Finding the right health insurance that meets all your personal needs is not easy. At the latest 3 months after arriving in Switzerland, you are obliged to conclude a compulsory basic health insurance agreement with an insurance company of your choice. Usually the premium of the basic insurance must be back paid to the date of arrival, or in case you are over the 3 months date line there’s even a fine that must be paid.
We can help you to avoid the penalties and even skip the first 3 months of payments.
Regarding the compulsory part, there are some figures that need to be chosen by you. The deductible for adults ranges from CHF 0 to CHF 2’500 and defines how much of your yearly treatment expenses are covered fully by you. The price difference between the higher and lower deductible is around CHF 120 per month, so the lower your deductible, the higher the monthly premium. Usually, children have a CHF 0 deductible until the age of 18. After having reached your deductible, you will still have to participate in compensation for losses, but only 10% of the treatment costs at a maximum of CHF 700 per year for adults and CHF 350 for children under 18 years.
Besides deciding which deductible fits your needs, you also need to determine which health insurance model is best for you. There are four different models: The standard model gives you the right to choose any doctor, including specialists, at will. With the family doctor model, your first visit in case of illness is made to your family doctor, to whom you are assigned. If you decide for the HMO model, your first visit is made to a family doctor at a medical center. With the telemedicine model, you will have to call the medical center, and talk to them about your symptoms before proceeding to a doctor if necessary.
Another component of the compulsory basic health insurance is the accident insurance. If you work less than eight hours per week, you are not insured by your employer and need to include this option into your healthcare plan.
We also highly recommend you conclude the supplementary insurances, which includes the outpatient and the inpatient parts. To get these parts you must fulfil a health questionnaire – we can help you to do it right! Be careful as it can be tricky, and your application can be refused.
The outpatient part is important for the worldwide coverage, transportation, alternative medicine like osteopath, homeopath, sport massages and more, glasses, participation to the gym membership, braces for the children, more frequent gynecological check-ups, general check-ups and more.
The inpatient (hospital) insurance can be done in four options:
As you see, when choosing a health insurance, there is a lot to consider. Furthermore, not every insurance company uses English as correspondence language. Since we cooperate with all of their offices and know everything about health insurance, get in touch with us for a personal consultation.
