Protection guide
It depends on who relies on your income. Families and mortgage holders usually do. Many single expats don't — and we say so.
Do you need life insurance as an expat in Switzerland? It depends on who relies on your income. If you have children, a partner who could not carry the household alone, or a mortgage, you likely need term life cover — it is commonly expected alongside a Swiss mortgage. If you are single with no dependents and no debt, you usually don't: your BVG pension fund and AHV survivor benefits already cover the modest residual obligations. Nicole Bohne, Expat Savvy's life-insurance specialist, assesses this free of charge in English — and "you don't need it" is a normal outcome of the review.
Quick answer
Dependents or mortgage
Someone depends on your income. Children, a partner who could not carry the household alone, or a mortgage create a real protection need. The default shape is term life sized to 5–10× annual income or the outstanding mortgage, whichever is larger.
Term matched to the dependency window — until the kids are independent or the mortgage is paid down. Not a default 30 years.
Single, no debt
Nobody relies on your income. Your BVG pension fund and AHV survivor benefits already cover the modest residual obligations. Your money does more work in a low-cost 3a and a 2nd-pillar buyback.
This is the modal expat profile in the first years in Switzerland — and the answer we give it most often.
Either way
Most Swiss employer plans already include a death benefit — typically 1–4× annual salary. Private cover should fill the remaining gap, not duplicate what you already pay for.
Bring the Pensionskasse certificate to the review. It is the single most useful document in this decision.
Decision table
The product question comes last. The real question is your household shape: dependents, debt, and what your BVG pension fund already covers.
| Situation | First check | Term life insurance | 3a-wrapped policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| First child arrived or on the way | Income dependency and the years until independence | Term life sized to 5–10× annual income is the usual shape | Rarely — only when the bundled fit is real |
| Buying property with a mortgage | The outstanding balance and the bank's affordability read | Term cover is commonly expected alongside the loan | Sometimes, where the 3a tax lever and protection need align |
| Single, no dependents, no debt | What BVG and AHV already cover | Usually no cover needed — we say so | No — the fee load buys nothing you need |
| Partner depends on your income | The gap between BVG survivor benefits and real living costs | Term life covering the actual income gap | Rarely — separate products are usually cleaner |
| Self-employed, thin or no BVG | What disappears with the Pensionskasse: death and disability cover | Term life plus disability cover, read together | Sometimes — the wrapper can fill both gaps in one contract |
| High earner, BVG benefit capped | The multiple on your certificate vs 5–10× actual income | Term life closes the top-up gap | Case by case — the marginal-tax math decides |
Table logic for the review: the household decides whether cover is needed; the product decision follows — never the reverse.
When cover earns its place
Life insurance is event-driven, not calendar-driven. These are the changes that create a real protection need — or at least a real question.
Reason 01
The clearest trigger. Someone now depends on your income for 18+ years. The question becomes sizing and term length, not whether.
Usual shape: term cover to 5–10× annual income, term matched to the dependency window.Reason 02
Death-risk cover is commonly expected alongside a Swiss mortgage — standard practice, especially where affordability depends on two incomes.
Reason 03
If your partner could not replace your share of household income, the gap between BVG survivor benefits and real living costs is the number to cover.
Reason 04
No Pensionskasse means no employer death benefit and often no disability cover. The protection gap is real and usually larger than expected.
Reason 05
BVG death benefits typically run 1–4× annual salary. For high earners the multiple can sit far below what dependents would actually need.
Reason 06
The pitched product is often a 3a-wrapped policy, not the cover you asked about. A second read before signing costs nothing and regularly changes the answer.
Not sure
Then the review is short. We read your BVG certificate, confirm there is no gap, and put 'no cover needed' in writing. That answer is free too.
Book your first Swiss insurance reviewTerm vs 3a-linked
"Life insurance" in Switzerland means pure term cover (Todesfallversicherung) or a savings-and-protection bundle, often wrapped in pillar 3a. Confusing them is the most expensive mistake in this category — our 3rd pillar vs life insurance breakdown takes the long way through it.
Term life insurance (Todesfallversicherung) pays a defined benefit if you die during the policy term. No savings component — the premium is the cost of the risk transfer, which is why it is the cheapest form of cover per franc.
Insurance-wrapped 3a (Säule 3a gebunden) combines tax-advantaged savings with a death benefit and a disability premium waiver. It is a real product with a real role — for a narrower set of households than it is sold to. In most cases we keep savings and protection separate.
Most expats do not know what death benefit their Pensionskasse already includes — and it is usually the largest piece of existing cover. We read the certificate, map the household, and only then talk products.
What it costs
Indicative figures for pure term life insurance — the exact premium always comes from underwriting: age, health history, smoking status, sum insured, and term length.
All figures indicative. Nicole compares real quotes across insurers in the review — for your age, your sum, your history.
