Setting up Swiss health insurance — your first 90 days as a new arrival.

You have 3 months from cantonal registration to register for basic insurance. The decisions you make in your first 30 days lock in your insurance architecture for years. Set them up right the first time — and you don't have to restructure later.

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Swiss basic health insurance is mandatory for every Swiss resident under Article 3 KVG. New arrivals have 3 months from the date of cantonal registration to register with a Swiss basic insurer. Coverage applies retroactively from the arrival date once registration is complete. Federal benefits are identical across all 50+ Swiss basic insurers (Art. 25 KVG); premium varies by canton, age, model, and Franchise. Missing the 3-month deadline triggers cantonal assignment plus a penalty surcharge under Art. 5 KVG backdated to arrival. If you might be in an opt-out category — diplomat, posted worker, cross-border, student, short-term — see our SIP partnership page first; that's the international-insurance route, not this one.

The first 90 days — what has to happen, when.

The federal-law sequence for a newcomer is straightforward. The decisions inside it are not. Here is the timeline most expat households we work with follow — the deadlines that bind, the windows that matter, and the calls that pay off long-term.

Day 1–7 · Week 1

Cantonal registration (Anmeldung)

You register with your Gemeinde (commune) within 14 days of arrival under cantonal law. Your residence permit and AHV registration follow from this. The 3-month insurance deadline starts ticking from this date, not your physical arrival.

Day 7–30 · Weeks 2–4

The first review

Most expats book their first insurance review in this window. The architecture decisions — insurer × canton × Franchise × model × supplementary timing — are simpler before any medical events have occurred in Switzerland. Decisions made now compound for a decade; decisions postponed to month 3 are panic decisions.

Day 14–30 · Weeks 2–4

Supplementary application (if applicable)

If you intend to add supplementary outpatient or hospital cover, apply BEFORE any medical events in Switzerland. The underwriting questionnaire under Art. 4 VVG asks about treatment in Switzerland and abroad. Clean records make for cleaner acceptance.

Day 30–60

Basic insurance application + acceptance

Application to the chosen Swiss basic insurer. Most insurers respond in 2–3 weeks. Acceptance is mandatory under Art. 4 KVG. Coverage starts retroactively from your arrival date once accepted. Premium for the partial first month is prorated.

Day 60–90

Verification

Insurance card arrives. AHV registration confirmed. Premium direct debit set up. Hausarzt (if applicable) confirmed and accepting new patients. If anything is missing at day 75, follow up — there is still margin.

Day 90+ · If missed

Cantonal assignment

If no basic insurance is registered by day 90 from cantonal registration, the canton's Ausgleichskasse assigns coverage — typically with the most expensive insurer in the canton, on the most expensive model, with a penalty surcharge under Art. 5 KVG backdated to your arrival date.

What's mandatory, what's optional.

Two contracts, two laws, two different rules. Most newcomers conflate them. Federal-law clarity first; the choice architecture follows.

Basic — KVG

Mandatory. Federal benefits identical.

Required for every Swiss resident under Art. 3 KVG. Catalogue of covered medical care identical at every insurer (Art. 25 KVG). 50+ Swiss basic insurers; you choose freely (Art. 41 KVG). Children pay a reduced premium; family Franchise cap available under Art. 64 §4 KVG.

Cantonal premium tariff approved annually by BAG
Six legal Franchise tiers (Art. 64 KVG)
Annual cancellation right by 30 November (Art. 7 KVG)
Acceptance is mandatory — no underwriting

Supplementary — VVG

Optional. Underwritten individually.

Hospital supplementary (semi-private, private, worldwide). Outpatient supplementary (complementary medicine, prevention, dental). Travel and emergency abroad. All underwritten individually (Art. 4 VVG); apply before any conditions develop.

Apply within first 30 days for cleanest underwriting
Health questionnaire references treatment "in Switzerland and abroad"
Past condition → exclusion, surcharge, or rejection
The clean window closes after the first Swiss medical event

Mandatory is mandatory; optional is genuinely optional. We say "don't take the supplementary you don't need" more often than the market suggests we should.

