • Every year: cancellation arriving by 30 November, cover changes 1 January
  • Mid-year: with the standard CHF 300 franchise and standard model, cancel for end of June — notice arriving by 31 March (Art. 7 Abs. 1 KVG)
  • On a premium change: the extraordinary right — cancel by the end of the month before the new premium applies (Art. 7 Abs. 2 KVG)
  • No underwriting, no health questions, no risk to coverage

Compare premiums on priminfo.ch·The cancellation reference

It depends on your health.

Supplementary switching triggers fresh underwriting under Art. 4 VVG. If you have any flagged history, the new insurer can exclude, surcharge, or decline the coverage you were trying to improve.

The conditions to change

  • Written acceptance first, always — never cancel before the new insurer has accepted you in writing
  • Notice periods are contract-specific — many run three months to year-end (cancellation by 30 September), some carry multi-year terms
  • Healthy, no flagged history? Shop the market — insurers bring new products every year
  • Past surgery, ongoing medication, chronic condition, mental-health treatment, pregnancy, or a planned procedure? Usually stay

The hospital cost index·Private cover, read closely

Bring the policy. We separate the contracts.

Many expats do not know which line is basic, which line is supplementary, and which line is just an optional model. That is normal. We read the current policy first and label the decision before recommending anything.

  • We identify basic, supplementary outpatient, hospital, and accident cover
  • We check which parts can be moved safely — and flag anything that should be left untouched
  • You leave with your Private Client Report — the clean path, in writing

Book your first Swiss insurance review·What the report contains

Basic switching is harmless and often worth running. Supplementary switching is one of the easiest ways to lose coverage you'll need later. The two decisions deserve different conversations.
Robert Kolar · Insurance advisor

04 · How we help

We read the contract before we compare prices.

The review is not a sales call. It is a structured read of what can move safely, what should stay, and what is actually worth changing — and it ends in writing.

  1. We read the policy first

    Basic, supplementary outpatient, hospital, accident coverage, model, Franchise, and bundled discounts — identified before recommending anything.

  2. We separate the decisions

    Basic insurance is a price and model decision. Supplementary insurance is a health-history and contract-quality decision.

  3. We run the four levers

    Franchise, model, insurer, and basic/supplementary split. The cheapest insurer is often not the biggest lever.

  4. You get it in writing: switch, stay, or restructure

    Within 3 working days, your Private Client Report — the reasoning, the risk flags, the timing, and the next administrative step. All three answers are normal.

The actual sample, live — nine chapters, situation to signatures.
Read the full sample · What's inside

05 · What the review checks

The four levers before we say switch, stay, or restructure.

Switching insurer is the most visible lever and often not the strongest one. Franchise, model, and keeping supplementary untouched can matter more.

Franchise — the deductible

The biggest immediate basic-insurance lever. Six legal adult tiers: 300, 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, 2,500. The right tier depends on actual care usage, not optimism.

What we check

  • Your care usage in the last 12–24 months
  • Whether you can absorb the higher out-of-pocket year
  • The premium discount at your canton × age × model

We usually find the Franchise answer before we even compare insurers.

Read the Franchise reframe

Model — Standard, GP, HMO, Telmed

Model can move 15–20% of basic premium with the same insurer. It is often upstream of the insurer decision, because model availability varies by canton and network.

What we check

  • Whether your existing doctor sits in the network
  • How much gatekeeping you actually tolerate
  • Whether model savings beat insurer-only switching

For many settled expats, the model switch saves more than the insurer switch.

Swiss health insurance models explained

Insurer — the headline switch

On basic insurance, federal benefits are identical. Insurer competition sits in premium, administration, model availability, and service reputation. On supplementary, insurer choice is much more consequential.

What we check

  • Your canton-by-canton premium grid
  • Claim-handling reputation and administration quality
  • Whether the cheaper insurer creates a worse practical experience

Switching insurer alone is rarely the whole answer. It is one lever, not the architecture.

Split basic and supplementary

Basic and supplementary do not have to sit with the same insurer. This is one of the most useful levers and one of the least explained by sales calls.

What we check

  • Whether your supplementary contract is still worth keeping
  • Whether basic can move without disturbing supplementary
  • Whether the bundled discount is real or just convenient

A common recommendation: move basic if the maths works, keep supplementary where it is.

Cancellation-deadline reference

06 · Worked example

The better answer was not just switching insurer.

A Zürich household received a premium notice raising basic from CHF 432 to CHF 478 per month, each. Their first instinct was to switch provider immediately.

Premium notice

CHF 432 → CHF 478 each

The increase was real, but the insurer was only one lever.

