Premium comparison

What is a premium comparison?

A premium comparison sets the health insurance premiums for a specific person side by side. In Switzerland, it almost always refers to basic health insurance under the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG). You enter your place of residence, year of birth, chosen deductible, insurance model and accident cover, and you see what each insurer charges for it per month.

The comparison is particularly meaningful in basic health insurance because the benefits are laid down by law. In compulsory health insurance, insurers may not cover any costs other than those provided for by law (Art. 34 para. 1 KVG). If two insurers charge different premiums for the same deductible and the same model, you do not get more benefits from the more expensive one.

A premium comparison is not the same as a premium calculator: the calculator is the tool, the comparison is the result and the decision you draw from it. A quote, in turn, is the binding offer of a single insurer.

For supplementary insurance under the Insurance Contract Act (ICA), a pure premium comparison does not work. There, benefits, limits, waiting periods and acceptance conditions differ from product to product. You only get a fair picture if you look at benefits and price together.

How it works

Which details determine the premium

The premium for basic health insurance depends on five factors permitted by law:

1. Place of residence: The insurer grades its premiums according to cost differences between cantons and can also grade them by region within a canton; what counts is where you live (Art. 61 paras. 2 and 2bis KVG). The regions are set by the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA); see premium region.
2. Age: For children and young adults, the insurer must set lower premiums than for other insured persons, and children pay less than young adults (Art. 61 para. 3 KVG). The age group is based on your year of birth (Art. 91 para. 3 KVV).
3. Deductible: The higher the deductible you choose, the lower the premium.
4. Model: GP, HMO and telemedicine models cost less than the standard model with free choice of physicians.
5. Accident cover: If you are insured against accidents under the Accident Insurance Act (UVG), you can exclude accident cover and pay a lower premium.

A fair comparison keeps four of these factors fixed and then compares the insurers. Otherwise you are comparing apples with oranges, for example an HMO offer with a CHF 2,500 deductible and a standard model with CHF 300.

Where the figures come from

Each insurer submits its premium rates for the following year to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH, in German BAG). The supervisory authority checks that they cover costs and are not excessive, and approves them; before that, the premiums may neither be published nor applied (Art. 16 of the Health Insurance Supervision Act, KVAG). Every autumn, the FOPH publishes the approved premiums as an open dataset on opendata.swiss and in its own premium calculator, Priminfo. Reliable comparisons use exactly this data and state the date and source.

From comparison to switch

If you have found a cheaper insurer, you are free to choose it (Art. 4 KVG, free choice of insurer). The new insurer must accept you without health questions. After the new premium has been notified, you cancel with your current insurer with one month’s notice to the end of December (Art. 7 para. 2 KVG). Your notice of cancellation must reach the insurer by 30 November. The page switching health insurer explains the whole process.

Legal basis

• Art. 61 KVG: The insurer sets the premiums, charges its insured persons the same premiums in principle and grades them only by canton, region and age group.
• Art. 16 KVAG: Premium rates for basic health insurance require the approval of the supervisory authority (FOPH). Premiums that have not been approved may neither be published nor applied. The FOPH refuses approval, among other things, if the premiums do not cover the costs or lead to excessive reserves (Art. 16 para. 4 KVAG).
• Art. 90c KVV: The premium for a special type of insurance or an optional deductible must be at least 50% of the premium for standard insurance with accident cover in the same region and age group.
• Art. 4 and 7 KVG: You choose your insurer freely and can switch with one month’s notice after the premium has been notified. The insurer must notify the new premiums at least two months in advance.
• Art. 182a of the Insurance Supervision Ordinance (AVO): Anyone who has an economic interest in a contract being concluded through a website and compiles a ranking with a price and product comparison counts as an insurance intermediary. Anyone who only provides data or information does not count as an intermediary (Art. 182a para. 3 AVO).

Example: premiums 2026 in the city of Bern

The table shows how far apart premiums are for the same statutory benefits (premiums 2026, municipality of Bern, region 1, with accident cover, all insurers and models; source FOPH):

The figures apply to 2026 and the city of Bern. In a different municipality, with a different year of birth or in the following year, the ranking looks different. That is why it is worth comparing again every year, using the data for where you live in the premium calculator.

What this means for you

1. Compare every autumn. As soon as the new premiums are known, check whether your insurer is still among the cheaper ones.
2. Keep the benefits fixed. Compare the same deductible, the same model and the same accident cover. Only then decide whether a different model or deductible would suit you better.
3. Look beyond the premium. You will find key figures such as reserves, administrative costs and availability in the health insurer profiles under health insurers.
4. Mind the deadline. Your notice of cancellation must reach your current insurer by 30 November. All dates are listed under deadlines, and you can create a ready-made letter with the cancellation letter tool.
5. Check supplementary insurance separately. You can switch basic health insurance and keep your supplementary insurance with your current insurer (Art. 7 paras. 7 and 8 KVG).

Common mistakes

• Comparing different deductibles. An offer with a CHF 2,500 deductible is not “cheaper” than one with CHF 300; it simply shifts costs to you if you fall ill.
• Overlooking the model. The lowest premiums often belong to models that require you to go to a GP, an HMO or a telemedicine service first. If you do not follow the rules, your benefits may be reduced.
• Relying only on a website’s ranking. Check whether all insurers are shown, how the results are sorted and whether the website receives commission.
• Handing over contact details to get a result. Basic health insurance premiums are public. You need neither a phone number nor an email address to see them.
• Comparing too late. After 30 November, switching with effect from 1 January is no longer possible.

We explain how we process the premiums under how we calculate.