Insuring your newborn correctly: why taking out cover before birth is decisive

Basic insurance: compulsory from the first day of life

For newborns, compulsory basic insurance (OKP) applies from birth. Your child must be registered with a health insurer within 3 months; insurance cover and the obligation to pay premiums then apply retroactively from the date of birth. Every insurer operating in your region must accept your child without a health assessment (Art. 5 let. i KVAG). By law, the benefits are identical everywhere, so what matters is the premium and the model. As long as the healthy newborn stays in hospital with the mother, its care is covered by the mother's maternity benefits.

Children pay considerably lower premiums than adults. The deductible ranges from CHF 0 to 600; for babies, CHF 0 usually makes sense, as check-ups and doctor's visits are frequent. The co-payment is at most CHF 350 a year, and the hospital contribution of CHF 15 a day does not apply to children. From the third child on, many insurers grant additional discounts. Accident cover must be included, as children have no accident insurance through an employer.

Supplementary insurance: before the birth, there is no health assessment

Supplementary insurance under the VVG is voluntary and subject to private law: the insurer may ask health questions, add reservations or reject an application altogether. This is exactly where the value of taking out cover before birth lies: if you register your child during the pregnancy, there is no health assessment, and the child is accepted without reservations, regardless of how the birth goes.

After the birth, the situation is reversed: even minor findings or complications at birth can lead to reservations or rejections. Taking out cover before birth is therefore one of the few moments when you can secure insurance cover in advance. Choose deliberately: many products have minimum terms of several years (often 3 years). By law, every supplementary health insurance can be cancelled at the end of the third year at the latest and annually thereafter (revVVG Art. 35a, 3 months' notice); the general terms and conditions (AVB) of the product are decisive.

Which cover is worth considering for children

What makes sense depends on your priorities and budget. Typical building blocks for children are:

• Outpatient supplements: higher contributions to glasses and contact lenses (the OKP only reimburses CHF 180 a year for children), rescue and transport, cover abroad, and in some cases contributions to prevention.
• Hospital supplement: free choice of hospital throughout Switzerland (“general ward, whole of Switzerland”) up to semi-private or private, without reservations when taken out before birth.
• Dental supplement: the OKP does not pay for orthodontic corrections and braces. Dental insurance often has waiting periods and later an assessment of the state of the teeth, so taking it out long before it is needed, ideally before the birth, is decisive.
• Complementary medicine: complementary treatment by non-medical therapists is only covered by a corresponding supplementary insurance.

Step by step: how to proceed

A realistic timetable for expectant parents:

Handy: in the easyall calculator, you enter the whole family in one comparison and submit everything in one application. Health questions are only asked where they are needed, and children do not sign.

• From the second trimester: compare supplementary insurance, looking at benefits, waiting periods and minimum terms, not just the premium.
• Apply before birth: submit the application with the expected due date and keep the written confirmation of acceptance.
• After the birth: give the insurer your child's name and date of birth so that the policy is issued definitively; complete the OKP registration within 3 months, the earlier the better.
• Check the policy: check the deductible, included accident cover and all supplementary cover applied for.

Think of yourself too: maternity and your own cover

The OKP covers check-ups, the birth and aftercare; no cost sharing applies to these maternity benefits. From the 13th week of pregnancy until 8 weeks after the birth, the mother also pays no deductible and no co-payment for general benefits and nursing care in the event of illness (Art. 64 para. 7 KVG).

If you want a two-bed room or a free choice of doctor for the birth, you need your own supplementary hospital insurance, and here the rule is: many insurers impose restrictions once a pregnancy is already under way, so take out such cover as early as possible. Golden rule for every switch: only cancel your existing supplementary insurance once you have the new insurer's written confirmation of acceptance.

2027 premiums: check a switch for the whole family

The 2027 premiums approved by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) have been published since 29 September 2026, and the switching season is now under way: if you want to switch your child's basic insurance (or your own) as of 1 January 2027, your cancellation must reach your current insurer by the end of November.

For your newborn, this means: the OKP starts from birth regardless, and in the autumn it is worth taking a fresh look at the whole family. easyall compares cover first.