Suspension of accident cover

What is suspension?

To suspend means “to put on hold” or “to pause”. In Swiss health insurance the term (in German Sistierung) is almost always used for the suspension of accident cover: in principle, basic health insurance covers not only illness but also accidents. Anyone already insured through their employer under the Accident Insurance Act (UVG) would be covered twice. For these people, the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG) allows the accident cover of the health insurer to be put on hold. In return, the premium falls.

The condition is full cover under the UVG. This means you must be insured not only against work-related accidents but also against non-work-related accidents (NBU), in other words accidents in your free time. Employees are insured against non-work-related accidents under the UVG if they work at least 8 hours per week for one employer. Anyone who works less is only insured against work-related accidents; accidents on the way to work then count as work-related accidents. In this case, your health insurer continues to cover accidents in your free time.

As a rule, the following people therefore cannot suspend accident cover:

• self-employed people without voluntary UVG insurance,
• people not in employment, students without a job, homemakers,
• pensioners,
• children,
• part-time employees working less than 8 hours per week for each individual employer.

There is also a second, rarer meaning: the suspension of the requirement to take out insurance during longer military service, civilian service or civil protection service. If you are covered by military insurance for more than 60 consecutive days, the requirement to take out insurance is suspended by law. If you notify your insurer of the period of service at least eight weeks before it starts, you pay no premium from the start of service. More on this below and in the entry on military insurance.

How it works

Submit a request. Suspension only takes place on written request. You enclose proof that you are fully insured under the UVG, for example a confirmation from your employer or your employment contract showing your workload. Many insurers have a form for this. The suspension starts at the earliest on the first day of the month following the request. It cannot be backdated.

The premium falls. The insurer must reduce the premium for as long as you have UVG cover, by the share of the premium for the accident risk, but by no more than 7%. You can find out how large this share is at your insurer in your premium documents: the insurer must list the share of the premium for including the accident risk separately (Art. 89 KVV).

Accidents during the suspension. If you have an accident, your employer’s accident insurance pays. There is no deductible and no retention fee there. Accidents that happened before the suspension remain insured with the health insurer, even if the consequences are only treated later.

End of UVG cover. Cover under the UVG ends on the 31st day after the day on which your entitlement to at least half your salary ends. For unemployed people, a corresponding rule applies to unemployment benefit. The accident insurer must offer you the option of extending cover by agreement for up to six months (extended accident insurance).

Automatic reinstatement. As soon as your UVG cover ends completely or partly, your health insurer covers accidents again without you having to sign anything. You are therefore never without accident cover. Your employer or the unemployment insurance must inform you in writing before the end that you have to notify your health insurer. You have one month to do so. If you do not report it, the insurer can claim back the premium share for accident cover plus default interest.

Legal basis

Art. 8 KVG governs the suspension of accident cover. Under para. 1, cover for accidents can be suspended for insured persons who are fully covered for this risk under the compulsory insurance of the UVG. The insurer suspends cover on request and on proof, and the premium is reduced accordingly. Under para. 2, accidents are covered under the KVG again as soon as UVG cover ends completely or partly. Para. 3 states that the health insurer covers the consequences of accidents that were insured with it before the suspension.

Art. 10 KVG governs the end: the employer informs departing employees in writing about the duty to notify, as does the unemployment insurance. If the insured person fails to meet this duty, the insurer can claim back the premium share for accident cover plus default interest.

Art. 11 KVV specifies: written request, start at the earliest on the first day of the following month, notification to the insurer within one month of being informed by the employer or the unemployment insurance.

Art. 91a KVV requires insurers to reduce the premium where there is compulsory UVG cover (para. 2) and limits the reduction to the accident share, at most 7% (para. 4). With voluntary UVG insurance or extended accident insurance by agreement, the insurer may reduce the premium but does not have to (para. 3). Under Art. 89 KVV, it must list the premium share for the accident risk separately.

The threshold of 8 hours is set out in Art. 13 UVV (Accident Insurance Ordinance), the end of UVG cover after 31 days and extended insurance by agreement for up to six months in Art. 3 para. 2 and 3 UVG. The suspension of the requirement to take out insurance during military and civilian service of more than 60 days is governed by Art. 3 para. 4 KVG and Art. 10a KVV.

Example: premium with and without accident cover in Zurich

Marco is 34 (born in 1992), lives in the city of Zurich (premium region 1), works full-time as an employee and has a deductible of CHF 2,500. He compares all 128 offers in his municipality with and without accident cover. Source: FOPH, health insurance premiums 2026, opendata.swiss.

Marco has been insured since 1 January 2026 and submits the written request on 20 February 2026. The suspension starts at the earliest on 1 March 2026. For January and February he pays the premium with accident cover. If Marco quits his job as of 31 October 2026 and has no further entitlement to salary afterwards, his UVG cover ends on the 31st day after that. He must tell his health insurer, within one month of being informed by his employer, that accident cover must be reinstated.

What this means for you

Check once a year whether your situation matches your accident cover:

1. Do you work at least 8 hours per week for one employer? Then you are fully insured under the UVG and should suspend accident cover. Otherwise you are paying for cover you do not need.
2. Do you have several small jobs? The 8 hours count per employer. Two jobs of 6 hours each are not enough for NBU cover.
3. Is a change coming up? A change of job with a gap, a trip around the world, studies, self-employment or retirement ends UVG cover. Tell your insurer within one month.

You can compare premiums with and without accident cover for your municipality in the premium calculator. Under suspend accident cover you can check step by step whether you may suspend. The health insurer profiles show how large the accident share is at individual insurers. If you are switching insurer anyway, state “without accident cover” directly in the application and enclose the proof; the procedure is explained under switch insurer.

Common mistakes

• Suspending despite a small workload. If you work less than 8 hours per week for one employer, you are not insured under the UVG in your free time. Your health insurer’s accident cover must then remain.
• Not reporting the loss of a job. Cover is reinstated automatically, but the insurer can claim back the accident share plus default interest.
• Expecting a backdated suspension. The suspension takes effect at the earliest from the following month. If you apply too late, you give away months.
• Counting on large savings. The reduction is at most 7% and considerably less for some offers. The choice of deductible or insurance model usually has a bigger effect.
• Forgetting extended accident insurance. If there is a longer gap, for example a trip between two jobs, UVG cover can be extended by agreement for up to six months. Ask your employer about it before you leave.

We explain how we calculate the premium examples under How we calculate.