What is interim accident insurance?
Interim accident insurance extends compulsory UVG insurance against non-occupational accidents by up to six months. Every UVG insurer must offer it (Art. 3 para. 3 UVG): besides Suva, this includes private insurance companies, public accident insurance funds and health insurers that provide insurance under the UVG (Art. 68 para. 1 UVG).
Only non-occupational accidents are covered, i.e. accidents in your free time, not occupational accidents. The benefits are the same as under compulsory non-occupational accident insurance, and the cover also applies abroad.
How long does accident insurance last after termination of employment?
UVG insurance ends on the 31st day after the day on which your entitlement to at least half your salary ends (Art. 3 para. 2 UVG). So what counts is not the termination but the end of your salary entitlement, also in the case of unpaid leave. This continued cover is free of charge.
Salary also includes daily allowances that replace continued salary payments, as well as compensation under the Loss of Earnings Compensation Act, for example for maternity, but not severance payments (Art. 7 UVV). According to Suva, sickness daily allowances paid beyond the termination date no longer count as wage replacement.
An example: if your salary entitlement ends on 31 December 2026, 1 January 2027 is the first day and 31 January 2027 the 31st day after it. You are insured up to and including that day, and interim accident insurance must be taken out by then (Art. 8 UVV). If your salary entitlement ends on 31 March, the 31st day is 1 May, because April has 30 days.
How do you take out interim accident insurance, and what does it cost?
You take out interim accident insurance with the insurer that last insured you against non-occupational accidents; your employer knows which one that is. With a UVG insurer other than Suva, ask that insurer about the premium and conditions; the information on Suva is as of 1 November 2026.
- Meet the deadline: interim accident insurance must be arranged before your non-occupational accident insurance ends, i.e. on the 31st day of continued cover at the latest (Art. 8 UVV); with Suva, it must also be paid by then. It cannot be taken out later.
- Choose the duration: at most six consecutive months, with Suva at least one month, extendable month by month. Suva's interim accident insurance cannot be cancelled and premiums are not refunded; Suva therefore recommends taking it out only for the period you are sure to need.
- Take it out and pay online: with Suva, you can do this at suva.ch/interim-insurance for CHF 65 a month, including partial months; six months cost 6 × CHF 65 = CHF 390. After payment, you receive an insurance certificate that can be used internationally.
Interim accident insurance or health insurance: what is the difference?
The difference lies in the benefits. Without interim accident insurance, accidents are automatically covered by the accident cover of your basic insurance as soon as your UVG cover ends (Art. 8 para. 2 KVG). Basic insurance then pays the costs of the same benefits as for illness (Art. 28 KVG), with deductible and co-payment, but pays neither daily allowances nor pensions.
In francs: with the ordinary deductible, adults pay at most CHF 300 + CHF 700 co-payment = CHF 1'000 per calendar year, with the highest deductible CHF 2'500 + CHF 700 = CHF 3'200, plus CHF 15 per day in hospital; this applies to illness and accident combined.
| Feature | Interim accident insurance (UVG) | Basic insurance (KVG) |
|---|---|---|
| Cost sharing | no deductible, no co-payment | deductible, 10% co-payment and hospital contribution (Art. 64 KVG) |
| Daily allowance | 80% of insured earnings if you are fully unable to work, from the third day after the day of the accident (Art. 16 and 17 UVG) | none |
| Pensions and compensation | disability pension from a degree of disability of 10% (Art. 18 para. 1 UVG), integrity compensation and helplessness allowance, survivors' pensions | none |
| Rescue and transport | necessary costs (Art. 13 UVG), abroad currently at most CHF 29'640, one fifth of CHF 148'200 (Art. 20 and 22 UVV) | rescues in Switzerland at 50%, at most CHF 5'000 a year; patient transport at 50%, at most CHF 500 a year (Art. 26 and 27 KLV) |
| Duration | at most six consecutive months | no maximum duration, as long as you have no UVG cover |
| Cost | with Suva, CHF 65 a month | included in the premium; a suspension lowers it by at most 7% (Art. 91a para. 4 KVV) |
Who can take out interim accident insurance: typical cases
You can take out interim accident insurance if you were last insured against non-occupational accidents: if you worked at least eight hours a week for one employer (Art. 13 para. 1 UVV), received unemployment benefits or took part in integration measures of the disability insurance (IV).
- Changing jobs with a gap: if you start a new job of at least eight hours a week within 31 days, you do not need to do anything; if there are more than 31 days in between, Suva recommends interim accident insurance.
- Unpaid leave, a sabbatical or further training without salary: continued cover starts when your salary entitlement ends, even if your employment continues; interim accident insurance extends the cover by up to six months.
