Missed Swiss health insurance deadline: what now?

Missed the cancellation deadline: what happens to your cancellation?

If your cancellation is too late, the switch on 1 January 2027 does not take place (BGE 130 V 448): you stay with your current insurer. If 30 November 2026 has not yet passed, the guide to switching insurer and the sample letter will help.

What counts is receipt by the insurer during normal business hours, not the postmark. Once the deadline has passed, according to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the insurer may no longer accept a cancellation for that date (health insurance ombudsman office, annual report 2024). In judgment K 26/05, a letter posted on Saturday, 29 November 2003 arrived on Monday, 1 December; the family remained liable for premiums even though the new insurer had already reported them as insured.

The cancellation is not without effect, though: it applies to the next possible date (judgment K 39/00; BGE 126 V 480). Even then, your insurance only ends once the new insurer has informed your current one that it covers you without interruption (Art. 7 para. 5 KVG). Here is how to proceed:

1. 1Check immediately with your current insurer whether and when the cancellation arrived, and get written confirmation of the date for which it is recording it. If in doubt, cancel again before the next date.
2. 2If the new insurer or its tied intermediary forwarded the cancellation too late despite promising to do so, the insurer owes you damages, according to the health insurance ombudsman office (Ombudsstelle Krankenversicherung); with an untied intermediary, all that remains is a civil claim against that intermediary.
3. 3If you disagree with the insurer's decision, ask for a written formal decision (Verfügung); you can lodge an objection (Einsprache) against it free of charge within 30 days (Art. 49 and 52 ATSG). The ombudsman office advises free of charge but does not interrupt any deadlines.

Cancelling your health insurance: which deadline is next?

With the standard model and the ordinary deductible, it is 31 March 2027 for the July switch. Otherwise, it is 30 November 2027 for 1 January 2028, including for a lower deductible and for leaving a cost-saving model (Art. 94 para. 2 and Art. 100 para. 3 KVV). According to the ombudsman office, a lower deductible reported too late has no effect; report it again.

Who can switch on 1 July 2027?

Only people insured in the standard model with the ordinary deductible: CHF 300 for adults, none for children (Art. 7 para. 1 KVG; Art. 94, 97 and 100 KVV). According to the ombudsman office, the insurer checks this person by person, so in a family one member can switch and another cannot.

With the new insurer, you can choose a cost-saving model as of 1 July, but a higher deductible only as of the following 1 January. The new insurer credits the deductible and co-payment already invoiced in the same year (Art. 103 para. 4 KVV); ask your previous insurer for confirmation of these.

What can you still change without switching insurer?

Three steps remain open even after 30 November 2026. After the first two, the July switch is no longer possible, and you can only go back as of 1 January 2028. To work out what difference the model and deductible make at your insurer, use Priminfo, the FOPH's premium calculator.

• Cost-saving model: you can move from the standard model at any time, even with an optional deductible (Art. 100 para. 2 KVV). Ask your insurer from when this applies and whether it offers the model where you live.
• Higher deductible: only possible as of 1 January, including in a cost-saving model (Art. 94 para. 1 KVV). For 2027, according to the FOPH, report it in writing by 31 December 2026, preferably by mid-December.
• Accident cover: if you work for one employer for at least eight hours a week, you can have it suspended on written request with proof, at the earliest from the following month; the premium falls (Art. 8 KVG; Art. 11 KVV; Art. 13 UVV).

Are there exceptions, for example if your premium rises?

Not for a rise as of 1 January: in that case, 30 November already is the deadline under Art. 7 para. 2 KVG. Otherwise:

• Premium notified on time but read too late, for example in the customer portal: according to the ombudsman office, the deadline stays 30 November.
• Premium notified only after October: according to the ombudsman office, you can cancel within one month of the notice, as of the end of the following month. You owe the higher premium until then; you can claim a premium difference from your previous insurer as damage (Art. 7 para. 6 KVG).
• New premium during the year (rare): if it applies from 1 August, cancel by 30 June as of 31 July, even with an optional deductible or a cost-saving model (Art. 7 para. 2 KVG; Art. 94 and 100 KVV).
• Moving house or changing from the child to the adult premium: a premium that rises for this reason gives you no special cancellation right.
• You have to leave the insurer, according to the ombudsman office for example if you move out of its area of operation or because your new job forces you into a collective insurance scheme, or the insurer stops offering basic insurance: your insurance ends without a notice period (Art. 7 paras. 3 and 4 KVG).

What applies to supplementary insurance?

The 30 November deadline does not apply to it: supplementary insurance policies have their own notice periods in the general terms and conditions (AVB). By law, the contract can be cancelled as of the end of the third year and of every following year with three months' notice, earlier only if this has been agreed (Art. 35a paras. 1 and 2 VVG). According to the ombudsman office, a premium rise can be a ground for special cancellation, but only for the supplementary insurance concerned.

If you switch only your basic insurance, your current insurer may neither force you to cancel your supplementary insurance as well nor cancel it for this reason alone (Art. 7 paras. 7 and 8 KVG). New supplementary insurance is not guaranteed: after the health assessment, the insurer may reject you or exclude individual benefits.

How do you prepare for the next date?

Here is how to be ready:

1. 1Unpaid invoices: amounts you received a reminder for must be paid, including debt collection costs, otherwise the cancellation has no effect (Art. 105l KVV). For the July switch, reminders up to 31 May count, with payment by 30 June; for the January switch, reminders up to 30 November, with payment by 31 December. Arrears without a reminder do not prevent a switch.
2. 2Comparison: for 1 January 2028, compare in the easyall calculator as soon as the approved premiums are known, according to Priminfo at the end of September.
3. 3New insurer: apply at the latest when you cancel, and name your current insurer.
4. 4Cancellation: send it by registered mail by mid-March or mid-November and keep the receipt.
5. 5Supplementary insurance: if the AVB set the end of the year as the date, the statutory notice period means 30 September 2027.