Switching guide
Basic insurance is usually safe to compare every year. Supplementary insurance is where people make expensive mistakes.
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Quick answer
Basic insurance
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
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Good reason to review: no flagged history, outdated contract, weak benefits, or a clear product upgrade.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 cancellation must arrive by 30 November. Postmark is not enough. Registered mail is the clean proof.
Apply first, wait for written acceptance, then cancel the old basic policy.
Decision table
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.
Reasons people switch
Most searches start with price. The better question is what changed: your premium, canton, model, health history, or deadline.
Reason 01
The late-September letter is the usual trigger. But the right reaction is not always insurer switching. Sometimes Franchise or model does more work.
Best next step: compare the full canton × age × model grid.Reason 02
Premiums are cantonal. A move from Zürich to Zug, Geneva, Vaud, Basel, or Bern can change the economics without changing the medical benefits.
Reason 03
Standard, GP, HMO, and Telmed are not lifestyle labels. They control access paths and can move the premium materially.
Reason 04
The lowest deductible feels safe, but it is often expensive for healthy adults. The highest deductible is not automatically clever either.
Reason 05
On basic insurance, service and administration can matter. On supplementary, claim behavior matters much more.
Reason 06
New residents have a different decision: registration within three months. That is not the same as the annual 30 November switch.
Not sure
If the reason is not obvious, that is usually the point. The review starts by separating basic, supplementary, model, Franchise, and deadline.
Book your first Swiss insurance reviewBasic vs supplementary
The most common switching mistake is treating basic and supplementary as one product. They are governed by different statutes and create different risks.
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.
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.
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.
How we help
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.
We identify basic, supplementary outpatient, hospital, accident coverage, model, Franchise, and bundled discounts before recommending anything.
Basic insurance is a price and model decision. Supplementary insurance is a health-history and contract-quality decision.
Franchise, model, insurer, and basic/supplementary split. The cheapest insurer is often not the biggest lever.
All three answers are normal. A good review protects coverage as much as it finds savings.
What the review checks
Switching insurer is the most visible lever and often not the strongest one. Franchise, model, and keeping supplementary untouched can matter more.
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
We usually find the Franchise answer before we even compare insurers.
Read the Franchise reframeModel 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
For many settled expats, the model switch saves more than the insurer switch.
Swiss health insurance models explainedOn 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
Switching insurer alone is rarely the whole answer. It is one lever, not the architecture.
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
A common recommendation: move basic if the maths works, keep supplementary where it is.
Cancellation-deadline referenceWorked example
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.
CHF 432 → CHF 478 each
The increase was real, but the insurer was only one lever.
Review the whole basic setupCHF 300 tier
Actual care usage made CHF 1,500 the better fit.
Save CHF 64/month eachStandard model
Their existing GP was already inside the Hausarzt network.
Save CHF 38/month eachCurrent provider
A cheaper Zürich provider added a useful but smaller saving.
Save CHF 22/month eachTempting to switch
The outpatient contract was working. A new application would reopen underwriting.
Keep it untouchedOutcome
CHF 124/month per person
CHF 2,976/year for the household. Switching insurer alone would have saved CHF 528.
Book your first Swiss insurance reviewBasic 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
The mistakes we are looking for
This is where comparison pages stop. We check what happens after the switch: underwriting, claims behavior, age curves, and whether coverage still fits your life.
Some supplementary plans look cheap at 32 and become brutal at 55. The entry premium is not the lifetime cost.
What we check
We model the future premium curve before recommending any supplementary move.
New-arrival registration and annual switching are different rules. Mixing them up creates bad decisions and avoidable deadline panic.
What we check
We separate new-resident obligations from existing-resident switching rights.
The brochure can be generous while the claims process is painful. Contract wording and insurer behavior matter more on supplementary than basic.
What we check
A cheaper supplementary insurer can be expensive after the first denied claim.
Sales calls often push the maximum. We often recommend less: the right model, the right deductible, and the right supplementary left alone.
What we check
The review ends with switch, stay, or restructure. All three are real answers.
If switching is right
Late September
Your current insurer sends the new premium.
October
Use priminfo.ch for the price grid. Then check Franchise, model, insurer, and split.
Early November
Apply with the new basic insurer and wait for written acceptance.
25 November
Send cancellation by registered post to allow delivery time.
30 November
Cancellation must arrive by this date, not merely be postmarked.
1 January
New basic coverage begins. Supplementary stays separate unless accepted.
For the full procedural detail — letter template, registered-mail rule, the extraordinary right of cancellation under Art. 7 §2 KVG — see our cancellation-deadline reference.
Who runs the review
Health-insurance switching is Robert's desk. The first review is free, in English, and routed internally if pension, tax, or cross-border questions appear.
Insurance advisor — health insurance specialist
20+ years in Swiss insurance. Languages: German, English, Czech. Reads the health-insurance contract on every review: basic, supplementary outpatient, hospital.
Book with Robert if
If the review touches pension, 3rd pillar, life insurance, or leaving Switzerland, we bring Hans in after the policy context is clear.
Portals vs advice
Comparison portals are useful for premium price comparison. They are not a substitute for a regulated insurance advisory or a contract read.
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.
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.
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 52 reviews on GoogleAfter several bad experiences with other brokers, working with Mr. Robert Kolar was a completely different experience.
I was looking to change a supplementary insurance plan, and Robert guided me with professionalism and patience.
My session with Robert was one of the most efficient consultation sessions I'd ever had.
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.
Robert is the best person to partner with if you need to do difficult things such as relocate.
After returning to Switzerland from abroad, Robert was a tremendous help consulting me about all the changes.
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
