Family discount

What is a family discount?

Health insurers use the term “family discount” for reductions they grant to families when several members are insured with them. It is often also called a “child discount” or “family premium”. There is no legal term for it. What exactly is meant depends on whether it concerns basic health insurance or supplementary insurance.

In basic health insurance under the Health Insurance Act (KVG/LAMal), premiums are strictly regulated. Within a premium region and age group, an insurer must charge the same premium to all insured persons. The law does not provide for a discount because several family members are with the same insurer. But it protects families in other ways: children and young adults pay lower premiums, several children of the same family share a common cap on the co-payment, and the cantons reduce the premiums of children from households with modest and middle incomes. Some insurers also set a lower child premium from the third child if all the children are insured with them.

In supplementary insurance under the Insurance Contract Act (ICA, VVG in German), insurers are free to set their prices. Here family discounts come in various forms, for example a percentage off the premium if parents and children are in the same contract, or lower child premiums from a certain number of children. The conditions are set out in the contract and can change.

The family discount must be distinguished from the child premium in basic health insurance. This lower premium applies to every child, whether an only child or a sibling, and at every insurer.

How it works

Basic health insurance: lower premiums by age group

Every insurer sets different premiums for three age groups. What counts is the year of birth:

• Children: until the end of the year in which they turn 18.
• Young adults: from 19 until the end of the year in which they turn 25.
• Adults: from the year in which they turn 26.

The child premium must be lower than the premium for young adults, and both must be lower than the adult premium. This gradation applies to every insured person, regardless of whether siblings or parents are with the same insurer.

Basic health insurance: common cap on the co-payment

There is no standard deductible for children, and the retention fee is limited to half, i.e. CHF 350 a year. Parents can choose an optional deductible of CHF 100 to CHF 600 for their children. If several children of one family are insured with the same insurer, together they pay no more than the deductible and the maximum retention fee of one adult. This rule works like a statutory family discount on the co-payment, but only if the children are with the same insurer.

Further relief: children pay no contribution to the costs of a hospital stay, and neither do young adults in education. Until the child comes of age, only the parents owe the child’s premiums and co-payments.

Premium subsidy

For households with low and middle incomes, the cantons reduce children’s premiums by at least 80% and the premiums of young adults in education by at least 50%. Who is entitled and how you apply is determined by your canton of residence.

Supplementary insurance

Each insurer sets its own discounts in supplementary insurance. Check the terms: Who has to be in the contract? Does the discount apply to all products or only to some? What happens when a child comes of age or moves out? Can the insurer change the discount? The rights of cancellation in supplementary insurance are set out in the ICA: in supplementary health insurance, only you have the ordinary right to cancel at the end of the third year, not the insurer.

Legal basis

• Art. 61 para. 1 KVG: Unless the law provides for an exception, the insurer charges the same premiums to its insured persons.
• Art. 61 para. 3 KVG: The insurer sets a lower premium for children and young adults; the child premium must be lower than that for young adults. Under Art. 91 para. 3 KVV, the gradation is by year of birth.
• Art. 61a KVG: Until the end of the month in which the child comes of age, only the parents owe the child’s premiums, jointly and severally.
• Art. 64 para. 4 KVG: No deductible is charged for children, and half the maximum retention fee applies. If several children of one family are with the same insurer, together they pay no more than the deductible and maximum retention fee of one adult.
• Art. 103 and 104 KVV: Maximum retention fee of CHF 700 for adults and CHF 350 for children; no hospital contribution for children and young adults in education.
• Art. 65 para. 1bis KVG: Minimum reduction of 80% for children and 50% for young adults in education with low and middle incomes.
• Art. 35a para. 4 ICA: In supplementary health insurance, only the policyholder has the ordinary right to cancel, not the insurer. For children, the parents cancel as policyholders.

Example: a family in Zurich, premiums 2026

Sara (34) and Luca (36) live with their children Mia (8) and Noah (13) in the city of Zurich. The table shows the monthly premiums for basic health insurance in 2026 for the municipality of Zurich (region 1), with accident cover: adults with a CHF 300 deductible, children with a CHF 0 deductible. It shows the cheapest, the median and the most expensive premium of all offers. Source: FOPH, health insurance premiums 2026.

The cheapest premium does not always belong to the same model: here the lowest figures come from GP or HMO models, which require a first point of contact. For children it therefore pays to choose the model deliberately. The premium calculator works out the comparison for your family and municipality; the children’s premium calculator shows the children’s premiums separately.

What this means for you

1. Compare the total premium. Add up the premiums of all family members and compare the total. In basic health insurance, each family member may have a different insurer.
2. Insure children with the same insurer if it pays off. Only then does the common cap on the co-payment under Art. 64 para. 4 KVG apply. This is particularly relevant for children who need regular treatment.
3. Check supplementary insurance separately. A family discount in supplementary insurance can be a reason to stay with an insurer there. You can still switch your basic health insurance without having to cancel the supplementary insurance.
4. Apply for a premium subsidy. Check every year whether you are entitled. The rules and deadlines are set by your canton of residence.
5. Keep the age limits in mind. In the year after the 18th birthday, the premium rises to the level for young adults.

You must notify a change of insurer in basic health insurance by 30 November for the end of the year. You can find a template and the procedure under switching insurer, and the key data of all insurers under health insurers.

Common mistakes

• Confusing the family discount in supplementary insurance with basic health insurance. A discount in supplementary insurance says nothing about the basic premium.
• Looking only at the discount. What matters is what the whole family pays in the end per year.
• Spreading the children across different insurers without considering the co-payment. The common cap only applies with the same insurer.
• Overlooking the move to the young adults’ age group. From the year after the 18th birthday the higher premium applies; a comparison is particularly worthwhile then.

We explain how we build our premium examples under How we calculate.