How to switch health insurance in Switzerland for 2027: dates, steps and official sources

To switch health insurer on 1 January 2027, your notice for basic insurance must reach your current insurer by 30 November 2026; the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) recommends sending it by registered letter by 15 November. Insurers must announce the 2027 premiums by 31 October, and the official calculator on priminfo.admin.ch sets them side by side. Basic insurance gives the same benefits at every insurer, but premiums differ, and insurers must accept everyone.

Updated October 2026. Sources: FOPH, priminfo.admin.ch (change of health insurer and FAQ) and press release of 29 September 2026; Fedlex, KVG (the Health Insurance Act) arts. 7 and 64a and KVV art. 105l (versions in force); Budgetberatung Schweiz (the Swiss budget counselling association), page Krankenkasse; Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Household Budget Survey 2023 (viewed on 14 October 2026). The FOPH, priminfo, Fedlex and Budgetberatung pages are in German.

How do you switch health insurance for 2027?

Switching means cancelling your basic insurance with your current insurer and signing up with another one. Basic insurance is compulsory for everyone resident in Switzerland (KVG art. 3), but you choose the insurer freely. If you decide to switch, there are three steps, and until 31 December 2026 you stay insured with your current insurer, so there is no gap in cover (priminfo):

1. Compare the 2027 premiums in the official priminfo calculator, with the same deductible and model (see below).
2. Sign up with the new insurer for basic insurance without waiting until the end of December: your old insurer keeps you insured until the new one confirms that you are insured without a break (KVG art. 7).
3. Cancel your current basic insurance in writing, preferably by registered letter: the letter must reach your insurer by 30 November 2026. You can find sample letters on priminfo.

This is general information, not individual advice: the guide recommends neither switching nor staying, and names no insurer.

Which dates matter: 31 October, 15 and 30 November?

What counts is the day the insurer receives the letter, not the postmark: it must arrive by the last day of the deadline, during office hours. A late notice only takes effect at the next possible date (priminfo FAQ).

How do you compare premiums neutrally?

The official comparison is the 2027 premium calculator of the FOPH on priminfo.admin.ch, which lists the insurers active in your region with their premiums. For 2027 the average premium will be CHF 412 a month per insured person, 5.0% more than in 2026 (FOPH), but that is not yours: your actual premium depends on your place of residence, your age, your deductible, your insurer and your model.

1. Open the premium calculator for 2027 on priminfo.admin.ch.
2. Enter your place of residence or postcode and your year of birth; you can add other people, for example a partner and children.
3. Choose the deductible and whether you need accident cover: if you work at least eight hours a week and your employer insures you against accidents, you can have it removed from your basic insurance (priminfo).
4. Enter your current insurer and model and the models you want to compare (standard, PRAXIS, PHARM, TEL_DIG, FLEX).
5. Run the calculation and compare the premiums, always with the same deductible and model, otherwise the comparison is not fair.
6. Look beyond the premium: the FOPH suggests checking each model’s limits on your choice of care providers, the distance to the nearest practice, how medicines are paid for and the insurer’s service.

Model and deductible: what changes in the premium?

A model that limits the choice of care providers and a higher deductible can lower the premium, but in return they limit your freedom of choice or raise the share you pay yourself when you are treated (priminfo, FOPH).

From the 2027 premiums the calculator groups restricted-choice models into four categories by first point of contact: PRAXIS (a designated medical practice), PHARM (a partner pharmacy of the insurer), TEL_DIG (phone or online, for example telmed) and FLEX (several to choose from); the medical treatments stay the same. PRAXIS merges the former “family doctor” and HMO models.

The ordinary deductible (called “franchise” in Switzerland) for adults is CHF 300; you can choose 500, 1'000, 1'500, 2'000 or 2'500. The higher it is, the lower the premium, but the discount is capped (insurers may grant less). If you already have a special model, you can change it for 1 January; if not, you can choose one at any time (priminfo). To change your deductible in time, priminfo advises telling your insurer by 15 November (as of October 2026); deadlines, co-payment and the break-even point are in the guide to the deductible.

Supplementary insurance, debts and special cases

Supplementary insurance has its own contract, debts to your insurer can block the switch, and a switch on 1 July has precise conditions.

• Debts to your insurer: if you have received a reminder for premiums or cost-sharing, you cannot switch until everything is paid, default interest and debt-collection costs included. For 1 January, debts for which you received a reminder by 30 November and that are still open on 31 December count; arrears without a reminder do not block the switch (priminfo; KVG art. 64a; KVV art. 105l).
• Supplementary insurance: these are separate contracts with their own notice periods; some have a minimum term of several years and six months’ notice (priminfo). Your insurer may not force you to cancel them, nor cancel them just because you change your basic insurance (KVG art. 7). Do not cancel the old policy before the new one is confirmed: for supplementary cover an insurer may refuse you, and a cancelled policy cannot always be taken out again (priminfo; Budgetberatung Schweiz).
• Premium reduction: on a modest income your canton can pay part of the premium straight to the insurer. Each canton decides: in some it is automatic, in others you must apply (priminfo; Budgetberatung Schweiz).
• Switching on 1 July: only if you have basic insurance with the ordinary deductible (CHF 300 for adults, 0 for children) and free choice of care provider; the insurer must receive your notice by 31 March at the latest (three months’ notice). It is not possible with a higher deductible, with a PRAXIS, TEL_DIG, FLEX or PHARM model or with bonus insurance (priminfo FAQ; KVG art. 7).

How do you keep premiums and groceries together in your budget?

The basic insurance premium is one of the biggest fixed costs: on average a household pays CHF 689 a month in basic health insurance premiums and spends CHF 638 on food and non-alcoholic drinks at home (FSO, 2023). Put 15 and 30 November in your calendar, write the 2027 premium next to the current one in your fixed-costs list (monthly premium × 12 = yearly cost) and carry the total into your budget. Related guides: the list of fixed costs, how to reduce fixed costs, the average household expenses, how to make a budget and the household deadlines calendar.

For groceries only, you can keep track in Rappn, a free Swiss app (iOS and Android) that compares the current promotions of seven Swiss retailers and turns receipts into a spending overview: you photograph a receipt, upload it from your gallery or enter a purchase by hand, and the app sorts your purchases into categories and shows your spending by month, next to your own monthly average; you can export your receipts as PDF or CSV. Rappn does not cover rent, insurance or taxes. Rappn is building an AI assistant for groceries: you can join the waitlist.