Confirmation of insurance

What is a confirmation of insurance?

The confirmation of insurance is a short letter from your health insurer. It states that you are insured with it under compulsory health insurance and since when. Depending on its purpose, it also contains your insurance number, your address, the family members insured or your supplementary insurance. Unlike the policy, it does not have to state the premium or the deductible, because this information is not needed as proof.

The confirmation is needed because of the requirement to take out insurance. Everyone resident in Switzerland must take out insurance within three months of moving here or of birth. The cantons make sure that this happens. Each canton decides how the check is carried out; depending on the canton, the municipality or a cantonal office is responsible. Anyone who does not take out insurance in time is assigned to an insurer by the competent authority.

You should not confuse the confirmation with:

• the health insurance card, which you show at the doctor’s, the pharmacy and the hospital; it bears your name and your OASI number (AHV number) and is used for billing,
• the policy, i.e. the insurance contract with all the details,
• the confirmation of cancellation, with which your previous insurer informs you of the end of your insurance when you switch,
• proof of foreign insurance, which you need for an application for exemption from compulsory health insurance.

How it works

Requesting a confirmation: ask your insurer for a confirmation of insurance. Say what you need it for: for the municipality, it concerns basic health insurance; for a university or an authority abroad, you may need a confirmation in another language or with details of cover abroad. Depending on the insurer, you can also download it from the customer portal.

After moving to Switzerland: you register with the municipality and take out basic health insurance within three months. The insurer must accept you. You then submit the confirmation of insurance to the municipality. If you join on time, cover starts retroactively from the date you moved; you pay premiums from that day, but are also covered retroactively. For foreign nationals with a residence or settlement permit, what counts is registration with the residents’ registration office; with certain short-term residence permits, you must be insured from the date of entry.

After a birth: newborns must also be insured within three months. If you register your child before the birth, you will have the confirmation early.

When switching health insurer: you do not have to send your old insurer a confirmation from the new one. The new insurer informs the previous one that you are insured with it without interruption. Only then does the old insurance end, and your previous insurer informs you of the end date.

Exemption: anyone who wants to be exempted from the requirement to take out insurance, for example students with equivalent foreign insurance, submits an application to the canton with written confirmation from the foreign insurer. The cantonal authority decides on the application.

Legal basis

There is no specific article of law on the confirmation of insurance. The obligation to prove that you are insured follows from these provisions:

• Art. 3 para. 1 KVG: everyone resident in Switzerland must take out insurance, or have it taken out by their legal representative, within three months of taking up residence or of birth.
• Art. 5 KVG: if you join on time, cover starts at birth or on taking up residence. If you join late, it starts when you join; if the delay is inexcusable, a premium surcharge is due.
• Art. 6 KVG: the cantons ensure compliance with the requirement to take out insurance; the authority designated by the canton assigns people who fail to do so to an insurer.
• Art. 7 para. 5 KVG: when you switch health insurer, the old insurance only ends once the new insurer has informed the previous one that the person is insured without interruption.
• Art. 2 KVV: exceptions and exemptions from the requirement to take out insurance; in some cases, written confirmation from the foreign body must be enclosed with the application.
• Art. 7 KVV: special cases, such as the deadline running from registration with the residents’ registration office for people with a residence or settlement permit.
• Art. 8 KVV: premium surcharge for late enrolment: 30 to 50% of the premium, charged for twice the length of the delay, for a maximum of five years.
• Art. 10 KVV: the cantons inform the population about the requirement to take out insurance, especially people moving here from abroad and parents of newborns.
• Art. 27 ATSG: insurers must inform and advise you about your rights and obligations, in principle free of charge.

Example: moving to Zurich from abroad

Elena is 29, moves to Zurich from abroad and registers with the residents’ registration office on 02.03.2026. She works at least 8 hours a week for one employer and is therefore insured against accidents under the Accident Insurance Act (UVG).

After joining, Elena sends the confirmation of insurance to the residents’ registration office. This fulfils the requirement to take out insurance.

What this means for you

1. Act immediately after moving or a birth. Three months sounds like a long time, but it passes quickly. Compare the premiums for your municipality in the premium calculator, choose an insurer and sign up.
2. Request the confirmation for a specific purpose. Tell the insurer who is asking for the confirmation and what information is needed: basic health insurance only, supplementary insurance as well, all family members, a particular language.
3. File documents digitally. You will need the policy, the confirmation of insurance and the confirmation of cancellation again and again, for example when you move, change jobs or switch health insurer. You can save the results of our tools in your account.
4. Do not send anything twice when switching. The new insurer contacts the old one. Just make sure that your notice of cancellation arrives in time; the dates are listed under deadlines.

You will find the key data of all insurers you can sign up with under health insurers.

Common mistakes

• Missing the three-month deadline. Cover then only starts when you join, and a surcharge of 30 to 50% of the premium may be added.
• Submitting the health insurance card as proof. The card does not show since when you have been insured; ask whether the body requires a dated letter from the insurer.
• Submitting a confirmation of supplementary insurance. The municipality checks basic health insurance under the KVG. Supplementary insurance alone or travel insurance does not fulfil the requirement to take out insurance.
• Assuming foreign insurance is enough without an exemption. You are only exempted from the Swiss requirement to take out insurance if the canton has approved your application for exemption.

We explain how we handle sources under How we calculate.