Premium region

What is a premium region?

A premium region is a group of municipalities within a canton for which a health insurer charges the same premium in basic health insurance. In Switzerland, the premium does not depend on your income or your state of health, but on the health insurer, the insurance model, the deductible (Franchise), your age group, accident cover and, precisely, where you live. Your place of residence has an effect on two levels: first, every health insurer grades its premiums by canton. Within a canton, it can additionally grade them by region.

The regions are called Region 1, 2 and 3. Region 1 has the highest permitted premiums, Region 3 the lowest. In the canton of Zurich, Region 1 consists of the city of Zurich only; Winterthur is in Region 2, Hinwil in Region 3. In the data of the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), cantons without subdivisions are listed as Region 0. For 2026: Bern, Grisons, Lucerne, St. Gallen and Zurich have three regions; Basel-Landschaft, Fribourg, Schaffhausen, Ticino, Vaud and Valais have two; the remaining 15 cantons have one.

The premium region is not a classification made by the health insurers but by the Confederation. All insurers use the same regions. However, each decides for itself how strongly it grades its premiums within the permitted range. The classification only affects basic health insurance; for supplementary insurance, the insurer’s own tariffs apply.

How it works

The classification works in three steps:

1. Assigning municipalities. In an ordinance, the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) assigns every municipality in Switzerland to a region. The FOPH publishes the list every year as a table with the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) municipality number, the municipality and the region.
2. Limiting the differences. For each canton, the FDHA sets the maximum amount by which premiums may differ between the regions. The limit applies to standard insurance with accident cover.
3. Setting the premium. Every health insurer calculates its premiums per canton and region and submits them to the FOPH for approval. The federal premium calculator on Priminfo and our calculator show the approved premiums per municipality.

What counts for you is the municipality where you have your residence. The postcode is not reliable for this: one postcode can cover several municipalities that lie in different regions. The FOPH states explicitly that the postcode serves only as a search aid.

The permitted differences under the FDHA ordinance (as of 2026):

Legal basis

Art. 61 para. 2 of the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG) requires health insurers to grade their premiums according to the cost differences between cantons; what counts is the insured person’s place of residence. Under Art. 61 para. 2bis KVG, the insurer may additionally grade premiums by region. The FDHA sets the regions and the maximum permitted premium differences uniformly, based on the cost differences between the regions.

The FDHA implemented this in the Ordinance on Premium Regions of 15.03.2022 (SR 832.106). Art. 1 refers to Annex 1 for the regions, Art. 2 to Annex 2 for the maximum differences. Art. 3 governs municipal mergers: the previous classification remains in force on the territory of each former municipality until the FDHA assigns the new municipality. With an amendment of 28.08.2026, the FDHA revised Annex 1 with effect from 01.01.2027; the FOPH publishes the new classification on its page on premium regions. Art. 91 para. 1ter of the Health Insurance Ordinance (KVV) also uses the premium region for the minimum amount applicable to very small numbers of insured persons.

Example: three municipalities in the canton of Zurich

Tobias is 36 and may move out of the city of Zurich. He compares three municipalities in the canton’s three premium regions. Premiums 2026, adults born in 1990, with accident cover; median of all offers in the municipality; source FOPH.

What this means for you

You cannot choose your premium region; it follows your place of residence. But it matters when you move or compare premiums:

1. Always compare using your municipality. The premium calculator works with the FSO municipality and therefore automatically with the correct region.
2. Report a move immediately. Your health insurer must calculate the premium for your new municipality. If you move to a cheaper region, you only benefit once the insurer knows about it.
3. Consider switching health insurer when you move. The ranking of insurers can change between regions and cantons. When you can switch is explained under deadlines.
4. Use the cantonal overviews. Under premiums by canton we show the premiums per canton and region, for example for Zurich.

You can find the key figures of the health insurers under health insurers. The FOPH also calculates the average premium per canton and region; there is no average premium per municipality.

Common mistakes

• Calculating with the postcode. One postcode can cover municipalities in different regions. What counts is the municipality.
• Confusing the region with the health insurer. All insurers use the same regions; how strongly they grade premiums is decided by each insurer within the FDHA’s limits.
• Not reporting the move. Otherwise the insurer keeps calculating with your old municipality.
• Using the previous year’s regions. The FDHA adjusts the classification, for 2027 with a new Annex 1.

We explain how we analyse premiums under How we calculate.