Life insurance belongs in the plan only when someone depends on the income. The contract has to answer that situation, not decorate the portfolio. — Nicole Bohne · Life insurance advisor
What the review checks
The review runs in a fixed order — household, existing cover, product shape, insurer. Most sales conversations run it backwards, which is how expats end up with policies they didn't need.
Before any product: who depends on your income, and what debt would they carry if you died tomorrow? This single question settles most life-insurance decisions — often with "nobody, nothing, no cover needed".
What we check
If the answer is nobody and nothing, the review ends the honest way: no cover needed.
Most Swiss employer pension plans already include a death benefit — typically 1–4× annual salary. Private cover should fill the gap above it, not duplicate it. The certificate states the exact figure; almost nobody has read theirs.
What we check
The gap is often smaller than the sales pitch assumed. Sometimes it is zero.
Pure term cover does the protection job at the lowest cost per franc. The 3a wrapper bundles savings and protection — right for a narrow set of households, oversold to the rest. We keep them separate in most cases.
What we check
The usual recommendation: low-cost 3a for savings, small term policy for protection — or no policy at all.
3rd pillar vs life insurance — the full breakdownSwiss Life, AXA, Zurich, Helvetia, Generali, and Pax all offer term life in Switzerland. Premiums for the same sum vary meaningfully — and so does underwriting. The cheapest headline premium is not always the cleanest acceptance for your health history.
What we check
Nicole compares them independently — commission disclosed under Art. 45 VAG, no obligation to any insurer.
How we are paid — Art. 45 VAG disclosureThe market
Six insurers carry most of the Swiss term-life market for private customers. Premiums for the same sum insured vary meaningfully between them — and so does how their underwriting treats the same health history.
Term life and 3a-wrapped policies.
Term life and 3a-wrapped policies.
Term life and 3a-wrapped policies.
Term life and 3a-wrapped policies.
Term life and 3a-wrapped policies.
Term life and 3a-wrapped policies.
Nicole compares them independently. Expat Savvy is a FINMA-registered intermediary (F01067278) with no obligation to place cover with any particular insurer; commission is disclosed under Art. 45 VAG. The comparison covers premium, underwriting treatment of your history, and contract wording — not just the headline price.
How we work
The review is not a sales call. It is a structured read of whether a protection gap exists, how large it actually is, and — only then — which contract closes it at the lowest clean cost.
Dependents, debt, income shape, and the years the protection actually needs to cover. Most of the decision is settled here.
The death benefit your Pensionskasse already includes is the baseline. Private cover fills the gap above it — if there is one.
Pure term for protection, low-cost 3a for savings. The 3a-wrapped policy is recommended only when the bundled fit is real, and we say so in writing either way.
Swiss Life, AXA, Zurich, Helvetia, Generali, Pax — premium and underwriting, side by side. You get the recommendation in writing, including "buy nothing".
Agent vs advisor
Going direct to one insurer gets you that insurer's products. The assessment of whether you need cover at all — and how your BVG changes the math — is the part an agent's mandate doesn't include.
Most Swiss employer pension plans include a death benefit of typically 1–4× annual salary. Any honest life-insurance recommendation starts from that number — private cover fills the gap above it. A pitch that never asked for your Pensionskasse certificate skipped the most important document in the decision.
Bundled 3a-insurance products carry a fee load of typically 1.5–3.5% effective cost versus 0.39–0.65% on a digital 3a — and their death-benefit component often duplicates BVG cover. We sell insurance-wrapped 3a when it fits the household. We recommend against it when it doesn't. The reasoning is in our 3rd pillar vs life insurance breakdown.
Term life is individually underwritten: health history, smoking status, and occupation are assessed at application. Insurers treat the same history differently — one may exclude what another accepts. That is a real reason to compare beyond the headline premium, and to apply once, cleanly, rather than shopping applications across insurers.
Who runs the review
Life insurance is Nicole's desk — alongside insurance-wrapped 3a and tax questions, which usually arrive in the same conversation. The first review is free, in English, German, or French.
Life insurance advisor
Nine years insurer-side — seven at Basler Versicherung, two at Zurich Insurance — before moving to the advisory side. FINMA-registered (F01536402). Languages: German, English, French. Nicole reads the household before the product: dependents, debt, BVG cover, then — only if needed — the contract.
Book with Nicole if
If the review touches health insurance, Robert takes that part. If it touches pension architecture or the 3rd pillar, it stays with Nicole — same call.
What clients say.
4.8 from 55 reviews on GoogleAfter 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. Nicole maps your dependents and debt, reads your BVG certificate, and tells you which answer is yours: term cover, a 3a-wrapped policy, or nothing at all. You get the recommendation in writing within three working days. No first-call contracts. No pressure.
Book your first Swiss insurance review