Four decisions. Made in your first month. Locked in for years.

Every architecture decision interacts with every other. Get the canton wrong and the premium math changes. Get the Franchise wrong and the wrong model becomes "optimal." Get the timing wrong and the supplementary you wanted becomes the supplementary that excludes you. We sequence these in the first review.

Insurer

Federal benefits identical (Art. 25 KVG). Choice runs on premium, model availability per canton, claim-handling reputation, and supplementary product range. Most newcomers default to the largest insurer in their canton; the largest is rarely the cheapest.

SWICA contract-read · Sanitas contract-read

Canton-dependent factors

Your address determines premium tariff (Art. 49a KVG cantonal funding split; Art. 61 KVG premium-calculation principles). Within a canton, premium regions exist (Zürich Region 1 vs Region 2; Bern Region 1 vs 2 vs 3). Cantonal subsidies (IPV) vary materially. The address is mostly fixed at relocation; we model the implications.

Decoding canton, region, premium →

Franchise

Six legal adult tiers under Art. 64 KVG: 300, 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, 2,500. Children: 0, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600. The right tier depends on actual care usage and the household's risk appetite. We routinely see newcomers default to 300 — it is the most expensive option and rarely the right one for a healthy adult.

The Franchise reframe →

Model

Standardmodell, Hausarzt, HMO, Telmed, Pharmed. 8–18% premium variance across models within the same insurer. English-language model availability varies materially by canton. Hausarzt requires committing to a network GP — verify availability in your area before signing.

Swiss health insurance models explained →

Pre-existing conditions — the clean window.

Most newcomers arrive with one structural advantage they do not realise. The Swiss supplementary underwriting questionnaire (Art. 4 VVG) asks about medical history. For someone arriving from the UK, US, Germany, or elsewhere, the medical history exists on home-country systems Swiss insurers do not query. What the insurer sees is the questionnaire you complete. Honest disclosure is required by federal law. But — most newcomers we meet have a cleaner application window in their first 90 days than they will ever have again.

What the questionnaire asks

Standard Swiss supplementary underwriting asks about hospitalisations, surgeries, ongoing medications, mental-health treatment in the past 5 years, chronic conditions. The questions reference "in Switzerland and abroad." Disclosure is required for the past, regardless of where the treatment occurred. We help you read the questions accurately — disclosure honesty is the rule, not the exception.

Why timing matters

Once a medical event happens in Switzerland — first GP visit, first specialist consultation, first hospital admission — it enters the Swiss claim record. Apply for supplementary BEFORE that happens, and the underwriting is based on history alone. Apply after, and the Swiss event is also assessed.

What we recommend for newcomers

Apply for hospital supplementary (semi-private or private — choose by hospital preference) within the first 30 days. If outpatient supplementary fits the household, apply at the same time. We sequence these around employer-provided cover (if applicable) so nothing is missed and nothing is over-paid. Detailed mechanics in our pre-existing-conditions reference.

Robert Kolar — health insurance advisor at Expat Savvy

Your first 30 days in Switzerland are the cleanest underwriting window you will ever have. The supplementary application that costs you nothing extra now — because nothing has happened yet — costs an exclusion, a surcharge, or a rejection in year three. We sequence the application before the first GP visit, every time. — Robert Kolar · Insurance advisor

A worked example — family arriving from London.

A family of four — both adults employed in Zürich, kids ages 7 and 11 — arrived from London in late January. Day 5 in Switzerland, before any medical events, they came to us. The first review covered five decisions in 45 minutes.

Insurer × canton

Their Zürich Region 2 address. We modelled three insurers' premium curves at adult age 38 and child ages 7 and 11. The cleanest combination: a mid-sized canton insurer plus a family-discount mechanic on supplementary.

Franchise

Adults at 1,500 (healthy, no flagged conditions, no anticipated care). Kids at 300 (paediatric care for school-age children is more frequent). The Franchise math saved CHF 1,400/year vs the default 300-for-everyone setup.

Model

Hausarzt — both parents preferred an English-speaking GP who was already on the chosen insurer's Hausarzt network in Zürich Region 2.

