When can I cancel my Swiss health insurance?

Arrival counts — not the postmark

What matters is the day your cancellation arrives at the insurer, not the postmark. The Federal Office of Public Health recommends sending the written cancellation by registered mail or A-Post Plus by mid-November, so you have proof of delivery. Official template letters are available on priminfo.admin.ch.

Changing your deductible or insurance model

Deductible (franchise) and model changes follow their own deadlines (Art. 94 and 100 of the Health Insurance Ordinance, KVV):

• Raising your deductible: only from the start of a calendar year; written notice to your insurer by 31 December.
• Lowering your deductible: only from the start of the next year; the notice must reach your insurer by the end of November.
• Leaving a managed-care model (family doctor, HMO, telemedicine): only at year-end, notice by the end of November.
• Joining a managed-care model: possible at any time.

Which deductibles exist?

The standard deductible for adults is CHF 300 per calendar year; the optional higher levels are CHF 500, 1'000, 1'500, 2'000 and 2'500. Children have no standard deductible; optional levels run from CHF 100 to 600. A proposal to raise the minimum deductible is currently only in the legislative process — nothing has been decided, and CHF 300 continues to apply.

Supplementary insurance: separate rules

Basic and supplementary insurance are legally separate. When you switch basic insurers, your current insurer may neither force you to cancel your supplementary policies nor cancel them itself just because you are leaving (KVG Art. 7 para. 7 and 8).

Supplementary policies fall under the Insurance Contract Act (VVG): since the 2022 revision, you can cancel any policy at the end of the third policy year and annually thereafter, with three months' notice, in writing or in text form (VVG Art. 35a). Your exact notice periods are in your policy conditions — some contracts set up to six months.

From our advisory practice: only cancel a supplementary policy once the new insurer has confirmed your acceptance in writing. Unlike basic insurance, a supplementary insurer may ask health questions, impose exclusions or decline your application. For basic insurance, admission is mandatory: every insurer must accept you unconditionally, without waiting periods and without health questions.

What else to know

You cannot end up uninsured: by law, your old basic-insurance relationship only ends once the new insurer has confirmed seamless coverage to the old one (KVG Art. 7 para. 5).

If you have unpaid premiums or cost shares that have been formally reminded, you generally cannot switch insurers until they are settled; the law provides for limited exceptions (KVG Art. 64a).

Based on the pattern of previous years, the 2027 premiums are expected at the end of September 2026; your insurer must notify you of your new premium by the end of October. That notification opens the switching window.