Premium increase: the checklist up to 30 November

The premium letter has arrived: these dates count

Every autumn, you receive the letter with your new premium. Insurers may only apply new premiums once the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has approved them (Art. 16 of the Health Insurance Supervision Act, KVAG). After that, your insurer must notify you of the new premium at least two months before it takes effect and point out your right to switch (Art. 7 para. 2 of the Federal Health Insurance Act, KVG). The letter marks the start of the period in which you can change insurer, model and deductible with effect from 1 January.

A premium increase does not oblige you to switch, but it is a good reason to do the maths again. According to the FOPH, the median premium rose by 4.4 % to CHF 393.30 per month in 2026, and for adults by 4.1 % to CHF 465.30. How much your own premium rises depends on your insurer, region, model and deductible.

If 30 November falls on a weekend, the FOPH says the cancellation must arrive on the Friday before. The deadline calculator shows the exact days for the current year.

The checklist: seven points by 30 November

1. Compare the new premium with last year’s. Put the premium letter next to your last policy. Check whether the model, deductible and accident cover are still right; a change of job or a move may have changed them.
2. Compare premiums. The benefits of basic health insurance are the same with all insurers. A premium comparison for your municipality, year of birth, model and deductible shows what you would pay with another insurer. Calculate in the premium calculator or in the Confederation’s premium calculator on priminfo.admin.ch.
3. Check your model. In the GP, HMO or telemedicine model, you first go to an agreed point of contact and pay less in return. You can switch to such a model at any time (Art. 100 para. 2 KVV). Switching back to the standard model is only possible at the end of the year; the change of model must reach your insurer by 30 November. The model finder helps you work out which model suits your everyday life.
4. Check your deductible. Adults choose CHF 300, 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000 or 2,500 (Art. 93 para. 1 KVV). A higher deductible lowers the premium but increases what you pay yourself when you are ill. When you change your deductible: notify a lower deductible by 30 November, a higher one by 31 December. The deductible calculator shows the break-even point for your figures.
5. Check your accident cover. If you work at least eight hours a week for the same employer, you are insured against accidents through them and can exclude accident cover from your health insurance (Art. 8 KVG). This lowers the premium. If you are no longer employed, you must include it again.
6. Check premium subsidies. If your income is modest, the canton subsidises your premium and pays the contribution directly to your insurer (Art. 65 para. 1 KVG). You will find your canton’s rules and application deadlines under Premium subsidies.
7. Cancel and register. If you opt for another insurer, you register there and cancel the old one. After the premium notification, the notice period is one month to the end of the year: receipt by 30 November. You can create the letter in the cancellation letter generator.

Sample calculation: four options after the premium letter

Example with fictitious people. Anna is 35 and lives in Zurich. She is insured in the standard model with a CHF 300 deductible and accident cover and pays a premium at the level of the median of the standard offers in her municipality. After receiving the premium letter, she compares three alternatives.

Which option pays off depends on Anna’s medical costs; the example shows the range, not a recommendation. The FOPH publishes the following year’s premiums at the end of September; until then, we calculate with the 2026 premiums. The article Finding the cheapest health insurer explains how to find the cheapest insurer for your situation.

Supplementary insurance: its own rules, its own deadlines

The premium increase for supplementary insurance is governed not by the KVG but by your contract and the Insurance Contract Act (ICA). There is no statutory right to switch as in basic health insurance. Whether and by when you can cancel extraordinarily after a premium increase is set out in your insurer’s general terms and conditions. You can cancel a contract in the ordinary way with effect from the end of the third or any subsequent year, with three months’ notice, unless it provides for a shorter period (Art. 35a para. 1 and 2 ICA).

Important for the checklist: you can switch your basic health insurance without touching your supplementary insurance. Your old insurer may not force you to cancel it as well, and may not cancel it because you switch (Art. 7 para. 7 and 8 KVG). If you also want to change your supplementary insurance, only cancel it once the new insurer has accepted you; it is allowed to ask health questions. The general terms and conditions and the information from your insurer are what count.

Special cases

• Outstanding premiums. If you have not paid premiums, co-payments, interest or debt enforcement costs for which you received a reminder, you cannot switch (Art. 64a para. 6 KVG). The article Premium debts and switching insurer explains what must be paid by 31 December.
• Family. Each person has their own basic health insurance. You can insure your children with a different insurer from yourself and compare for each family member individually.
• Cancelling without a premium increase. The right to switch at the end of the year applies after every notification of the new premium, even if it stays the same or falls (Art. 7 para. 2 KVG).
• Switching on 1 July. If you missed 30 November, you can only switch at the end of June if you are in the standard model with a CHF 300 deductible, with the cancellation received by 31 March (Art. 7 para. 1 KVG; Art. 94 para. 2 and Art. 100 para. 3 KVV).
• No quote needed. According to the FOPH, you do not need a quote from the new insurer before switching. If it does not respond to your registration, the FOPH recommends sending the application for admission, stating the deductible and start of insurance, by registered mail or A-Post Plus.

Common mistakes

• Thinking the postmark counts. What counts is receipt by your insurer by 30 November. Sending by A-Post in the last week of November is a risk.
• Comparing only insurers, not models. In the example above, Anna saves more with a different model than with a different insurer in the same model.
• Raising your deductible without working out the consequences. A higher deductible saves premium, but if you are ill it can cost more than it saves.
• Cancelling supplementary insurance together with basic health insurance. This is not necessary and may mean that you cannot get it again later, or only with a reservation.
• Paying two insurers at the same time. Your old basic health insurance only ends once the new insurer has reported the switch; until it is confirmed, you pay the old one.

The overview Switching health insurer shows the whole switching process. You will find key figures and contact details for the insurers in the health insurer profiles, and all articles on the topic in the topic section Switching health insurer. We explain how we present premiums under How we calculate.