# Switching health insurer: the autumn checklist with sample letter > Switching health insurer — the autumn checklist: read the premium letter, compare correctly, cancel by end of November, check the new policy. Sample letter. Source: https://easyall.ch/en/ratgeber/krankenkasse-wechseln-checkliste Updated: 2026-11-12 **In short** (as of 09.10.2026): To switch insurer on 1 January 2027, your cancellation of basic insurance must reach your current insurer by Monday, 30 November 2026; what counts is receipt, not the postmark (Art. 7 para. 2 KVG). The safe order: compare and apply to the new insurer first, then cancel. Cancel a supplementary insurance only once the new insurer has confirmed acceptance in writing. Every autumn the premium notice lands in your letterbox — and with it the question: stay or switch? This checklist takes you through the switching season in five steps: read your premium letter, compare using the right key parameters, cancel on time and check your new policy. Including a sample letter for cancelling basic insurance. ## Step 1: Read your premium letter — what the autumn letter tells you The FOPH published the 2027 premiums on 29 September 2026. By the end of October, your insurer will inform you of your new premium. Take this notice seriously: it shows in black and white what you will pay in the new year — and whether a comparison is particularly worthwhile. Important if your premium rises: there is a special right of cancellation (Art. 7 para. 2 KVG). The cancellation must reach the insurer one month before the new premium takes effect — so for the usual increase as of 1 January, by 30 November. The autumn letters about supplementary insurance are also worth a close look: in the event of a [premium increase](https://easyall.ch/en/ratgeber/sonderkuendigungsrecht-praemienerhoehung), many AVB grant an extraordinary right of cancellation. ## Step 2: Compare — but with identical key parameters The benefits of basic insurance are identical by law at every insurer — with the same key parameters, it is therefore mainly the premium in the right model that makes the difference. To make sure the comparison is accurate, check four points: - Same [deductible](https://easyall.ch/en/ratgeber/franchise-waehlen): adults choose between CHF 300 and 2'500, children between CHF 0 and 600. - Same model: standard (free choice of doctor), family doctor, HMO or telemedicine — [cost-saving models](https://easyall.ch/en/ratgeber/hausarzt-hmo-telmed) give a discount on the premium but oblige you to follow the treatment pathway. - Same [accident cover](https://easyall.ch/en/ratgeber/unfalldeckung-krankenkasse): if you are employed for at least 8 hours a week, you are insured against accidents through your employer (UVG) and can exclude accident cover from basic insurance (OKP) — this lowers the premium. - [Review deductible and model at the same time](https://easyall.ch/en/ratgeber/krankenkassenmodell-wechseln): both can also be changed with your own insurer as of 1 January — report a lower deductible by the end of November; most insurers accept a higher one until the end of December. ## Step 3: Apply first, then cancel Switching basic insurance is risk-free: every insurer operating in your region must accept you without a health check (Art. 5 let. i KVAG), and your cover continues without interruption. Even so, the safe order applies: first apply to the new insurer, then cancel the old one. Supplementary insurance is quite different: there, the insurer decides after a health check, and at most insurers the cancellation must arrive as early as 30 September. Only cancel existing [supplementary insurance](https://easyall.ch/en/ratgeber/zusatzversicherung-kuendigen) once you have the new insurer's written acceptance confirmation — and ideally submit the new application by mid-August, so that there is room for the acceptance confirmation and the 14-day revocation period before the deadline. ## Step 4: Cancel — what counts is receipt, not the postmark To switch as of 1 January, your cancellation must reach your current insurer by the end of November. Don't rely on the postmark: what counts is receipt. A registered letter that arrives on the last working day of November at the latest is recommended — plan in some buffer. Two pitfalls: amounts you received a reminder for by 30 November prevent the switch if they are not paid, including debt collection costs, by 31 December (Art. 105l KVV). And if you [miss the deadline](https://easyall.ch/en/ratgeber/krankenkasse-kuendigung-verpasst), you stay with your current insurer until the next ordinary date; with the standard model and a CHF 300 deductible, a switch as of 1 July is at least also possible (three months' notice, receipt by the end of March). ## Sample letter: cancelling basic