# Switching health insurer: deadlines

You want to switch health insurer for your compulsory basic insurance. This guide shows which notice periods apply, when a termination is in time, what restrictions a higher deductible or a family doctor, HMO or telmed model bring, when outstanding bills block a switch, and when the old insurance actually ends.

This guide covers: Switching insurer for compulsory basic health insurance under the KVG and the KVV: the two ways of giving notice, the notice period and when a termination is in time, the restrictions that apply with a higher deductible or a special insurance model, the block where premiums are outstanding, the point at which the old insurance ends, the new insurer's duty to accept you, and the effect on any existing supplementary insurance.

Not covered: This guide does not cover choosing a particular deductible or insurance model as such, disputes over the amount of premiums or benefits, the objection and appeal procedure against rulings of the insurer, the situation of people resident abroad (EU, Iceland, Norway, United Kingdom), or the terms of a supplementary insurance itself.

## Your answers

- Why do you want to switch health insurer? (I just want to switch, without any particular reason / My insurer has announced a higher premium / I am moving house or starting a new job / My insurer is giving up basic insurance or losing its licence / I don't know)
- Have you chosen a higher deductible than the lowest one available? (Yes, a higher deductible / No, the lowest deductible / I don't know)
- Are you insured under a model with restricted choice of doctor (for example a family doctor, HMO or telmed model)? (Yes / No, under the standard model / I don't know)
- Do you have outstanding premiums or cost-sharing amounts with your current insurer that you have been reminded about, or is debt enforcement already under way? (Yes / No, everything is paid / I don't know exactly)
- Do you also have supplementary insurance with your current insurer? (Yes / No, or with a different insurer / I don't know)

## Watch out

For the notice period, what counts is not the day you post the letter, but the moment the termination actually reaches the insurer. A letter you only hand to the post office on the last day of the time limit usually arrives too late and does not meet the deadline. So send your termination in good time before the deadline. A registered letter is not required by law, but it will help you later to prove when the termination arrived. If the termination arrives too late, it is not invalid, but only takes effect on the next possible date.

Sources: [KVG · Art. 7](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/1328_1328_1328/de#art_7), [BGer K_39/00 vom 16. Mai 2001, E. 5](https://mcp.opencaselaw.ch/entscheid/bger_K_39_00#e-5)

If you have to leave your insurer because you are moving house or starting a new job, the insurance relationship ends already at the time of the move or of starting the job. You do not need to observe either the three-month or the one-month notice period for this.

*Applies if: Why do you want to switch health insurer? → I am moving house or starting a new job*

Sources: [KVG · Art. 7](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/1328_1328_1328/de#art_7)

If your insurer voluntarily stops providing basic insurance or loses its licence to do so, your insurance relationship ends when the licence is withdrawn. In this case, arrange a new insurer in good time so that no gap in cover arises.

*Applies if: Why do you want to switch health insurer? → My insurer is giving up basic insurance or losing its licence*

Sources: [KVG · Art. 7](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/1328_1328_1328/de#art_7)

As long as you have not paid outstanding premiums, cost-sharing amounts, default interest or debt enforcement costs with your current insurer in full, you generally cannot switch insurer. The Federal Supreme Court has interpreted this rule strictly. Since 2024 and 2025, however, there are exceptions, for example for debts from the time when you were a minor, or if the canton has taken over the insurer's claims. So clarify with the insurer or the Ombudsman's Office before giving notice whether outstanding amounts are blocking your switch, and settle them in full if possible, or agree on instalments.

*Applies if: Do you have outstanding premiums or cost-sharing amounts with your current insurer that you have been reminded about, or is debt enforcement already under way? → Yes / I don't know exactly*

Sources: [BGE 144 V 380, E. 6.2.1](https://mcp.opencaselaw.ch/entscheid/bge_BGE_144_V_380#e-6-2-1)

Your termination alone does not yet end the insurance relationship with your current insurer. It only ends once the new insurer tells the current one that you are insured there without a gap. Until this notification has arrived, you remain insured, and liable to pay premiums, with your current insurer. If the notification only reaches the current insurer after your notice period has expired, the old insurance relationship only ends at the end of the month in which this late notification arrived there. If the new insurer fails to give notification at all, it must compensate you for the resulting loss, in particular any difference in premiums. So do not hastily cancel further contracts or payments with the old insurer while you do not yet have confirmation of acceptance from the new insurer.

Sources: [KVG · Art. 7](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/1328_1328_1328/de#art_7), [BGE 127 V 38, E. 4](https://mcp.opencaselaw.ch/entscheid/bge_BGE_127_V_38#e-4)

Supplementary insurance is a private-law contract under the Insurance Contract Act and is legally separate from basic insurance (Art. 2 para. 2 KVAG). The duty to accept does not apply to it: the new insurer can refuse an application for supplementary insurance or attach reservations, for example because of existing health problems. Your current insurer may not force you to also terminate your supplementary insurance with it when you switch basic insurance, and may not terminate it for that reason alone (Art. 7 paras. 7 and 8 KVG). So you can switch basic insurance and keep your supplementary insurance. Only terminate an existing supplementary insurance once it is clear whether, and on what terms, a new insurer will accept you for it.