Supplementary timing

Applied for hospital semi-private at the same insurer within 14 days of cantonal registration — clean underwriting, both adults accepted at standard terms, kids accepted automatically as dependents under the parental policy (most insurers accept children up to age 18 without underwriting if a parent is already insured at the same insurer).

Family discount

Activated automatically when all four members enrolled with the same insurer.

By day 30, all four were registered. By day 60, paediatrician and GP routes mapped. The 3-month deadline was met with margin to spare. Combined annual premium under the employer's housing-allowance buffer, with no surprises in year 2 or 3.

Special cases — when the standard sequence doesn't apply.

Four scenarios where the standard newcomer sequence needs adjustment. We handle each with a different first move.

Executives with employer-paid IPMI

Some executive packages include international medical insurance (IPMI) that meets Swiss equivalence requirements for KVG exemption under Art. 2 KVV. The exemption is not automatic — it requires application to the cantonal authority within 3 months of registration with documentary proof. For these cases we work with sip.ch, who specialise in international / IPMI insurance for executives. Misjudge the exemption and the household pays Swiss basic premiums alongside an international plan they don't need. Detailed walk-through in our IPMI vs Swiss supplementary piece.

Cross-border workers (Grenzgänger)

Workers commuting daily from neighbouring countries (Germany, France, Italy, Austria) into Switzerland have specific cross-border insurance options under EU/EFTA agreements. The choice between Swiss KVG, home-country compulsory cover, or a private cross-border plan depends on family situation, income, and which side of the border medical care will primarily occur. We work with cross-border specialists on these cases.

Students

Students with home-country health insurance meeting Swiss equivalence requirements may apply for KVG exemption (typically renewable each academic year). University-arranged international student insurance often qualifies. Verify equivalence with the cantonal authority before assuming exemption.

Late arrivals — deadline already missed

Past 90 days from cantonal registration, the canton's Ausgleichskasse assigns coverage — typically with the most expensive insurer at the most expensive model, surcharge backdated. The first move: regularise immediately. Then plan a clean switch at the next 30 November ordinary cancellation right under Art. 7 KVG. Detailed mechanics in our cancellation-deadline reference.

Who runs the 45-minute review.

Two people on the team specialise in newcomer setups. Robert reads the basic and supplementary contracts; Hans handles the cases where pension architecture or cross-border tax interaction shows up alongside health insurance. Both work in English. The first review is free.

Robert Kolar

Insurance advisor — health insurance specialist

20+ years in Swiss insurance. Languages: German, English, Czech. Reads the basic and supplementary contract for every newcomer review. The 3-month deadline calendar item is hardcoded in his process.

Book your first Swiss insurance review with Robert

Hans Steiner

Financial Planner IAF & Federal Diploma of Higher Education

Pension, 3rd pillar, life insurance, cross-border. Languages: German, English, French. Runs newcomer reviews where pension architecture, employer-package coordination, or cross-border tax interaction overlaps with the basic-insurance setup.

Book your first Swiss insurance review with Hans

Why a comparison portal isn't a setup.

Comparis.ch and similar comparison portals are useful for premium comparison once you have decided your canton, age band, and Franchise tier. They are not a substitute for setting up your insurance for the first time. The structural difference: comparison portals do not read your contract, do not run the lever calculations against your specific situation, and are not regulated as insurance intermediaries under Swiss law.

Comparison portal

Independent advisor (us)

Reads your situation

Yes — 45-minute review

Runs canton × age × model × Franchise math

Premium-only

All four levers

Verifies KVG-exemption eligibility

Yes — case-by-case (executives, students, cross-border)

Sequences supplementary timing for clean underwriting

Yes — before first Swiss medical event

Operates in English

Some

Yes — primary language

We use priminfo.ch ourselves for cross-canton premium lookup. We use Comparis when a reader asks us to. Neither is a replacement for the first setup. The longer answer to what an independent Swiss insurance advisor is sits at our positioning piece.

FAQ.

How long do I have to register for Swiss health insurance after arriving?

