Entry age

What is entry age?

Entry age is the age at which you take out an insurance contract. In health insurance it matters above all for supplementary insurance under the Insurance Contract Act (ICA), for example supplementary hospital, dental or outpatient insurance. Some tariffs grade the premium by entry age: if you join at 25, you pay a different premium from someone who takes out the same product at 55.

Basic health insurance under the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG/LAMal) has no entry age. There are only three age groups: children up to 18, young adults from 19 to 25 and adults from 26. A 70-year-old pays the same premium with the same insurer, in the same region, with the same deductible and the same model as a 30-year-old, regardless of when they joined. One exception in the KVG is voluntary daily allowance insurance: there, insurers may grade premiums by entry age.

Entry age must be distinguished from tariffs based on age bands. With these, the premium rises when you move into a higher age group, for example every five or ten years. The insurer decides which method a product uses; it must submit the tariffs to FINMA.

How it works

With a tariff based on entry age, the insurer assumes from the outset that your healthcare costs will rise with age. When you are young, you therefore pay somewhat more than your current risk would cost. The insurer sets the surplus aside as an ageing reserve. This reserve later finances the higher costs, so that your premium does not rise just because of your age.

This does not mean the premium never rises. The insurer can adjust tariffs for all insured persons, for example if costs rise in general. FINMA must approve such tariff changes.

If you cancel a contract with ageing reserves early, the reserves stay with the insurer unless it provides for a surrender value. The insurer can provide for refunding an appropriate share to you as a surrender value. If it does so, the plan must be approved by FINMA, and the insurer must inform you of the amount at least once a year, on request and whenever premiums are adjusted.

Besides the premium, entry age also affects access. If you take out insurance later, you are more likely to have pre-existing findings that can lead to reservations or a rejection in the health questionnaire. Some products accept newborns without a health assessment if the application arrives in time: in CSS’s supplementary conditions for myFlex, for instance, newborns are insured in the “Economy” level without reservation from birth if the application arrives no later than 30 days after birth. After you sign up, waiting periods may also apply, with myFlex for example 365 days for maternity.

Legal basis

For supplementary insurance, no law prescribes whether an insurer sets its tariffs by entry age or by age bands. However, the tariffs and GTC of supplementary insurance to social health insurance are part of the business plan that the insurer submits to FINMA (Art. 4 para. 2 let. r of the Insurance Supervision Act, ISA). Art. 155 AVO governs the transfer of ageing reserves: the surrender value, its approval by FINMA and the duty to inform at least once a year. Art. 156 AVO gives insured persons in a closed portfolio the right to a contract from an open portfolio that is as equivalent as possible; under para. 3, the age and state of health at the time the previous contract was concluded are decisive.

In the KVG, Art. 76 para. 3 KVG allows premiums for voluntary daily allowance insurance to be graded by entry age and region. Art. 71 para. 1 KVG secures the entry age from the collective contract when you transfer from collective to individual daily allowance insurance. For basic health insurance, Art. 61 para. 3 KVG only provides for lower premiums for children and young adults.

Example: when entry age counts

The Meier family wonders when which age counts for which contract. The table shows four cases from 2026. Premiums for supplementary insurance are not officially published, so only the rules with their figures from the law and the supplementary conditions are shown here.

What this means for you

Entry age turns supplementary insurance into a long-term decision. Keep in mind:

1. Ask about the tariff system. Before signing, ask whether the premium is calculated by entry age or by age bands, and have the premium development explained to you.
2. Do not cancel lightly. If you switch after many years, you usually lose the lower entry age and have to answer new health questions. Ask about any surrender value.
3. Register newborns in time. With myFlex, for example, a 30-day deadline applies, shorter than the three months in basic health insurance. More on premiums for children in the child premium calculator.
4. Compare basic health insurance separately. Entry age does not count in basic health insurance; you can check whether to switch every year in the premium calculator. Your insurer may not cancel your supplementary insurance because of this.

You can compare supplementary insurance in the supplementary insurance comparison. The insurers and their key figures are under health insurers.

Common mistakes

• Assuming there is an entry age in basic health insurance. There are only three age groups; joining early brings no discount.
• Cancelling supplementary insurance just because of a premium increase. With a new contract, your higher age and your current state of health apply.
• Missing the deadline for newborns. If the application arrives too late, the insurer assesses the child’s health like anyone else’s.
• Confusing entry age and age bands. Only with a tariff based on entry age does the premium remain tied to your age when you took out the insurance.