Insuring your baby: register before the birth, step by step

Two insurances, two deadlines

Two completely different sets of rules apply to your baby. Basic health insurance under the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG) is compulsory, every insurer must accept your child, and the benefits are the same everywhere. Supplementary insurance under the Insurance Contract Act (ICA) is voluntary; here, the insurer may choose whom it insures.

This results in two deadlines:

So basic health insurance is not urgent, but supplementary insurance is. Many parents do it the other way round: they deal with both after the birth and then realise that the insurer sends a questionnaire for the supplementary insurance.

Step by step: how to insure your baby

1. Decide during pregnancy whether you want supplementary insurance. Typical modules for children are hospital (semi-private ward), orthodontics and outpatient benefits such as glasses. What each supplementary insurance offers your child is explained in the article Supplementary insurance for your child.
2. Compare the acceptance conditions. Ask two or three insurers: do they accept children before the birth without a health questionnaire? By when must the application arrive? Is there a minimum term? Get the answers in writing.
3. Apply for supplementary insurance before the birth. The contract starts at birth, provided the insurer’s conditions are met.
4. Choose basic health insurance. Compare children’s premiums in your municipality in the premium calculator. You can register your child before the birth or within 3 months after it.
5. Report the birth. After the birth, give the insurer your child’s name and date of birth. Put the 3-month deadline in your calendar if basic health insurance is still open.
6. Check premium subsidy. For lower and middle incomes, the canton reduces children’s premiums considerably (see below).

Basic health insurance for your baby: deadline, start, co-payment

Under Art. 3 para. 1 KVG, every person resident in Switzerland must be insured within 3 months of birth; the parents act for the baby. If you register in time, insurance starts at the time of birth under Art. 5 para. 1 KVG. This also applies if your child spent the first weeks in hospital: the costs are covered retroactively.

The insurer may not turn your child down or ask questions about health (Art. 5 let. i KVAG). You choose the insurer freely; it does not have to be your own. You can find key figures, reserves and contact options for the insurers in the health insurer profiles.

A separate co-payment applies to children:

• Deductible: There is no standard deductible for children (Art. 64 para. 4 KVG). Higher children’s deductibles from CHF 100 to CHF 600 can be chosen (Art. 93 KVV).
• Retention fee: 10 % of the costs above the deductible, up to a maximum of CHF 350 a year (Art. 103 KVV).
• Hospital contribution: Children pay no contribution to the costs of a hospital stay (Art. 104 KVV).
• Several children: If several children of one family are insured with the same insurer, together they pay no more than the co-payment of one adult (Art. 64 para. 4 KVG).

What basic health insurance costs for your baby

At every insurer, the children’s premium is lower than the premium for young adults and adults (Art. 61 para. 3 KVG). There are nonetheless large differences between insurers, even though the benefits are the same. Premiums 2026, municipality of Zurich (region 1), child born in 2026, with accident cover; source FOPH:

With a CHF 0 deductible, there are CHF 65.40 a month between the lowest and the highest offer, i.e. CHF 784.80 a year for the same statutory benefits. The lowest premiums belong to a GP or HMO model; the rules that apply there are explained on the page Insurance models. The FOPH publishes next year’s premiums at the end of September; until they are released, we calculate with the 2026 premiums.

Sample calculation: CHF 0 or CHF 600 deductible?

Example with fictitious people. Lea and Marco live in Zurich and are expecting their first child. For the baby, they compare the median offers from the table above.

Babies often see the paediatrician in their first year, for example for check-ups and vaccinations. You cannot know for sure whether your child’s costs will be above this threshold. The calculation only shows where the break-even point lies; it is not a recommendation for your family. You can work it out with the premiums for your municipality in the deductible calculator.

Supplementary insurance: why before the birth

There is no obligation to accept in supplementary insurance. Before concluding the contract, the insurer may ask health questions and, based on the answers, turn you down, add a reservation or set other conditions. Under Art. 4 ICA, you must answer its questions truthfully; if you conceal a fact you were asked about, it may terminate the contract under Art. 6 ICA.

If a child is born with an illness or a congenital disorder, this can make acceptance more difficult later. That is why some insurers offer registration before birth: they accept children registered before the birth without a health check. There is no statutory rule on this. Whether, until when and for which products this applies is set out in each insurer’s acceptance conditions. What counts are the general terms and conditions and the information from the insurer.

Congenital disorders: when disability insurance pays

Congenital disorders are illnesses that exist at the time of birth. For the disorders on the list of the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA), disability insurance covers the medical measures until the child turns 20 (Art. 13 of the Federal Act on Disability Insurance, IVG). What disability insurance does not cover is paid by basic health insurance as for an illness, with the normal co-payment. Exactly how responsibility is divided between disability insurance and the health insurer is explained in the article Congenital disorders.

Premium subsidy for children

The cantons reduce the premiums of children from households with lower and middle incomes by at least 80 % (Art. 65 para. 1bis KVG). Who is entitled, where the income limit lies and by when you must apply is decided by each canton. You can find your canton’s rules under Premium subsidy. A birth can change your entitlement because the size of the household changes; check it again in the year of the birth.

Common mistakes

• Postponing supplementary insurance. After the birth, the insurer may ask health questions and turn you down. If you want supplementary insurance, sort it out during pregnancy.
• Missing the 3-month deadline. Basic health insurance then only starts when you register, and a premium surcharge may apply (Art. 5 para. 2 KVG). The deadline calculator shows the deadlines for switching insurer.
• Assuming the child has to go with your own insurer. The choice is free. The children’s premium for the same benefits differs between insurers by several hundred francs a year.
• Answering health questions inaccurately. A false answer can entitle the insurer to terminate the contract.
• Not checking the children’s deductible. Children have their own deductibles from CHF 0 to CHF 600, with different break-even points from adults.

What applies to you yourself during pregnancy, for example the exemption from co-payment from the 13th week of pregnancy (Art. 64 para. 7 KVG), is explained in the article Pregnancy and health insurance. You can find all topics around children and family in the topic Family and children. How we present premiums is explained under How we calculate.