Review the whole basic setup

Franchise

CHF 300 tier

Actual care usage made CHF 1,500 the better fit.

Save CHF 64/month each

Model

Standard model

Their existing GP was already inside the Hausarzt network.

Save CHF 38/month each

Insurer

Current provider

A cheaper Zürich provider added a useful but smaller saving.

Save CHF 22/month each

Supplementary

Tempting to switch

The outpatient contract was working. A new application would reopen underwriting.

Keep it untouched

Outcome

CHF 124saved /month per person

CHF 2,976/year for the household — switching insurer alone would have saved CHF 528. Illustrative, anonymized; Zürich tariffs.

Book your first Swiss insurance review

07 · Portals vs advice

Priminfo compares prices. We read the contract.

If you only want the cheapest basic premium, priminfo.ch or an app like primai.ch is the right tool. Our work starts when the question is bigger than price: basic insurance, supplementary contracts, Franchise, model, insurer behavior, age curve, and whether staying is safer.

Price tool
Independent advisor
Use case
Find the cheapest basic premium
Decide what should actually change
Reads your contract
No
Yes — page by page
Runs the lever calculations
Premium layer only
All four: Franchise, model, insurer, split
Regulated as insurance intermediary
No
Yes — FINMA, Art. 45 VAG
Discloses how it is paid
Not required
Yes — /vag-45/
Tells you when to stay
Rarely
Yes — most supplementary reviews
The federal-law foundation

The Swiss switching framework rests on Art. 7 KVG for the 30 November cancellation deadline, Art. 25 KVG for identical basic benefits, Art. 4 KVG for mandatory acceptance, and Art. 4 VVG for supplementary disclosure obligations.

What about loyalty discounts?

There are no loyalty discounts on Swiss basic insurance. On supplementary, group, family, and multi-year discounts can exist, but each needs to be checked against the contract and the flexibility you give up.

Does switching every year hurt my standing?

On basic, no. Every basic insurer must accept every Swiss resident. On supplementary, yes, every new application can reopen underwriting and exclusions.

What clients say.

4.8 from 57 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.
I was looking to change a supplementary insurance plan, and Robert guided me with professionalism and patience.
Diana M.2025
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.
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 client.
Beide arbeiten Hand in Hand und haben die individuellen Anforderungen unserer Kunden immer im Blick.
Katharina K.2025
Illustrated portrait of an East Asian client.
Illustrated portrait of a Central European client.
She assisted and guided me through the entire process of obtaining my Swiss pension refund.
Ryan K.2026
Illustrated portrait of a Latin American 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
Robert is the best person to partner with if you need to do difficult things such as relocate.
E. Burke-Murphy2026
Illustrated portrait of a European client.
After returning to Switzerland from abroad, Robert was a tremendous help consulting me about all the changes.
Steven2025
Illustrated portrait of a Middle Eastern client.

FAQ.

