Late enrolment

What is late enrolment?

Late enrolment is when a person required to take out insurance misses the three-month deadline to take out insurance and only registers for basic health insurance afterwards. The requirement to take out insurance applies from the day you take up residence or from birth. If you do not comply in time, you lose retroactive cover and must expect a surcharge.

Typical cases: someone moves to Switzerland from abroad and keeps their foreign insurance for months. A Swiss woman living abroad returns and only registers at her first doctor’s appointment. Parents forget to insure their newborn. In all these cases, the obligation to take out insurance already exists; only the registration is missing.

The term applies only to basic health insurance under the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG). There is no obligation in supplementary insurance, and therefore no late enrolment either.

How it works

Late enrolment has two consequences that you should keep apart.

First: cover only starts when you join. Unlike when you register on time, the contract does not apply retroactively. For the period between taking up residence and joining, you pay no premium, but you are not insured either. You bear the costs of doctors’, hospital and medicine bills from this period yourself.

Second: if the delay is inexcusable, a premium surcharge is added. The insurer sets it at between 30 and 50% of the premium, based on your financial situation. If the surcharge would put you in financial hardship, it must reduce it below 30%. The surcharge runs for twice the length of the delay, for a maximum of five years.

Further rules:

• If a social assistance authority pays your premiums, no surcharge is charged.
• If a child is enrolled late, the parents owe the surcharge to the extent that they are responsible for the delay.
• If you switch health insurer, your previous insurer notifies the new one of the surcharge. It remains binding until the period has expired.
• If you do not register at all, the cantonal authority assigns you to an insurer. You must still pay the premiums.

No insurer can refuse to accept you, not even because of the delay. You choose the insurer, the deductible and the model like every other insured person.

Legal basis

Art. 3 para. 1 KVG requires everyone resident in Switzerland to take out insurance within three months of taking up residence or of birth. Art. 5 para. 2 KVG governs late enrolment: cover starts at the time of joining; if the delay is inexcusable, the insured person pays a premium surcharge. In cases of financial hardship, the insurer reduces the surcharge. Art. 5 para. 2bis KVG states that, for children, the parents owe the surcharge to the extent that they are responsible for the delay.

The details are set out in Art. 8 of the Health Insurance Ordinance (KVV): para. 1 sets the duration (twice the length of the delay, a maximum of five years) and the amount (30 to 50% of the premium), para. 2 the waiver where social assistance pays, and para. 3 the transfer to a new insurer. Under Art. 6 KVG, the cantons ensure compliance with the requirement to take out insurance and assign people who fail to comply to an insurer.

If you disagree with the surcharge, you can ask the insurer for a written decision (Art. 49 para. 1 ATSG). You can then file an objection with the insurer free of charge within 30 days (Art. 52 ATSG).

Example: six months late in Bern

Marco, 29, moves to Bern from abroad and only registers long after the deadline to take out insurance has expired. The insurer finds an inexcusable delay of six months. Marco chooses a CHF 2,500 deductible with accident cover.

In the municipality of Bern (premium region 1), basic health insurance for people born in 1997 with this deductible costs between CHF 417.50 and CHF 630.90 a month in 2026; the median of the 126 offers is CHF 482.70 (source: FOPH, premiums 2026). The table is based on this median and assumes the premium stays the same.

Surcharge rate	Surcharge per month	Duration	Total surcharge
30%	CHF 144.81	12 months	CHF 1,737.72
50%	CHF 241.35	12 months	CHF 2,896.20

The premium calculator shows which premium applies in your municipality. You will find information on all insurers under health insurers.

What this means for you

If you have already missed the deadline, register immediately. Every additional month extends the period without cover and the surcharge by two months.

1. Register, do not wait. You can choose any insurer; it must accept you. The start of cover is the day you join.
2. Record the reasons for the delay. If, for example, you were given wrong information or were in hospital, put this in writing. It may matter when deciding whether the delay is excusable.
3. Disclose your financial situation. The rate depends on your circumstances. If your means are limited, the surcharge can be below 30%. Also check whether you are entitled to a premium subsidy.

If you are only just moving here, the best way to plan joining is with the deadline calculator. How a later switch of health insurer works is described under switching health insurer.

Common mistakes

• Thinking you save on premiums. The surcharge eats up part of the premiums you did not pay, up to CHF 2,896.20 in the example, and you pay for any treatment during the gap yourself.
• Trying to get rid of the surcharge by switching insurer. It passes to the new insurer and remains binding.
• Not asking for a written decision. If you think the surcharge is wrong, you must challenge it within 30 days of the written decision. After that, it becomes final.
• Forgetting the child. Newborns also have a three-month deadline. The parents owe the surcharge if they are responsible for the delay.

How we calculate premium examples is explained under How we calculate.