Registered mail

What is registered mail?

Registered mail is a letter sent through Swiss Post with proof of delivery. Swiss Post only hands the letter over against a signature or with a delivery authorisation and records every step electronically. When you send it, you receive a tracking number, which you can use to check online when the letter arrived.

In health insurance, registered mail matters above all when you cancel. If you want to switch your basic health insurance, you must give your current insurer notice in time. If there is a dispute later about whether and when your notice arrived, the burden of proof lies with you. Registered mail provides that proof: the date and time of delivery appear in the tracking record.

The law does not require registered mail. The Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG/LAMal) only sets the deadline, not the method of sending. Registered mail is therefore not an obligation but a means of proof. The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) nevertheless explicitly recommends it, with A-Mail Plus as an alternative.

How it works

You hand the letter in at a post office counter or frank it yourself with a registered mail label. According to Swiss Post, domestic registered mail is delivered on the next working day (Monday to Friday). It costs CHF 5.80 if ready for dispatch and CHF 6.80 if not (Swiss Post prices, as of 25.09.2026). Swiss Post is liable up to CHF 500.

A-Mail Plus is the cheaper option: CHF 2.90 ready for dispatch, up to B5 format. This item can also be tracked and arrives on the next working day, according to Swiss Post from Monday to Saturday. The difference: A-Mail Plus is placed in the letter box or post-office box without a signature. The tracking record still shows when the letter was delivered.

For cancelling basic health insurance, the rule is: what counts is the day the letter reaches the insurer. The postmark is irrelevant. In its factsheet on switching for 2026, the FOPH stated that notice had to arrive by 28 November 2025 at the latest, because 30 November 2025 was a Sunday. It recommended sending it by 15 November, by registered mail or A-Mail Plus. That leaves enough time in case a letter gets held up.

For the switch to 2027, 30 November 2026 falls on a Monday. The letter must therefore be with the insurer on that day. If you post it the week before, you still have room for delays.

Legal basis

Art. 7 para. 1 KVG allows you to switch insurer with three months’ notice to the end of a calendar half-year. Art. 7 para. 2 KVG gives you an additional right to cancel when the insurer notifies you of the new premium: you can then cancel with one month’s notice to the end of the month before the new premium applies. Because new premiums apply from 1 January, this deadline ends on 30 November. The insurer must notify you of the new premium at least two months in advance and point out your right to switch.

Art. 7 KVG contains no formal requirement for the notice. The FOPH and the sample letters on priminfo.admin.ch assume written notice. For supplementary insurance, the notice periods and formal requirements in the general terms and conditions (GTC) of the product concerned apply.

Example: cancelling at the end of 2026

Lea is 29 and receives her insurer’s premium notification for 2027 at the end of October 2026. She compares the offers and wants to switch on 1 January 2027.

What this means for you

• Send early: Plan to send the letter at least two weeks before 30 November. You will find the exact dates under deadlines.
• Keep the receipt: Keep the receipt with the tracking number until the confirmation of cancellation has arrived and the new policy is in force.
• Use a template: The cancellation letter generator creates a letter with your insurance number, the cancellation date and your insurer’s address. More on templates under sample cancellation letter.
• Sign up with the new insurer: Cancelling alone is not enough. Your old basic health insurance only ends once the new insurer has confirmed to it that your cover continues without interruption (Art. 7 para. 5 KVG). The whole process is explained under switch health insurer.
• Compare premiums: The premium calculator shows which insurer is cheaper where you live, using the official FOPH premiums.

Common mistakes

• Posting on the last day. If you go to the post office on 30 November, you are too late, because receipt by the insurer counts.
• Sending without proof. An ordinary A-Mail letter cannot be tracked. If it gets lost, you stay with your old insurer for another year.
• Throwing away the receipt. Without the tracking number, you have no proof in a dispute.
• Wrong address. Some insurers have a separate address for cancellations. The address is in the insurer’s profile under health insurers.
• Forgetting supplementary insurance. Supplementary insurance has other deadlines set out in the GTC. It needs a separate notice if you want to end it as well.