Changing your deductible

What is a change of deductible?

Changing your deductible means choosing a different level of deductible for the next calendar year, i.e. the amount you pay yourself every year before basic health insurance covers costs. You stay with your insurer and in your insurance model; only the deductible, and with it the premium, changes.

The options are set by law. For adults and young adults from age 19, there is the standard deductible of CHF 300 and the optional deductibles of CHF 500, CHF 1,000, CHF 1,500, CHF 2,000 and CHF 2,500. For children up to 18, the standard deductible is CHF 0; CHF 100 to CHF 600 can be chosen in steps of CHF 100. An insurer does not have to offer all optional deductibles, but its offer must apply throughout the canton. The entries deductible levels and optional deductible explain the individual levels in more detail.

A change is possible in both directions, but not on the same terms. If you raise the deductible, you take on more risk and relieve the insurer. If you lower it, you hand risk back to the insurer. That is why different deadlines apply. The deductible only exists in basic health insurance; supplementary insurance has its own excess arrangements, which you change according to the contract.

How it works

Timing: always 1 January

The deductible applies per calendar year. Every change therefore takes effect on 1 January. If you report a new deductible in March, it still only applies from the next year. During the year your deductible stays the same, even if your health or your income changes.

Lower deductible: receipt by 30 November

If you want to move from an optional deductible to a lower deductible or to the standard deductible of CHF 300, the one-month notice period after the premium notification applies. Your notice must therefore reach your insurer by 30 November. For 2027, that is Monday, 30.11.2026. The FOPH lists this change in its overview with exactly this deadline. More on the cut-off date under deadline for switching.

Higher deductible: no statutory deadline

For a change to a higher deductible, the FOPH does not state any statutory notice period; the change takes effect on 1 January. In practice, insurers accept such notices up to 31 December. Ask your insurer whether it requires a particular form, for example via its customer portal.

With or without switching insurer

You can change the deductible with your current insurer or combine the change with a switch of insurer. If you switch insurer with effect from 1 January, you choose your deductible freely with the new insurer. The notice periods for cancellation remain the same.

Special case: switching during the year

If you have to leave your insurer in the middle of the year because you move to a different place of residence, you keep your deductible, provided the new insurer offers this level. The co-payment you have already paid in the current year is credited.

How the premium changes

The higher the deductible, the lower the premium. But the discount is limited: it may be at most 70% of the additional risk you take on. The additional risk is the difference from the standard deductible. At CHF 2,500 that is CHF 2,200, so the discount may be at most CHF 1,540 a year. You can see the discounts your insurer actually gives in the premium calculator.

Legal basis

The rules are set out in the Health Insurance Ordinance (KVV):

• Art. 93 para. 1 KVV: In addition to the standard insurance, insurers may offer optional deductibles: for adults and young adults CHF 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000 and 2,500, for children CHF 100 to 600. The offer must apply to the whole canton.
• Art. 94 para. 1 KVV: Insurance with optional deductibles is open to everyone. A higher deductible can only be chosen with effect from the start of a calendar year.
• Art. 94 para. 2 KVV: A change to a lower deductible is possible at the end of a calendar year, subject to the notice periods under Art. 7 paras 1 and 2 of the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG).
• Art. 94 para. 3 KVV: Anyone who switches insurer during the year because of a move or a change of job keeps their deductible, provided the new insurer offers this form.
• Art. 95 para. 2bis KVV: The premium reduction may be at most 70% of the additional risk taken on per calendar year.
• Art. 103 KVV: The standard deductible is CHF 300 (para. 1), the retention fee at most CHF 700 for adults and CHF 350 for children (para. 2). If you switch insurer during the year, the new insurer credits the deductible already paid (para. 4).

The one-month period after the premium notification, which applies to the lower deductible, comes from Art. 7 para. 2 KVG.

Example: what each deductible level costs with one insurer

Elena is 36, lives in Zurich and is insured with CSS in the standard model. She is thinking about changing her deductible. The table shows the monthly premiums of her tariff for each level. Basis: premiums 2026, municipality of Zurich (region 1), adults, born 1990, with accident cover, CSS basic health insurance; source FOPH. You can find the insurer’s profile under CSS.

The table also shows that this insurer almost fully uses the statutory maximum discount at every level. That is not the case at every insurer. The deductible calculator works out your own break-even point using your premiums and expected costs.

What this means for you

Check every October whether your deductible still suits you. The new premiums are known by then, and you have time before the deadlines.

1. Is a major treatment planned for next year? An operation, a birth or a long course of therapy is a reason for a lower deductible. Remember: your notice must reach your insurer by 30 November.
2. Have your costs been low in recent years? Then a higher deductible can make sense. You can still report this change up to the end of December.
3. Can you bear the higher personal contribution? With a CHF 2,500 deductible, your own share can reach CHF 3,200 in a year (deductible plus at most CHF 700 retention fee).
4. Are you also switching insurer? Then you choose the new deductible directly with the new insurer. The deadline calculator shows the dates.

For children, it is worth looking at the whole family: if several children are insured with the same insurer, their total co-payment is limited to twice the maximum amount per child.

Common mistakes

• Trying to change the deductible during the year. That is not possible, not even after a new diagnosis. The change only takes effect on 1 January.
• Reporting a lower deductible in December. Then the deadline has passed; your current deductible applies for another year.
• Comparing only the premium. The higher deductible saves premium, but increases your possible own share by up to CHF 2,200 a year.
• Assuming every insurer gives the same discount. The statutory maximum discount is a cap. The comparison shows how much an insurer actually gives.
• Not asking for confirmation. Have the new deductible confirmed in writing and check your policy for the new year.

We explain how we calculate the break-even point between two deductibles under How we calculate.