insurance The cancellation does not need any particular style — it just has to be unambiguous and arrive in time. A proven template: “Registered mail — [Name of health insurer], [Insurer's address]. Subject: Cancellation of basic insurance as of 31 December 2026, insured person number [number]. Dear Sir or Madam, I hereby cancel my compulsory basic insurance (KVG) as of 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027 I will be insured with another health insurer. Please confirm receipt of this cancellation to me in writing. Yours faithfully, [First name Last name], [Street, postcode town], [Place, date, signature]” If several family members are cancelling, list each insured person with their name and insured person number. If you sign up via easyall, you can skip the letter: the [cancellation letter](https://easyall.ch/en/ratgeber/kuendigung-krankenkasse-musterbrief) is created automatically together with your application. ## Step 5: Check your new policy — and wrap up properly Check your new policy as soon as it arrives: are the deductible, model, accident cover and the start on 1 January correct? Keep paying your old insurer's premiums until the end of the year — your old insurance only ends with a valid cancellation. If you then receive invoices from both insurers, clarify the reason at once: double insurance is excluded in basic insurance (BGE 130 V 448). That's the season done. If you want to complete your autumn check, review your supplementary insurance at the same time: easyall compares cover before price. ## FAQ ### By when must the cancellation reach my old health insurer? To switch as of 1 January, the cancellation must reach your current insurer by the end of November — what counts is receipt, not the postmark. Recommended: by registered mail, on the last working day of November at the latest. If your premium rises as of 1 January, the special right of cancellation also applies (Art. 7 para. 2 KVG): the cancellation must arrive one month before the new premium takes effect — so also by 30 November. ### Can I switch if I still have unpaid premium invoices? That depends on the reminder. For a switch as of 1 January, premiums, cost sharing and default interest you received a reminder for by 30 November must be paid, including debt collection costs, by 31 December; for a switch as of 1 July, those up to 31 May by 30 June. Otherwise the cancellation has no effect (Art. 64a para. 6 KVG; Art. 105l KVV). Arrears without a reminder do not prevent a switch, but you still owe them. Arrears only for your children do not block your own switch, but they do block the children's. ### Does the checklist also apply to supplementary insurance? Only in part — the deadlines there are earlier: at most insurers, the cancellation must arrive by 30 September, and many products have minimum terms; every supplementary health insurance can be cancelled at the latest as of the end of the third year (revVVG Art. 35a, three months' notice, in text form). In addition, only cancel once you have the new insurer's written acceptance confirmation. ### Am I insured without a gap when I switch? Yes. In basic insurance, insurers are obliged to accept you without a health check, and your cover continues without interruption when you switch. Even so, check your new policy and keep paying your old insurer's premiums until the end of the year. ## Sources - [Press release on the 2027 health insurance premiums (in German)](https://www.admin.ch/de/newnsb/BfuGvedj0OOX) – Federal Council, FDHA and FOPH, 29.09.2026 - [Fact sheet "Changing health insurer – information for insured persons" (PDF in German)](https://www.bag.admin.ch/dam/de/sd-web/92VbSMPCd--v/PG27-FB-Versichererwechsel_DE.pdf) – Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), 29.09.2026 - [BGE 130 V 448: change of insurer, no double insurance (in German)](https://search.bger.ch/ext/eurospider/live/de/php/clir/http/index.php?lang=de&type=show_document&highlight_docid=atf://130-V-448:de) – Swiss Federal Supreme Court - [Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG), SR 832.10 – official text in German](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/1328_1328_1328/de) – Fedlex, Classified Compilation of Federal Legislation - [Health Insurance Ordinance (KVV), SR 832.102 – official text in German](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1995/3867_3867_3867/de) – Fedlex, Classified Compilation of Federal Legislation - [Taking out, changing and cancelling health insurance](https://www.ch.ch/en/health/health-insurance/health-insurance-taking-out--changing--cancelling/) – ch.ch, Confederation, cantons and communes - [Priminfo: premium calculator 2027 (in German)](https://www.priminfo.admin.ch/de/praemien) – Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH)