Right of transfer

What is the right of transfer?

The right of transfer is your right, when you leave a collective insurance policy, to switch to individual insurance with the same insurer. In health insurance, this is almost always about daily sickness allowance insurance, which covers your loss of earnings if you are ill. As long as you are employed, your employer often insures you through a collective contract. If you leave the company, this cover ends.

Without a right of transfer, you would have to apply to an insurer again and answer health questions. People who are ill or have a medical history would then often only be accepted with a reservation or not at all. The right of transfer prevents this gap: you stay with your existing insurer, just under your own contract.

Legally, you have to distinguish between two cases:

• Daily allowance insurance under the KVG. This is the voluntary daily allowance insurance governed by the Federal Health Insurance Act. Here, the right of transfer is laid down in law, with clear rules on reservations, entry age and the deadline.
• Daily allowance insurance under the ICA. Many employers’ collective contracts are subject to the Insurance Contract Act. The ICA contains no statutory right of transfer. Whether you can transfer, on what terms and within what deadline is set out in the general terms and conditions of the collective contract.

The right of transfer must not be confused with freedom of movement when changing insurer under Art. 70 KVG. There, you switch to a different insurer, for example because your new employer has a different contract. In that case too, the new insurer may not impose new reservations.

The right of transfer has nothing to do with basic health insurance. Basic health insurance is always an individual contract and continues regardless of your job.

How it works

For a collective insurance policy under the KVG, the transfer takes place in four steps:

1. Leaving the collective. You no longer belong to the insured group, for example because you leave your job, or the employer terminates the contract.
2. Written information. The insurer must ensure that you are informed in writing of your right of transfer. If it fails to do so, you remain in the collective insurance.
3. Exercise within three months. From receipt of the notification, you have three months to request the transfer. Send your declaration in a way that lets you prove the date.
4. Individual contract. The insurer accepts you into its individual insurance. New reservations are excluded, and the entry age from the collective contract remains decisive as long as you do not insure higher benefits.

For ICA contracts, the process is similar, but the details are in the contract. Pay attention to the deadline, which may differ from the KVG, and to the benefits of the individual insurance: the amount of the daily allowance, the waiting period and the benefit period may differ from the collective contract.

A special rule applies to ongoing cases. If you are already ill when you leave and are receiving a daily allowance, under Art. 35c ICA the insurer may not unilaterally restrict or cancel existing periodic benefits when the contract ends. Such clauses are void.

Legal basis

The statutory right of transfer is set out in Art. 71 of the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG). Under Art. 71 para. 1 KVG, an insured person who leaves the collective insurance because they no longer belong to the group of insured persons described in the contract or because the contract is terminated has the right to transfer to the insurer’s individual insurance. To the extent that they do not insure higher benefits in the individual insurance, no new insurance reservations may be imposed; the entry age from the collective contract must be retained. Art. 71 para. 2 KVG obliges the insurer to provide written information and sets the deadline of three months from receipt of the notification.

Reservations themselves are governed by Art. 69 KVG: they lapse after five years at the latest. Art. 70 KVG governs freedom of movement when switching to a different insurer. The minimum benefit period of the KVG daily allowance of 720 days within 900 days is set out in Art. 72 para. 3 KVG.

For contracts under the Insurance Contract Act (ICA), there is no corresponding provision. However, Art. 3 para. 3 ICA requires the employer to inform employees that a collective personal insurance policy has been terminated. Art. 35c ICA protects ongoing benefits when the contract ends.

Example: deadlines after leaving a job

Sara is 45 years old and is insured through her employer under collective daily allowance insurance under the KVG. She leaves her job as of 31.03.2026 and does not yet have a new position.

What this means for you

The right of transfer is particularly important if there is a gap between two jobs, if you become self-employed or if your health is impaired when you leave.

1. Know your contract. Before you leave, ask the HR department whether the daily allowance insurance is subject to the KVG or the ICA and what the terms say about transfer.
2. Note the deadline. Put the end of the deadline in your calendar. Once it has passed, you lose the right and have to take out new insurance with health questions.
3. Weigh up the costs. You pay for the individual insurance alone. Check whether you need the cover, for example if you will soon start a new job with a collective contract.
4. Look closely if you become unemployed. If you become unemployed, special rules apply. You can find more on this under Unemployment.

Basic health insurance continues regardless. If you want to save money after changing jobs, compare premiums in the premium calculator and the insurers under Health insurers. To plan your cover, you can request advice.

Common mistakes

• Missing the deadline. The three months begin with the notification. If you leave it unread, you lose the right.
• Applying the KVG right to ICA contracts. For ICA contracts, only what is in the contract applies. Read the terms before you rely on it.
• Applying for higher benefits without knowing the consequences. Reservations may be imposed for the additional part.
• Cancelling basic health insurance. Changing jobs only affects daily allowance insurance. Basic health insurance remains compulsory and continues.

We explain how we set up examples under How we calculate.