3 months from the date of cantonal registration (Anmeldung) — not from your physical arrival. Art. 3 KVG sets the deadline. Coverage applies retroactively from the arrival date once registration is complete.

Is health insurance mandatory in Switzerland?

Yes. Basic health insurance (KVG) is compulsory for every Swiss resident under Article 3 KVG. Supplementary insurance (VVG) is optional.

Are basic-insurance benefits the same across all Swiss insurers?

Yes — federal law (Article 25 KVG) requires every basic insurer to cover the identical catalogue of medical care. Premium varies by canton, age, model, and Franchise; benefits don't.

What happens if I miss the 3-month registration deadline?

The cantonal Ausgleichskasse assigns coverage — typically with the most expensive insurer in the canton, at the most expensive model, with a penalty surcharge under Art. 5 KVG backdated to your arrival date. We help regularise the situation and plan a clean switch at the next 30 November ordinary cancellation under Art. 7 KVG.

Can I keep my international or home-country health insurance instead of Swiss basic insurance?

Only with KVG exemption from the cantonal authority. Exemption requires international cover meeting Swiss equivalence requirements (executives with IPMI, students with university-arranged cover, certain cross-border worker arrangements under Art. 2 KVV). Apply within 3 months of cantonal registration with documentary proof.

When should I apply for supplementary insurance as a newcomer?

Within the first 30 days, before any medical events occur in Switzerland. Supplementary underwriting (Article 4 VVG) considers your medical history. The clean window before any Swiss claim activity is the easiest time to apply.

What's the average Swiss basic-insurance premium for a new arrival?

Variable by canton, age, model, and Franchise. Indicative 2026 monthly premium for an adult age 30, Standardmodell, Franchise 300: Zug ≈CHF 380, Zürich ≈CHF 470, Geneva ≈CHF 580. Verify on priminfo.ch (the federal portal).

Do I need to find an English-speaking GP?

It helps. The Hausarzt model requires committing to a specific GP from the insurer's network. English-language GPs are concentrated in Zürich, Geneva, Basel, Zug, and Lausanne. Verify availability before choosing the model.

Can my children be added to my insurance automatically?

Children require their own basic insurance under federal law — every Swiss resident, including children, must have their own KVG policy. Many supplementary insurers accept children of an insured parent automatically up to age 18 if the parent is insured at the same insurer. Verify per insurer.

What's IPV and how do I know if I qualify?

IPV (Individual Premium Reduction / Prämienverbilligung) is a cantonal subsidy for moderate-earning households. Each canton operates its own scheme; thresholds and amounts vary materially. For most newcomers, IPV becomes relevant in year 2 once Swiss tax residency is established. Some cantons apply automatically based on tax data; most require explicit application.

Can I cancel my Swiss basic insurance and switch insurer in my first year?

Yes — the ordinary annual cancellation right under Article 7 KVG applies regardless of your length of residency. Cancellation must arrive at your existing insurer in writing by 30 November, with proof of new coverage starting 1 January.

Do I need a Swiss bank account before I register for insurance?

Not strictly — most insurers accept a foreign IBAN initially and let you switch to a Swiss account once it's open. The simpler path is to register the bank account first, but the timing isn't blocking.

What clients say.

4.8 from 51 reviews on Google

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 Scandinavian client.

After returning to Switzerland from abroad, Robert was a tremendous help consulting me about all the changes.

Steven2025

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

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.

After several bad experiences with other brokers, working with Mr. Robert Kolar was a completely different experience.

Dragos H.2026

Illustrated portrait of a Latin American client.

I was looking to change a supplementary insurance plan, and Robert guided me with professionalism and patience.

Diana M.2025

Set it up right. The first time.

The architecture you set up in your first 90 days is the architecture you live with for the next decade. We have run hundreds of first reviews with newcomers in Zürich, Geneva, Basel, Zug, and Lausanne. The 45-minute conversation is free, in English, with Robert or Hans. Most newcomer reviews end with a clear written summary of recommendations within 3 working days. No pressure. No urgency manipulation. The deadline is just a date — the decision behind it is what matters.

Book your first Swiss insurance review

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