Notice period

What is the notice period?

The notice period is the minimum gap between the day your notice of cancellation reaches your health insurer and the day your cover ends. It protects both sides: the insurer can plan, and you know exactly by when you have to act. If you miss the deadline, the contract continues until the next possible date.

Health insurance in Switzerland has two worlds with different rules. Basic health insurance is governed by the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG/LAMal). Its deadlines are the same at every insurer and cannot be changed by contract. Supplementary insurance falls under the Insurance Contract Act (ICA, in German VVG). There the law sets minimum rules, but the details are in the contract and the general terms and conditions. If you want to switch insurer, you need to keep these two worlds apart.

“Notice period” and deadline for switching are often used interchangeably. Strictly speaking, the notice period is the length of time (one month, three months), and the cancellation date is the day on which the contract ends (31 December, 30 June). The deadline for switching is the last day on which your notice must be with the insurer, for example 30 November.

How it works

Basic health insurance: two dates a year

For basic health insurance, the law provides two ordinary routes:

Your insurer must notify you of the new premium at least two months in advance and point out your right to switch. For a premium applying from 1 January, that is the end of October at the latest. After that, you have until 30 November. This also applies if your premium goes down: the law is triggered by the notification of the new premium, not by an increase.

Switching to the end of June is restricted. It is only open to people who have standard health insurance with the minimum deductible of CHF 300 (children CHF 0) and free choice of physicians. If you have a higher deductible, a GP, HMO or Telmed model or bonus insurance, you can only switch to the end of the calendar year.

Receipt counts, not the postmark

The deadline is met if your notice reaches the insurer during normal office hours on the last day. The FOPH states explicitly that the postmark is not decisive. It recommends sending your notice by registered post (Einschreiben) by mid-November and always cancelling yourself rather than leaving it to a third party. You can find a template under cancellation letter.

Cover only ends once the new insurance is in place

Your old basic health insurance only ends once the new insurer has informed the old one that you are insured with it without interruption. So take out the new insurance before the deadline. If the new insurer fails to send this notification, it owes you compensation for the loss, in particular the difference in premium.

Who cannot switch

If you have unpaid premiums, co-payments, default interest or debt enforcement costs, you cannot switch insurer until everything has been paid. Your notice of cancellation then has no effect.

Supplementary insurance: its own deadlines

For supplementary insurance, the ICA provides that a contract can be cancelled to the end of the third or any subsequent year with three months’ notice, even if it was meant to run longer. The contract may provide for shorter terms. In supplementary health insurance, only the policyholder has this ordinary right of cancellation, not the insurer. Whether you may cancel extraordinarily after a premium increase depends on the product’s terms and conditions; there is no general statutory right to do so. More on this under cancelling supplementary insurance and multi-year contract.

Legal basis

The deadlines for basic health insurance are set out in Art. 7 KVG:

• Art. 7 para. 1 KVG: switching insurer with three months’ notice to the end of a calendar half-year.
• Art. 7 para. 2 KVG: when notified of the new premium, switching with one month’s notice to the end of the month before the new premium applies. The insurer must notify you of the premiums approved by the FOPH at least two months in advance and point out your right to switch.
• Art. 7 para. 3 KVG: if you have to leave the insurer because you move or change jobs, cover ends when you move or start the new job.
• Art. 7 para. 5 KVG: the old insurance only ends once the new insurer has confirmed uninterrupted cover.
• Art. 7 paras. 7 and 8 KVG: your current insurer may not force you to cancel your supplementary insurance when you switch, and it may not cancel it solely because you switch.

The restriction to the end of the year for optional deductibles and insurance models follows from Art. 94 para. 2 KVV (deductible), Art. 97 para. 2 KVV (bonus insurance) and Art. 100 para. 3 KVV (restricted choice of physicians). The block on switching when payments are overdue is in Art. 64a para. 6 KVG.

For supplementary insurance, Art. 35a ICA applies: ordinary cancellation to the end of the third or any subsequent year with three months’ notice, in writing or in another form that allows proof by text (para. 1). Under para. 4, in supplementary health insurance this right belongs to the policyholder only. Art. 35b ICA allows both sides to cancel at any time for good cause; see also extraordinary cancellation.

Example: switching for 2027 and for mid-2027

Mia is 29, has basic health insurance with a CHF 2,500 deductible in the Telmed model and wants to switch insurer for 2027. Her brother Jonas has standard health insurance with a CHF 300 deductible and free choice of physicians.

Use the deadline calculator to check the dates for your own situation, including supplementary insurance with its start date and term.

What this means for you

Plan your switch backwards from 30 November. Next year’s premiums are public from the end of September; compare them in the premium calculator and decide by early November. That leaves you enough time to send your notice.

1. Take out the new insurance first. The FOPH recommends not taking out new basic health insurance before the premiums have been approved. Once they are approved, you can apply; the new insurer must accept you.
2. Cancel yourself, by registered post. The cancellation letter tool creates a template with all required details. Keep the receipt.
3. Check supplementary insurance separately. Do not cancel it out of reflex. A new supplementary insurer may turn you down because of your health.
4. Settle any arrears. Unpaid bills block the switch.

The full process with all steps is under switch insurer; background on switching health insurer is in the glossary.

Common mistakes

• Relying on the postmark. Notice posted on 30 November arrives too late. Only receipt by the insurer counts.
• Cancelling to the end of June with a special model. The mid-year date only applies to standard health insurance with a CHF 300 deductible and no model.
• Cancelling the old insurer before the new one, with nothing lined up. Cover only ends once the new insurer confirms uninterrupted cover. Arrange the new contract in good time.
• Cancelling basic and supplementary insurance in one sentence. If you cancel your supplementary insurance as well, you often lose it for good, because a new insurer will ask health questions.
• Overlooking unpaid premiums. If you have payment arrears, your notice has no effect.

We explain how our deadline calculator works out the dates under how we calculate.