Is it worth comparing Swiss basic insurance every year?
Yes. Basic insurance benefits are identical at every Swiss insurer by federal law (Art. 25 KVG), and acceptance is mandatory (Art. 4 KVG) — switching basic is harmless. The premium difference between insurers in the same canton can be CHF 100+ per month at the same Franchise and model. Comparing yearly and switching when your premium rises more than the federal-average increase is sound practice.
Should I switch supplementary insurance to save money?
It depends on your health — so we assess before we recommend. Insurers bring innovative supplementary products every year, so the market is worth shopping if you have no flagged conditions. If you do have health history — past surgery, ongoing medication, chronic condition, mental-health treatment in the past 5 years — switching triggers fresh underwriting under Art. 4 VVG, and the new insurer can exclude or surcharge anything in your record. That is not automatically a no: Expat Savvy assesses your record honestly first. In some cases the coverage you want is still achievable; in others we recommend keeping what you have, or propose alternatives — a different Swiss insurer whose underwriting treats your condition more favourably, an adjusted product tier, or international health insurance (IPMI) routes. You get the honest answer in writing either way.
When is the deadline to switch Swiss health insurance?
30 November each year (Art. 7 KVG). The cancellation must arrive at the current insurer in writing — not be postmarked — by that date. Registered mail (Einschreiben) is recommended; the postal receipt is your legal proof of timely arrival. Register with the new insurer in parallel — the old cover legally ends only once the new insurer confirms your new coverage (Art. 7 Abs. 5 KVG), so no gap can occur. Plan to send by 25 November at the latest, earlier if you can. Expat Savvy's free switching service drafts and sends the cancellation letter for clients before the deadline.
Can I switch Swiss basic insurance mid-year?
Yes, in two situations. First, if you hold the standard CHF 300 franchise and the standard model, you can cancel ordinarily for the end of June with three months' notice — the cancellation must arrive by 31 March (Art. 7 Abs. 1 KVG). Second, under the extraordinary right of cancellation (Art. 7 Abs. 2 KVG) when your insurer changes the contract terms — typically a premium increase — cancellation must arrive by the end of the month before the new premium takes effect. With a higher franchise or an alternative model, only the year-end and extraordinary routes apply.
Does switching basic insurance change my coverage benefits?
No. Basic-insurance benefits are identical at every Swiss insurer by federal law (Art. 25 KVG). Switching changes the insurer, the premium, and the model availability — never the catalogue of covered medical care.
Can I have basic and supplementary insurance with different companies?
Yes. Swiss law explicitly allows this — basic insurance is governed by KVG and supplementary by VVG, two different statutes that do not require the same insurer. Splitting basic with one insurer and supplementary with another is one of the four levers most readers don't know they can pull.
How long does the Swiss health insurance switching process take?
About 6–8 weeks end-to-end, in our experience. Register with the new insurer in October or early November; send the registered-mail cancellation so it arrives before 30 November; the new insurer confirms your coverage to the old one (that confirmation, not an attachment to your letter, is what completes the switch under Art. 7 Abs. 5 KVG); the insurance card arrives in December; coverage starts 1 January. Plan backwards from 30 November, not forward from the premium notice. Expat Savvy runs this timeline end-to-end for clients, free of charge.
Can I switch my basic and supplementary insurance at the same time?
Yes, but the decisions should be made separately. Basic switching is harmless under federal law — every insurer must accept every applicant (Art. 4 KVG). Supplementary switching triggers a fresh underwriting questionnaire (Art. 4 VVG); any condition developed since your original supplementary signing may become an exclusion under the new policy. Expat Savvy recommends keeping existing supplementary intact in most cases. The two contracts can live with different insurers — Swiss law explicitly permits it.
What's the average Swiss health insurance premium increase per year?
Variable. Recent years: 2023 was approximately −0.2% (the only recent year of decline); 2024 was approximately +8.7% federal average; 2025 was approximately +6.0%; 2026 was announced at +4.4% federal average by the Federal Office of Public Health. The 2027 figure is announced at the end of September 2026. Cantonal variation regularly adds 2–4 percentage points either direction, and insurer-level variation is far wider still — over 2016–2026 the spread between Zürich insurers reached 67.8 percentage points (our index). Plan around the actual letter you receive in late September, not the federal headline.
Does switching basic insurance affect my claims history?
No. Swiss basic insurance does not maintain claim-history records that affect future premiums or future-insurer eligibility. Federal law (Art. 4 KVG mandatory acceptance, Art. 25 KVG identical benefits) requires every basic insurer to accept every Swiss resident on identical terms. Supplementary insurance is different — claim history is reviewed during underwriting on every new supplementary application, and adverse history can affect acceptance terms or trigger exclusions.
Can I cancel mid-year if I move cantons?
Moving canton triggers a recalculation of your basic-insurance premium at the new canton's tariff. The standard view is that a canton move is not itself an automatic cancellation trigger under Art. 7 KVG — only premium-change notifications from your insurer create the extraordinary right of cancellation under Art. 7 §2 KVG. Notify your existing insurer of the move; if a premium adjustment letter follows, the §2 right opens. We verify the timing in the review.
Is it worth using a comparison portal like priminfo.ch?
Yes, for premium price comparison. Priminfo.ch is the federal Swiss portal operated by the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) — the cleanest source for canton × age × model × Franchise pricing across every Swiss basic insurer. Apps like primai.ch can also make the price layer easier to scan. But price tools do not read your contract, assess supplementary underwriting, model the age curve, or decide whether staying is safer. For the headline premium comparison, use the tools. For the architecture review, book the 45-minute review.
Do you only compare Swiss health insurance premiums?
No. If the only question is the cheapest mandatory basic premium, a price tool is enough. Our review is for people who want the full situation read: basic insurance, supplementary contracts, Franchise, model, insurer behavior, age curve, claim friction, and the safest order of action.

Compare yearly. Stay smart on supplementary. Book the review.

The 45-minute review is free. We compare your basic insurance against the canton × age × model grid, read your supplementary contract, and tell you which path is yours: switch, stay, or restructure. Most reviews end with a one-page written summary inside three working days. No first-call contracts. No pressure.

Book your first Swiss insurance review

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