Three-month deadline to take out insurance

What is the three-month deadline to take out insurance?

The three-month deadline to take out insurance is the statutory period within which a person must join compulsory basic health insurance as soon as they become subject to compulsory insurance in Switzerland. It is three months. It is triggered mainly by two events: taking up residence in Switzerland and the birth of a child.

The deadline is closely linked to the requirement to take out insurance. The law does not require you to have a policy on your first day in Switzerland. It gives you three months to choose a health insurer and register. If you use this time, you lose nothing: your cover then applies retroactively from day one.

The deadline only concerns basic health insurance under the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG/LAMal). There is no obligation and no deadline for supplementary insurance; there, the insurer decides on the basis of health questions whether to accept you.

Typical cases are people moving to Switzerland from abroad, Swiss citizens returning from abroad, newborns and short-term residents (L permit) with a permit valid for at least three months. If you move within Switzerland, you are already insured and no new deadline applies; you simply give your insurer your new address.

How it works

The three months start on the day you take up residence or on the day of birth. Within this period, you choose a health insurer, a deductible and an insurance model and register. For basic health insurance, the insurer must accept you, without health questions and without reservations.

If you register in time, cover starts retroactively on the day you took up residence or on the day of birth. This has two consequences:

• Doctor’s and hospital bills from the first few weeks are covered, even if they were incurred before you registered.
• You also owe the premiums from that day. The insurer invoices them retroactively.

For some groups, different starting points apply. Foreign nationals with a settlement, residence or short-term residence permit must take out insurance within three months of registering with the residents’ registration office (Einwohnerkontrolle) of their municipality (Gemeinde). Cross-border commuters who want to be insured in Switzerland have three months from the date their permit becomes valid. Employed short-term residents with a permit of less than three months must be insured from the day they enter the country, unless they have equivalent cover.

If you miss the deadline, the rules on late enrolment apply: cover only starts when you take out insurance, the period before remains uncovered, and if the delay is not excusable, a premium surcharge is added. If you do not register at all, the competent cantonal authority assigns you to a health insurer.

Legal basis

Art. 3 para. 1 KVG states: every person resident in Switzerland must take out insurance for medical care, or have it taken out by their legal representative, within three months of taking up residence or being born in Switzerland.

Art. 5 para. 1 KVG governs the start: if a person joins in time, cover starts at the time of birth or of taking up residence. Art. 5 para. 2 KVG provides that, if a person joins late, cover only starts when they join, and a premium surcharge is owed if the delay is not excusable.

Art. 7 KVV contains the special cases for foreign nationals, cross-border commuters and asylum seekers. Art. 8 KVV sets the surcharge: 30 to 50% of the premium, charged for twice the length of the delay, for a maximum of five years. Under Art. 6 KVG, the cantons ensure compliance with the requirement to take out insurance and assign people who fail to do so to an insurer.

Example: moving to Zurich in March 2026

Lara, 34, moves from abroad to Zurich on 01.03.2026 and registers with the residents’ registration office there. She has until the end of May to take out insurance. On 20.05.2026 she takes out basic health insurance with a CHF 2,500 deductible and accident cover.

To put the amounts into context: in the municipality of Zurich (premium region 1), the 2026 monthly premium for adults born in 1992 with a CHF 2,500 deductible and accident cover ranges from CHF 389.40 to CHF 595.70; the median of the 128 offers is CHF 453.90 (source FOPH, 2026 premiums).

Situation	Insured from	Premiums owed retroactively	Surcharge
Registration on 20.05.2026 (in time)	01.03.2026	March to May: CHF 1,361.70	none
Registration on 01.08.2026 (late)	01.08.2026	none for March to July	30 to 50% of the premium if not excusable

You can see the premiums in your municipality in the premium calculator. The profiles of all insurers are under health insurers.

What this means for you

Plan registering for health insurance as a fixed step when you move to Switzerland, together with registering with your municipality. Three questions help you:

1. When does your deadline start? Note the day you took up residence or registered with the residents’ registration office and add three months. The deadline calculator shows you the dates relating to basic health insurance.
2. Which insurer and which model suit you? You do not have to take the first insurer you find. Compare premiums, deductible and model. Your choice is not final: how to switch later is explained under switch insurer.
3. Do you have enough money for the back payment? If you register shortly before the deadline, several monthly premiums fall due at once. Set this amount aside.

For newborns, it is worth registering before the birth. Then the start of cover from birth is settled, and you do not have to worry about deadlines in the weeks after the birth. Where your residence is determines the premium region and therefore the amount of the premium.

Common mistakes

• Counting the deadline from entry instead of registration, or the other way round. For Swiss citizens, the day of taking up residence counts; for people with a permit, it is usually registration with the residents’ registration office. Check what applies to you.
• Speculating on the retroactive effect. If you delay registering until just before the deadline, you save no premium: the insurer charges it retroactively.
• Thinking a foreign travel insurance policy is enough. It does not replace basic health insurance. An exemption is only possible in the cases provided for by law and on application to the cantonal authority.
• Registering a child only after several months. After three months, the child’s cover only starts when the child is insured; the child’s birth and aftercare costs from the period before are not covered.
• Confusing supplementary insurance with basic health insurance. The retroactive effect only applies to basic health insurance. Supplementary insurance only starts when the contract is concluded.

We explain how we calculate premium examples under how we calculate.