Free choice of health insurer

What is free choice of health insurer?

Free choice of health insurer is the right of every person in Switzerland who is required to take out insurance to take out basic health insurance with an insurer of their choice. The state does not assign you to an insurer. You decide yourself which health insurer provides your compulsory health insurance, and you can switch regularly.

You can choose from all insurers that hold a federal authorisation for social health insurance and operate in the area where you live. The flip side of free choice is the obligation to accept: each of these insurers must accept you, however old or healthy you are.

Free choice concerns the insurer, not the benefits. The catalogue of benefits covered by basic health insurance is set by law and is the same at all insurers. The differences lie in the premium, the models and deductibles on offer, and the service.

For supplementary insurance under the Insurance Contract Act (ICA), there is no free choice of insurer in this sense. There, the insurer may ask health questions, impose reservations or reject an application.

How it works

Which insurers are available to you depends on where you live. Not every insurer operates in every canton or region; its local area of operation is called its catchment area. The FOPH keeps the official list of all insurers with their premiums per region on priminfo.admin.ch.

You use your free choice of insurer on fixed dates:

• With effect from 1 January: After you are notified of the new premium, you cancel with one month’s notice. Your notice of cancellation must reach the insurer by 30 November. This date applies to everyone, regardless of deductible and model.
• With effect from 1 July: With three months’ notice, received by 31 March. This is only possible with the standard deductible and without a special type of insurance.
• If your premium increases during the year: You can then switch with effect from the end of the month before the new premium applies.

Your old insurance only ends once the new insurer has confirmed that you are insured with it without interruption. This means there is no gap in cover. If the new insurer fails to send this notification, it must compensate you for the damage, in particular the difference in premiums.

Legal basis

Art. 4 of the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG) states that persons required to take out insurance can choose freely among the insurers authorised under the Health Insurance Supervision Act (KVAG). Art. 5 let. i KVAG requires insurers to accept every person required to take out insurance within their local area of operation.

Art. 7 KVG governs switching: para. 1 switching at the end of a calendar half-year with three months’ notice, para. 2 switching after notification of the new premium with one month’s notice, para. 5 the end of the old insurance relationship only after confirmation by the new insurer. Paras 7 and 8 protect your supplementary insurance when you switch. Art. 94 para. 2 and Art. 100 para. 3 of the Health Insurance Ordinance (KVV) limit switching with an optional deductible or a model to the end of the year. Art. 64a para. 6 KVG restricts free choice for insured persons in arrears.

Example: same benefits, different premium

Marco is 36 and lives in the municipality of Zurich. He has the standard model with the standard deductible of CHF 300 and wants to know what free choice of health insurer brings him. Basis: premiums 2026, municipality of Zurich (region 1), adults, with accident cover; source FOPH.

The premium calculator shows the premiums of all insurers for your municipality and your model. Information on the individual insurers, such as reserves and administrative costs, can be found in the profiles under health insurers.

What this means for you

Free choice of health insurer is your most important lever on the premium. This is how to use it:

1. Compare every year. The new premiums are published at the end of September. Your insurer must notify you of them by 31 October at the latest. You then have until 30 November.
2. Cancel in time. Your cancellation counts when it reaches the insurer, not when you send it. You can find a template under cancellation letter and all dates under deadlines.
3. Choose the new insurer first. Apply to the new insurer before or while you cancel. The old insurance only ends with the new insurer’s confirmation.
4. Consider supplementary insurance separately. You can keep it with your old insurer. Do not cancel it before new supplementary insurance has been confirmed, because health questions apply there.

The entry switching health insurer explains the whole process step by step.

Common mistakes

• Believing an insurer can turn you down. In basic health insurance, every insurer is obliged to accept you within its area of operation.
• Filling in a health questionnaire. No insurer may ask for one for basic health insurance. Health questions only concern supplementary insurance.
• Cancelling too late. The cut-off is receipt by 30 November, not the postmark.
• Cancelling while in arrears. Outstanding amounts for which you have received a reminder make the cancellation invalid. Pay them in full beforehand.
• Planning a mid-year switch with a model. With effect from 1 July you can only switch with the standard deductible and without a special type of insurance.

We explain how we compare premiums under How we calculate.