Health insurance for students: premium subsidy, exemption, deductible

Health insurance for students in Switzerland: what applies

If you live and study in Switzerland, you must take out basic health insurance like everyone else (Art. 3 para. 1 of the Federal Health Insurance Act, KVG). There is no separate student premium. You are in the age group of young adults until 31 December of the year in which you turn 25 (Art. 16a KVG). Their premium lies between the children’s and the adults’ premium at every insurer (Art. 61 para. 3 KVG). Whether you are at a university, a university of applied sciences or in another form of education makes no difference to the premium.

Your studies count in two other places, and there they can save you money:

On top of that come the levers open to everyone: your choice of insurer, deductible and insurance model. Because the premium for young adults is a fixed item in your study budget, it is worth comparing once a year.

Step by step: sorting out health insurance while you study

1. Clarify your residence. Do you stay registered at your parents’ address and only live where you study during the week, or do you move completely? This determines your premium region and which canton is responsible for the premium subsidy.
2. Apply for a premium subsidy. Check the rules and deadlines of your canton of residence. Some cantons check entitlement automatically; others require an application by a deadline.
3. Compare premiums. With your municipality and year of birth, the premium calculator shows what the same benefits cost at each insurer.
4. Work out the deductible. If you rarely see a doctor, a higher deductible can be cheaper; with regular costs, a lower one.
5. Check accident cover. If you work at least 8 hours a week for one employer alongside your studies, you can suspend the insurer’s accident cover.
6. Send your notice of cancellation in time. Notice of cancellation of basic health insurance must reach the insurer by 30 November; in 2026, that is a Monday. Send it by 15 November by registered mail or with A-Post Plus (Swiss Post’s tracked letter). The deadline calculator shows all dates.
7. Plan for the end of your studies. When you graduate, the exemption from the hospital contribution and the minimum subsidy for people in education no longer apply.

Premium subsidies while you study

The premium subsidy is a contribution from your canton of residence towards your basic health insurance premium. The canton pays it directly to your insurer, and your premium bill is reduced accordingly (Art. 65 para. 1 KVG). For young adults in education, the law sets a floor: for lower and middle incomes, the canton must reduce their premium by at least 50 % (Art. 65 para. 1bis KVG).

Each canton decides what counts as a lower or middle income. The overview by the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Health Directors (GDK) for 2026 shows two basic patterns: in some cantons, young adults in their first education are only entitled together with the parents who are obliged to support them, and the income of the parental household then counts. In others, they can have their own entitlement under certain conditions, for example if they support themselves. So a low income of your own is not enough everywhere.

Two rules help you with the application:

• Current circumstances count. On your application, the canton must take into account your most recent income and family circumstances (Art. 65 para. 3 KVG). This matters if you earn less when you start studying than in the tax year the canton would otherwise use.
• Your canton of residence is responsible. If you have kept your residence at your parents’ address, their cantonal rules apply, even if you study in another canton.

You can find the rules, income limits and deadlines of your canton under Premium subsidy. How to apply is explained in the article Applying for a premium subsidy.

Residence and premium region while you study

Your premium depends on where you live (Art. 61 para. 2 KVG). Moving to another city to study does not automatically change your residence: staying somewhere for the purpose of education does not in itself establish a residence (Art. 23 para. 1 of the Swiss Civil Code, ZGB). If you live where you study during the week and spend weekends with your parents, your residence often remains there. If you move the centre of your life to where you study and register there, the premium region of your new place of residence applies. In that case, tell your insurer about the move. How a move affects your premium is explained in the article Moving and premium regions.

Exemption: only for students from abroad

Exemption from compulsory health insurance is only available to people staying in Switzerland for education or further training, in other words to students from abroad. They must be insured to an equivalent level for treatment in Switzerland throughout the exemption and enclose a confirmation from the foreign body. The cantonal authority grants an exemption for a maximum of 3 years, extendable on application by a maximum of 3 further years (Art. 2 para. 4 KVV). According to the FOPH’s Priminfo, students from EU and EFTA states and the United Kingdom who do not work in Switzerland remain insured in the social security system of their country of residence; if they take up work, they must take out insurance in Switzerland. Details are in the article International students.

