Switching health insurer

What is switching health insurer?

When you switch health insurer, you cancel your basic health insurance with your current insurer and take it out again with another one. The Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG) gives you the right to do this: you choose freely among the approved insurers, which is called free choice of insurer. The new insurer must accept you in its area of operation, regardless of your age and state of health. It may not ask you to fill in a health questionnaire, impose a reservation or set a waiting period.

Because the range of benefits in basic insurance is the same for all insurers, switching does not change your benefits. What changes are the premium, the customer service and the insurance models on offer. That is exactly why many insured persons switch every year as soon as the new premiums are known.

Switching insurer is different from changing your model (for example from the standard model to a GP model) and from changing your deductible (Franchise). You can do both with your current insurer, and each has its own deadlines. Switching only concerns basic insurance: supplementary insurance policies are separate contracts under the Insurance Contract Act (ICA) with their own cancellation rules.

How it works

The two regular dates

Switching on 1 January (after the premium notification): Every insurer must inform you of the new premium approved by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH, in German BAG) at least two months in advance, i.e. by 31 October. After that, you can cancel with one month’s notice to the end of the year. Your notice of cancellation must have reached the insurer by 30 November at the latest. In 2026, this day falls on a Monday. What counts is receipt by the insurer, not the postmark. The FOPH recommends sending your notice of cancellation by registered post by mid-November; A-Post Plus, a trackable Swiss Post service, is another option.

Switching on 1 July (end of the half-year): With three months’ notice, you can switch at the end of June, so your notice of cancellation must have arrived by 31 March. This only applies to standard insurance: the standard model with free choice of doctor and the standard deductible of CHF 300. If you have an optional deductible or a special type of insurance, you can only switch at the end of the year.

All dates for the current year are listed under deadlines.

Exceptions during the year

If you move to an area in which your insurer does not operate, your insurance ends when you move. The same applies if, because you change jobs, you have to leave an insurer with which you were insured through your employer. If an insurer stops offering basic insurance, the contract also ends. In these cases, you keep your deductible with the new insurer, provided it offers this type of insurance, and it credits the deductible and retention fee (Selbstbehalt) you have already paid in that year.

The process in five steps

1. Compare premiums as soon as the new premiums are published at the end of September, with the same deductible and the same model, or deliberately with a different model. This is the premium comparison.
2. Register with the new insurer, usually with an application form. You do not need a quote beforehand.
3. Cancel with your old insurer in writing, stating your name, insurance number and the date. The deadline is the notice period under the KVG.
4. Wait for confirmation. Your current insurer only releases you once the new one has informed it that you are insured without interruption. It then tells you from when you are no longer insured with it.
5. Update your payments. Switch standing orders and direct debits to the new insurer, and send any outstanding bills from the old year to the old insurer.

Legal basis

Switching is governed by Art. 7 of the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG):

• Art. 7 para. 1 KVG: Switching at the end of a calendar half-year with three months’ notice.
• Art. 7 para. 2 KVG: When the new premium is notified, switching with one month’s notice to the end of the month before the new premium applies. The insurer must notify the approved premium at least two months in advance and point out the right to switch.
• Art. 7 paras. 3 and 4 KVG: End of the insurance on moving or changing jobs if the insurer has to be left, and when the insurer’s licence is withdrawn.
• Art. 7 paras. 5 and 6 KVG: The relationship with the current insurer only ends once the new one has reported uninterrupted cover. If the new insurer fails to report this, or if the current insurer prevents the switch, it is liable for the damage, in particular the difference in premium.
• Art. 7 paras. 7 and 8 KVG: The current insurer may not force you to cancel your supplementary insurance and may not cancel it solely because you switch.

The restrictions for optional deductibles and special types of insurance are set out in the Health Insurance Ordinance (KVV): under Art. 94 para. 2 KVV, switching to another insurer with an optional deductible is only possible at the end of the calendar year, and under Art. 100 para. 3 KVV, the same applies to models with a restricted choice of service provider. Art. 103 para. 4 KVV requires the new insurer to credit the deductible and retention fee already paid if you switch during the year. Art. 64a para. 6 KVG provides that insured persons in arrears cannot switch until premiums, co-payments, default interest and debt enforcement costs have been paid in full.

Example: what a switch would have saved in 2026

The 2027 premiums have not yet been published on 25.09.2026. The example therefore uses the 2026 premiums: what would a switch on 01.01.2026 have saved?

Lea is 34, lives in the city of Zurich and has the standard model with a CHF 300 deductible. Her insurer charges CHF 657.40 a month in 2026. The cheapest standard model with the same deductible costs CHF 605.20 in Zurich, and the cheapest offer across all models CHF 517.70 (premiums 2026, municipality of Zurich, region 1, adults, with accident cover; source FOPH).

Option	Premium per month	Premium per year	Saving per year compared with today
Current insurer, standard model	CHF 657.40	CHF 7,888.80	–
Cheapest standard model	CHF 605.20	CHF 7,262.40	CHF 626.40
Cheapest offer, special type of insurance	CHF 517.70	CHF 6,212.40	CHF 1,676.40

You can run the comparison for your municipality in the premium calculator. You can create your notice of cancellation with the cancellation letter generator; the glossary entry sample cancellation letter also explains a template.

What this means for you

Plan your switch around three dates:

1. End of September: The new premiums are published. Compare them with your deductible, your model and your municipality (Gemeinde).
2. By 31 October: Your insurer sends you the new premium. Check it and decide.
3. By 30 November: Your notice of cancellation must have arrived. Plan to send it by mid-November, by registered post or A-Post Plus.

If you change your deductible at the same time: you can still choose a higher deductible up to 31 December, but a lower one must be notified by 30 November. You can switch to your current insurer’s GP, HMO or Telmed model at any time, but back to the standard model only at the end of the year.

Do you have unpaid premiums? Then pay them as quickly as possible so that the switch is not blocked. And remember your supplementary insurance: it continues unless you cancel it separately. Never cancel it before a new insurer has accepted you without reservations.

Common mistakes

• Relying on the postmark. What matters is receipt by the insurer on 30 November. An A-Post letter posted on 29 November may arrive too late.
• Forgetting to register with the new insurer. Your old insurer only releases you once the new one confirms uninterrupted cover. Without registration, you stay with the old one.
• Cancelling basic and supplementary insurance together. If you cancel your supplementary insurance as well, you will have to answer health questions again with the new insurer.
• Trying a mid-year switch with an optional deductible. Only insured persons in the standard model with a CHF 300 deductible can switch on 1 July.
• Trying to switch with premium arrears. Debts for which you have received a reminder must be paid by 31 December, otherwise you stay with your current insurer.