Catchment area

What is the catchment area?

The catchment area describes where a health insurer offers basic health insurance. The law speaks of the “local area of operation” or “area of activity”. In health insurance, the term has two levels:

• The insurer’s area of operation: Most insurers operate throughout Switzerland. Some smaller insurers only offer basic health insurance in individual cantons or premium regions.
• The catchment area of a model: Within its area of operation, an insurer can offer a model with a restricted choice of physicians, such as an HMO, only in certain municipalities, usually where its network of physicians is located.

Both levels determine which offers are open to you. The free choice of insurer therefore always applies among the insurers and models that operate where you live.

How it works

Every insurer needs authorisation from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). In its business plan, it sets out where it operates. The FOPH publishes the directory of approved health insurers with their legal form, registered office and area of operation. The directory of 01.01.2026 lists 34 insurers. 21 of them operate throughout Switzerland, 13 only in part of the country.

Within this area, the obligation to accept applies: the insurer must accept every person required to take out insurance, without health questions and without reservations. If you live outside the area, it may turn you down.

For the models, the FOPH keeps the “Einzugsgebiete” (catchment areas) file every year. For each tariff, canton and premium region, it records whether the offer is limited to individual municipalities and lists them with their FSO number. For 2026, the file contains 3,939 entries. 10 of them are limited to municipalities; they concern 4 HMO tariffs from Galenos, sana24 and Visana. All other models apply in the whole premium region.

Legal basis

Art. 5 let. i of the Health Insurance Supervision Act (KVAG) requires insurers to accept every person required to take out insurance within their local area of operation. Art. 71 let. a of the Health Insurance Supervision Ordinance (KVAV) requires the supervisory authority to publish a list of approved insurers with their local area of operation. Under Art. 100 para. 1 KVV, models with a restricted choice of service provider are open to all insured persons who live in the area where the insurer runs the model. If you move and therefore have to leave your insurer, the insurance relationship ends when you move (Art. 7 para. 3 of the Federal Health Insurance Act, KVG).

Example: same region, different offer

Burgdorf and Thun are both in the canton of Bern, in premium region 2. For an adult born in 1985 with a CHF 300 deductible and accident cover, the premium calculator counts 128 offers in Burgdorf and 127 in Thun for 2026 (source: FOPH, premiums 2026).

Visana’s key figures are in the Visana profile; an example of an insurer operating regionally is Krankenkasse Wädenswil.

What this means for you

• Municipality instead of postcode: The premium calculator asks for your municipality, because the region and catchment area depend on the FSO municipality. One postcode can cover several municipalities.
• Check before you move: If you move to another canton, check whether your insurer operates there. If not, you need new basic health insurance from the date you move.
• Check your model after moving: Even if you move within the canton, an HMO tariff may no longer be available.
• Compare insurers: The health insurers overview shows which insurers operate where. The process of switching is explained under switch health insurer.

Common mistakes

• Taking over a cheap quote from another canton. Premiums apply to where you live; an insurer outside its area of operation does not have to accept you.
• Only looking at the region. Within the same premium region, a model may be available in one municipality and not in the next.
• Not reporting a move. The premium depends on where you live. If you do not report a move, your premium and model will no longer be correct.