Deadline for switching

What is the deadline for switching?

The deadline for switching is the cut-off date by which your health insurer must have received your notice of cancellation or your request for a change, so that it takes effect on 1 January. For basic health insurance it is 30 November. The date is the same every year and applies at every insurer, because it follows directly from the law.

In everyday use, the term covers more than just switching insurer. By 30 November you can also change insurance model with your current insurer, choose a lower deductible or leave bonus insurance. These are all changes that give you more cover or more freedom of choice in the new year; that is why the law requires the same deadline for them as for a cancellation.

The deadline for switching is not the same as the notice period. The notice period describes the length of time that must pass between receipt and the end of the contract: one month after the premium notification. The cut-off date follows from that length of time: the end of December minus one month gives 30 November.

The deadline for switching only applies to basic health insurance under the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG/LAMal). For supplementary insurance under the Insurance Contract Act (ICA), the deadlines in the contract apply. They rarely fall on the same day.

How it works

Insurers submit their premiums for the following year to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) for approval. The FOPH announces the approved premiums at the end of September and publishes them on priminfo.ch. Your insurer must then notify you of the new premium at least two months before it takes effect, i.e. by the end of October, and point out your right to switch. From that letter, the deadline for switching runs until 30 November.

What is possible by 30 November and what is not

The FOPH has summarised the rules in an overview. For a change on 1 January:

For a higher deductible, the law sets no deadline; in practice, insurers accept the request until 31 December. How this works in detail is explained under change your deductible.

Receipt is decisive

The deadline is only met if your notice is with the insurer during normal office hours on 30 November. The postmark does not count. According to the FOPH, registered post placed in the insurer’s post-office box is only considered received when it is collected from the post office. The FOPH recommends sending your notice by registered post (Einschreiben) by mid-November and cancelling yourself.

Secure the new insurer before the deadline

Your old insurance only ends once the new insurer confirms to it that you are insured without interruption. For basic health insurance, the new insurer must accept you without health questions. Apply after the premiums have been approved, ideally before you send your notice of cancellation.

Legal basis

The deadline for switching is not a separate article; it follows from several provisions:

• Art. 7 para. 2 KVG: after you are notified of the new premium, you can switch insurer 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. 5 KVG: the old insurance only ends when the new insurer confirms uninterrupted cover.
• Art. 94 KVV: you can only choose a higher deductible from the start of a calendar year (para. 1). Switching to a lower deductible, to bonus insurance or to another insurer is possible to the end of the calendar year, subject to the deadlines in Art. 7 KVG (para. 2).
• Art. 100 KVV: you can join a model with restricted choice at any time (para. 2), but leave it only at the end of the calendar year, subject to the deadlines in Art. 7 KVG (para. 3).
• Art. 5 let. i KVAG: within its area of activity, the insurer must accept every person subject to compulsory insurance.

If you are in arrears with premiums, co-payments, default interest or debt enforcement costs, you cannot switch insurer under Art. 64a para. 6 KVG until everything has been paid.

Example: what is at stake by 30 November

Sara is 36, lives in Zurich and has basic health insurance in the standard model with a CHF 300 deductible. Her premium is exactly the median. Basis: 2026 premiums, municipality of Zurich (region 1), adults, born 1990, with accident cover; source FOPH. The 2027 premiums are deliberately not used here.

For 2027, new premiums apply, which the FOPH announces at the end of September 2026. The deadline for switching is Monday, 30.11.2026. Compare the offers for your municipality in the premium calculator and check the insurers in the profiles under health insurers.

What this means for you

Count backwards from 30 November and build in a buffer:

1. End of September: compare the new premiums as soon as they are published.
2. By the end of October: wait for your insurer’s premium letter and check whether your deductible or model has changed.
3. Early November: choose a new insurer, apply and wait for the confirmation that you have been accepted.
4. By mid-November: send your notice by registered post. The cancellation letter tool creates a template with all required details; the glossary entry explains a general sample cancellation letter.
5. 30 November: last day for receipt. After that, only a higher deductible is still possible for 1 January.

The deadline calculator shows you the dates for your situation, and the page switch insurer takes you through every step of switching health insurer. If there are several people in your household, check each policy separately: the deadline applies per insured person.

Common mistakes

• Posting on 30 November. Then it is too late. The letter must be with the insurer on that day.
• Sending only an email, without confirmation. Without proof of receipt, you cannot prove you met the deadline if there is a dispute.
• Forgetting the change of model. If you are in a GP or telemedicine model and want to go back to the standard model, you must also notify this by 30 November.
• Choosing the lower deductible too late. A lower deductible from 1 January is only possible if you notify by 30 November; a higher one until the end of the year.
• Ignoring unpaid bills. With payment arrears, the law blocks the switch, even if your notice arrives in time.

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