- A long trip after leaving your job or during unpaid leave: interim accident insurance applies worldwide, but abroad with limits for medical treatment and rescue; Suva therefore recommends private supplementary insurance. What basic insurance pays abroad is explained in the guide health insurance abroad.
- End of unemployment benefits, for example when your entitlement runs out (Aussteuerung): interim accident insurance is possible within 31 days of the last day of entitlement.
- Fewer than eight hours a week: you were not insured against accidents in your free time through your employer; you therefore have no continued cover and cannot take out interim accident insurance.
- Self-employment: self-employed people cannot take out interim accident insurance; if they live in Switzerland, however, they can take out voluntary UVG insurance (Art. 4 para. 1 UVG). If there are more than 31 days between employment and self-employment, interim accident insurance is possible for this gap, according to Suva.
- Retirement: interim accident insurance is possible, but accidents after retirement do not give rise to a daily allowance, and a disability pension requires an accident before the reference age (Art. 18 para. 1 UVG). Suva does not offer accident insurance for retired people.
What do you need to report to your health insurer?
Report the end of your UVG cover to your health insurer within one month after your employer or the unemployment insurance has informed you of this in writing (Art. 10 para. 1 KVG; Art. 11 para. 2 KVV). Otherwise, the insurer can retroactively claim the premium share for accident cover, plus default interest, from the end of your UVG cover (Art. 10 para. 2 KVG); accidents are covered even without a report.
While you have interim accident insurance, your health insurer may reduce the premium by the share for accident cover, but does not have to (Art. 91a paras. 3 and 4 KVV). So tell your health insurer about the interim accident insurance and ask; if it ends without a new job, report that too.
Once you have a job again with at least eight hours a week for one employer, you can have the accident cover suspended: on written request with proof of UVG cover, at the earliest from the first day of the month after the request (Art. 8 para. 1 KVG; Art. 11 para. 1 KVV). You can compare premiums with and without accident cover in the easyall calculator.
Frequently asked questions
- Am I still insured against accidents without interim accident insurance?
- Yes. As soon as your UVG cover ends, the basic insurance of your health insurer automatically covers accidents (Art. 8 para. 2 KVG), but as for illness, with deductible and co-payment and without daily allowances or pensions. Interim accident insurance, by contrast, provides daily allowances and pensions, and there is no cost sharing for treatment.
- Can I still take out interim accident insurance after the 31 days?
- No. Interim accident insurance must be taken out before your non-occupational accident insurance ends (Art. 8 UVV), and with Suva it must also be paid by then; if you miss the 31 days, you cannot take it out later. Accidents are then covered by basic insurance, with deductible and co-payment.
- Do I need interim accident insurance if I am unemployed?
- As long as you meet the conditions for unemployment benefits or receive benefits, you do not need interim accident insurance: you are then insured against accidents with Suva, and the unemployment insurance deducts your share of the premium from your benefits (Art. 1a para. 1 let. b, Art. 66 para. 3bis and Art. 91 para. 4 UVG). The cover ends on the 31st day after the last day of entitlement (Art. 3 para. 2 UVG); until then, you can take out interim accident insurance.
- How much does interim accident insurance (Abredeversicherung) cost at Suva?
- Suva charges CHF 65 a month for interim accident insurance, including partial months; six months cost CHF 390 (as of 1 November 2026). Once taken out, it cannot be cancelled and premiums are not refunded, even if you find a job sooner.
- Does interim accident insurance also apply abroad?
- Yes, interim accident insurance applies worldwide. In countries without a social security agreement, however, it pays for medical treatment only up to twice the costs in Switzerland (Art. 17 UVV), which according to Suva is often not enough there; for rescue and transport abroad, there is currently a cap of CHF 29'640 (Art. 20 para. 2 and Art. 22 para. 1 UVV). Suva therefore recommends private supplementary insurance.
Sources
Official sources and legal bases for this guide (external links).
- Interim accident insurance · Suva
- Federal Accident Insurance Act (UVG), SR 832.20 – official text in German · Fedlex, Classified Compilation of Federal Legislation
- Accident Insurance Ordinance (UVV), SR 832.202 – official text in German · Fedlex, Classified Compilation of Federal Legislation
- Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG), SR 832.10 – official text in German · Fedlex, Classified Compilation of Federal Legislation
- Health Insurance Ordinance (KVV), SR 832.102 – official text in German · Fedlex, Classified Compilation of Federal Legislation
- Health Care Benefits Ordinance (KLV), SR 832.112.31 – official text in German · Fedlex, Classified Compilation of Federal Legislation
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