If you live and study in Switzerland, you cannot be exempted, not even with private insurance through your parents.

What health insurance costs while you study

Premiums 2026, municipality of Zurich (region 1), young adults born in 2004, with accident cover; source FOPH:

Deductible	Lowest	Median	Highest
CHF 300	CHF 371.20	CHF 446.10	CHF 591.00
CHF 1,000	CHF 330.40	CHF 405.90	CHF 555.55
CHF 2,500	CHF 242.90	CHF 318.80	CHF 466.90

With a CHF 300 deductible, the gap between the lowest and the highest offer is CHF 219.80 per month, or CHF 2,637.60 a year for the same statutory benefits. The lowest offers here are a GP model and an HMO model. The FOPH publishes next year’s premiums at the end of September; until they are released, we use the 2026 premiums.

Sample calculation: CHF 300 or CHF 2,500 deductible while studying?

Example with fictitious people. Luca, born in 2004, lives in Zurich and is in his third semester. He compares the median offers from the table above, both with accident cover.

The calculation shows the break-even point, not a recommendation. Bear in mind that your canton’s premium subsidy lowers the premium, but not the deductible: you always pay the costs up to the deductible yourself. You can choose a higher deductible from 1 January, and a lower one only at the end of the year with receipt by 30 November (Art. 94 KVV). The levels available to young adults are CHF 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000 and 2,500 (Art. 93 KVV); the retention fee is capped at CHF 700 a year (Art. 103 para. 2 KVV). You can run your own figures in the deductible calculator.

Accidents, hospital and side jobs while you study

Accident cover with a side job

As long as you do not work at least 8 hours a week for one employer, your health insurer pays for an accident in your free time, with deductible and retention fee (Art. 28 KVG). From 8 hours a week with one employer, you are also insured against accidents in your free time under the Accident Insurance Act (Art. 13 para. 1 UVV). Two jobs of 5 hours each do not count together. With full UVG cover, you may suspend the insurer’s accident cover; the premium then falls by a maximum of 7 % (Art. 8 KVG, Art. 91a para. 4 KVV). If the job ends, you must tell your insurer. What applies when you start working life is explained in the article Apprenticeship and first job.

No hospital contribution while in education

Adults pay a contribution of CHF 15 per day during a hospital stay (Art. 104 para. 1 KVV). Young adults in education are exempt (Art. 104 para. 2 let. b KVV). If you are in hospital, send your insurer your certificate of enrolment in case it does not know your status.

Who pays the premium

Towards the insurer, you owe the premium yourself. Within the family, the rule is: parents must pay for their child’s maintenance until an appropriate first education can normally be completed, as far as this can reasonably be expected of them (Art. 277 para. 2 ZGB). Whether the premium is part of this in your case is something to clarify with your parents, not with your insurer.

Special cases while you study

• Semester abroad: if your residence stays in Switzerland, you remain insured here, and basic health insurance pays for emergencies abroad. What to clarify beforehand is in the article Year abroad and language stay.
• Studying beyond 25: from 1 January of the year in which you turn 26, you pay the adult premium, even if you are still studying. The minimum subsidy of 50 % and the exemption from the hospital contribution only apply to young adults.
• Second degree or master’s after years of work: the minimum subsidy is linked to education and income; whether your canton treats a second education the same way is up to the canton.
• Supplementary insurance: it continues during your studies according to your contract. The general terms and conditions (AVB) and the information from your insurer are decisive.

Common mistakes

• Waiting for a student premium. Basic health insurance does not have one. You can only save through insurer, deductible, model and premium subsidy.
• Missing the deadline for the premium subsidy. In cantons that require an application, entitlement for the year is often lost if the application comes too late.
• Dropping accident cover because of a small side job. Under 8 hours a week with one employer, your job does not insure you in your free time.
• Not reporting a move to where you study. If you have actually moved your residence, the premium region of your new place of residence applies.

How to start with your own health insurance at 18 is explained in the article Your first own health insurance. All articles for this stage of life are collected in the theme Young adults. The health insurer profiles show key figures for all insurers.