*Applies if: Do you also have supplementary insurance with your current insurer? → Yes / I don't know*

Sources: [KVG · Art. 7](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/1328_1328_1328/de#art_7), [KVAG · Art. 2](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2015/839/de#art_2)

## What to do

**1.** Compare the premiums and models of different insurers before giving notice, for example using the federal government's premium calculator. Check whether the new insurer even offers the deductible and the insurance model you want, and get written confirmation before finally relying on a switch.

## The law

You can switch health insurer for basic insurance at any time for the end of a calendar half-year, that is, for 30 June or 31 December. A notice period of three months applies: your termination must reach your current insurer by 31 March at the latest (for 30 June) or by 30 September at the latest (for 31 December). The law does not prescribe any particular form; a signed letter of termination is enough.

Sources: [KVG · Art. 7](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/1328_1328_1328/de#art_7)

If your insurer increases the premium, it must tell you the new premium, approved by the Federal Office of Public Health, at least two months in advance, and must point out your right to switch insurer. You can then switch with one month's notice, for the end of the month before the new premium takes effect. If the new premium applies, for example, from 1 January, your termination must reach the insurer by the end of November at the latest.

Sources: [KVG · Art. 7](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/1328_1328_1328/de#art_7)

If you have chosen a higher deductible than the lowest one available, or are insured under a model with restricted choice of doctor (for example a family doctor, HMO or telmed model), an additional restriction applies: an ordinary switch of insurer, deductible or model only takes effect at the start of a calendar year, that is, on 1 January, even if you gave notice in time for the end of June. The three-month and one-month notice periods still apply unchanged.

Sources: [KVV · Art. 94](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/3867_3867_3867/de#art_94), [KVV · Art. 100](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/3867_3867_3867/de#art_100)

If you switch insurer because a premium increase was announced to you, because you are moving house or changing job, or because your current insurer is losing its licence, the year-end restriction does not apply: the switch then also takes effect during the year. You keep your previous deductible, provided the new insurer also offers it.

Sources: [KVV · Art. 94](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/3867_3867_3867/de#art_94), [KVV · Art. 100](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/3867_3867_3867/de#art_100)

Every insurer licensed to operate basic insurance must, within its area of activity, accept every person subject to the insurance obligation. This applies regardless of age, state of health or pre-existing conditions, and is a condition for the insurer's licence. The new insurer may therefore not refuse you for basic insurance.

Sources: [KVAG · Art. 5](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2015/839/de#art_5)

## Costs

Regardless of which insurer you are with, the cantons reduce the premiums of basic insurance for people with modest income; switching insurer does not change this entitlement.

Sources: [KVG · Art. 65](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/1328_1328_1328/de#art_65)

## Advice

If your insurer disputes that your termination arrived in time, if it is unclear whether a certificate of unpaid debt is blocking your switch, or if the insurer relies on the fact that you may not switch during the year because of a higher deductible or a special model, although an exception might apply to you: in these cases, get personal advice before assuming a switch is valid or stopping payments.

## Help

The Health Insurance Ombudsman's Office clarifies misunderstandings and disputes between insured people and health insurers free of charge and neutrally, including on the question of whether a termination was made in time and was valid. You can turn to it before involving a lawyer.

## Sources

- [KVG · Art. 7](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/1328_1328_1328/de#art_7)
- [KVAG · Art. 5](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2015/839/de#art_5)
- [KVV · Art. 94](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/3867_3867_3867/de#art_94)
- [KVV · Art. 100](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/3867_3867_3867/de#art_100)
- [KVG · Art. 65](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/1328_1328_1328/de#art_65)
- [BGer K_39/00 vom 16. Mai 2001, E. 5](https://mcp.opencaselaw.ch/entscheid/bger_K_39_00#e-5)
- [BGE 127 V 38, E. 4](https://mcp.opencaselaw.ch/entscheid/bge_BGE_127_V_38#e-4)
- [BGE 144 V 380, E. 6.2.1](https://mcp.opencaselaw.ch/entscheid/bge_BGE_144_V_380#e-6-2-1)
- [KVAG · Art. 2](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2015/839/de#art_2)

## Official information

- [Compare premiums (priminfo.admin.ch)](https://www.priminfo.admin.ch/de/praemien)
- [Health Insurance Ombudsman's Office](https://om-kv.ch/)

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Statute texts checked on 28 September 2026. General legal information. It does not replace individual advice.

https://swisslaw.io/en/health/switching/ · swisslaw.io, health.switching, 2026-09-28 · CC BY 4.0