Deductible levels

What are deductible levels?

Deductible levels are the permitted amounts for the deductible in compulsory basic health insurance. The deductible is the part of your healthcare costs that you pay yourself per calendar year before your health insurer covers bills. You cannot set this amount freely; you can only choose from a short list. This list is known as the deductible levels.

The lowest level is the standard deductible. It is CHF 300 for adults and CHF 0 for children. All higher levels are called optional deductibles. For these, the insurer gives you a premium discount.

The levels only apply in basic health insurance under the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG). Supplementary insurance under the Insurance Contract Act (ICA) has its own excess arrangements, which are set out in the contract and can be designed freely. If an insurer refers to a “deductible” in a supplementary hospital policy, this has nothing to do with the levels described here.

The levels at a glance

How it works

You choose the level when you join an insurer or with effect from the start of a new calendar year. The chosen level then applies for the whole year. What counts for crediting is the date of treatment: a treatment in December counts towards the previous year’s deductible, even if the bill only arrives in January.

Insurers offer the optional levels voluntarily. Every insurer must offer the standard deductible; for the optional deductibles it may choose. An insurer can offer different optional levels for young adults than for adults aged 26 and over. But its offer must be the same throughout the canton.

There is a discount for every higher level. This discount is capped: it may be at most 70% of the additional risk you take on with the higher level. With CHF 2,500 you take on CHF 2,200 more risk than with CHF 300; so the discount may be at most CHF 1,540 a year. In addition, the premium for every special type of insurance must be at least 50% of the standard premium with accident cover for your region and age group.

Whatever the level, after the deductible you pay a 10% retention fee, at most CHF 700 a year (children CHF 350). Your maximum own share is therefore the chosen level plus this maximum amount.

Legal basis

Art. 64 paras 2 and 3 KVG provide that you contribute to the costs with a deductible and a retention fee, and that the Federal Council sets the amounts. Art. 64 para. 4 KVG states that no deductible is charged for children.

The amounts are set out in the Health Insurance Ordinance (KVV). Art. 103 para. 1 KVV sets the standard deductible at CHF 300 per calendar year, and para. 2 the maximum retention fee at CHF 700 for adults and CHF 350 for children. Art. 93 para. 1 KVV lists the optional deductibles exhaustively and allows different offers for adults and young adults. Art. 94 KVV governs changes of level, Art. 95 para. 2bis KVV the 70% cap on the discount, and Art. 90c KVV the minimum premium of 50%.

Example: premiums per level in Zurich

The table shows the median monthly premium of all offers for an adult born in 1990 in the municipality of Zurich. The basis is premiums 2026, municipality of Zurich (region 1), adults, with accident cover; source FOPH.

Level	Median per month	Difference per year compared with CHF 300	Additional risk per year
CHF 300	CHF 580.00	–	–
CHF 500	CHF 568.40	CHF 139.20	CHF 200
CHF 1,000	CHF 540.00	CHF 480.00	CHF 700
CHF 1,500	CHF 511.20	CHF 825.60	CHF 1,200
CHF 2,000	CHF 483.50	CHF 1,158.00	CHF 1,700
CHF 2,500	CHF 453.90	CHF 1,513.20	CHF 2,200

The premium does not fall evenly: from CHF 300 to CHF 500 you save CHF 139.20 a year at the median for CHF 200 more risk, from CHF 2,000 to CHF 2,500 CHF 355.20 for CHF 500 more risk. The ratios are different at every insurer. You can see your own figures in the premium calculator, which shows the official FOPH premiums of all insurers for every level.

For children, the offer is thinner. In Zurich in 2026, for children born in 2016, there were 128 offers in total at the CHF 0 level and 113 at CHF 600, but only 88 at CHF 100 and 88 at CHF 300 (source FOPH). More on this under children’s deductible.

What this means for you

The right level depends on your expected costs and your reserves. Three questions help:

1. How high were your costs in recent years? The statements of benefits from your insurer show the total per year.
2. Can you pay the maximum amount? With CHF 2,500 it is up to CHF 3,200 a year (deductible plus CHF 700 retention fee).
3. Is a middle level worth it at all? Check with your insurer how much discount the levels from CHF 1,000 to CHF 2,000 really bring. The step to the highest or lowest level is often clearer than an intermediate level.

The deductible calculator uses your real premiums to work out from what level of costs each deductible becomes cheaper. You can find the dates for changing level under deadlines, and the procedure under changing your deductible.

Common mistakes

• Asking for an intermediate amount. CHF 800 or CHF 3,000 do not exist in basic health insurance. Only the levels in Art. 93 KVV are allowed.
• Assuming every insurer offers all levels. The optional levels are voluntary. Before switching, check whether the new insurer offers your level.
• Forgetting the retention fee. After the deductible you still pay 10% up to CHF 700 (children CHF 350).
• Missing the deadline for a lower level. If you want a lower level in December, you are too late. Your notice must reach the insurer by 30 November.
• Looking only at the discount. Always compare the annual premium plus the possible own share.

We explain how we calculate premiums and medians under How we calculate.