Health insurance for a newborn in Switzerland (2027)

In Switzerland your baby needs its own basic health insurance, and you have three months from the birth to take it out. If you do, cover runs from the day of birth and you pay the premium from that day; if you are late, cover starts only when you join and a surcharge, normally 30% to 50% of the premium, can follow. Children pay no franchise (deductible) unless you choose one, and their co-payment stops at CHF 350 a year, with a lower ceiling for several children at the same insurer.

This page is general information, not insurance or legal advice. It names no insurer and does not say which insurer or franchise to choose. The amounts are those in the federal law as in force on 1 July 2026 and on the federal pages checked on 20 October 2026; we use them for 2027. Below: the deadline and what happens if you miss it, who pays for the first days in hospital, a dated timeline, and a table of the most a family pays in cost sharing for one to four children in 2027.

When do you have to insure a newborn in Switzerland?

Within three months of the birth. The federal health insurance act (KVG) says every person living in Switzerland must take out cover "innert drei Monaten nach der Wohnsitznahme oder der Geburt in der Schweiz" (within three months of taking up residence or of birth in Switzerland), or have it taken out by their legal representative (KVG Art. 3 Abs. 1). For a baby, that is you. The Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) puts it directly: "Dieselbe Frist gilt für Eltern, die ihr neugeborenes Kind bei einem Krankenversicherer anmelden müssen" (the same deadline applies to parents who must register their newborn with a health insurer).

Your baby is not on your policy. "Jedes Familienmitglied muss versichert sein, Erwachsene ebenso wie Kinder (es gibt keine Familienversicherung)" (every family member must be insured, adults as well as children; there is no family insurance). The Grundversicherung (basic insurance) for the baby is a policy of its own, and you can pick any approved insurer.

What happens if you register in time?

Three things follow:

• Cover from birth. "Bei rechtzeitigem Beitritt ... beginnt die Versicherung im Zeitpunkt der Geburt" (KVG Art. 5 Abs. 1), and costs since the birth are refunded back to the start of cover (BAG guide, p. 5).
• Premiums from birth, charged retroactively. You must pay the premiums retroactively to the start of cover.
• Day-exact, not a full month. Insurers "müssen bei einer Geburt für das Kind taggenaue Prämien berechnen" (must charge day-exact premiums for the child at a birth), confirmed in the priminfo FAQ for a baby born at the end of a month.

Cantons must inform the public about compulsory insurance and take particular care that parents of newborns are informed in good time (KVV Art. 10 Abs. 1), but the duty is yours either way. Registering before the birth is also possible: Canton St. Gallen's integration page says "You can take out this insurance before the birth (and no later than 3 months after the birth)" (machine-translated cantonal page).

What happens if you miss the three months?

Three consequences, all in federal law.

1. Cover starts late. "Bei verspätetem Beitritt beginnt die Versicherung im Zeitpunkt des Beitritts" (if you join late, cover starts on the joining date; KVG Art. 5 Abs. 2). Costs before that date "werden von der Versicherung nicht vergütet" (are not refunded by the insurance; BAG guide, p. 5).
2. A Prämienzuschlag (premium surcharge). If the delay is not excusable, the insured person pays a surcharge (KVG Art. 5 Abs. 2). The ordinance sets it: "Der Prämienzuschlag beträgt 30 bis 50 Prozent der Prämie" (the surcharge is 30 to 50% of the premium), charged for a period that "entspricht der doppelten Dauer der Verspätung, höchstens jedoch fünf Jahren" (equals twice the length of the delay, at most five years; KVV Art. 8 Abs. 1). The insurer sets the rate according to your financial situation. If paying it would cause hardship, it "setzt der Versicherer einen Zuschlag von weniger als 30 Prozent fest" (the insurer sets a surcharge below 30%), and no surcharge is charged while a social assistance authority pays the premiums (KVV Art. 8 Abs. 1 and 2).
3. No choice of insurer if you do nothing. The cantonal authority assigns people who do not insure in time to an insurer (KVG Art. 6 Abs. 2). The BAG adds: "In diesem Fall können Sie den Versicherer nicht selbst auswählen" (in that case you cannot choose the insurer yourself).

Hypothetical example, not a real family. A baby is registered after the three-month deadline, and the delay is not excusable. Under KVV Art. 8 Abs. 1 the surcharge runs for twice the length of the delay, at most five years, normally at 30% to 50% of the premium in those months. Any treatment between the birth and the joining date is not refunded by basic insurance. We give no CHF figure because the premium and the rate depend on the insurer.

Who pays for the baby's first days in hospital?

While the baby is healthy and in hospital with the mother, the mother's insurer pays. Basic insurance covers "die Pflege und den Aufenthalt des gesunden Neugeborenen, solange es sich mit der Mutter im Spital aufhält" (the care and stay of the healthy newborn, as long as it stays in hospital with the mother; KVG Art. 29 Abs. 2 lit. d) as a maternity benefit, and the insurer may not charge cost sharing on it (KVG Art. 64 Abs. 7 lit. a).

If the baby is ill, that changes. The BAG guide (p. 9) says the costs of the healthy newborn "gehen zu Lasten der Versicherung der Mutter (ohne Kostenbeteiligung). Wird aber das Neugeborene krank, dann gehen die Kosten zu Lasten des Versicherers des Neugeborenen (mit Kostenbeteiligung)" (are charged to the mother's insurance, without cost sharing; but if the newborn becomes ill, the costs are charged to the newborn's insurer, with cost sharing).

So the baby's own policy matters from the first day, even if you take it out weeks later. If you register within three months, that policy covers the birth date retroactively and pays for an ill newborn's treatment, minus the child's cost sharing described below.

For the mother, a separate rule applies: from the 13th week of pregnancy until eight weeks after the birth, she pays no cost sharing on general medical benefits and care in case of illness (KVG Art. 64 Abs. 7 lit. b). Our franchise guide for 2027 covers the adult side.

What does the first year look like for a baby born on 10 January 2027?

Hypothetical example, not a real family. Baby born on 10 January 2027 in a Swiss hospital; both parents live in Switzerland.

1. Before the birth (optional). Canton St. Gallen says you can already insure the baby before it is born (hallo.sg.ch, machine-translated cantonal page). The same page says supplementary cover can also be taken out before the birth; what an insurer then asks is its own practice. Supplementary cover is private insurance with its own rules, summarised in our guide to switching health insurance.
2. Birth and hospital stay. The healthy baby's care is billed to the mother's insurer, without cost sharing. If the baby is ill, the baby's own insurer pays, with cost sharing.
3. Within three months of the birth (here: a date in April 2027). Register the baby with an approved insurer of your choice. Cover then starts on 10 January 2027, and the premium is charged day-exact from that day and paid retroactively.
4. If later. Cover starts only on the joining date, earlier costs are not refunded, and unless the delay is excusable a surcharge of normally 30% to 50% of the premium runs for twice the delay, up to five years. If you do nothing, the canton assigns an insurer.
5. Franchise and accident cover. The ordinary franchise for a child is CHF 0; the optional ones are CHF 100 to 600. A baby has no accident insurance through an employer, so accident cover belongs in its policy (see below).
6. Premium reduction. It is applied for under your canton's scheme. For low and middle incomes the canton must cut children's premiums by at least 80%.
7. By 30 November 2027. The next date to give notice for a different insurer or a lower franchise for 2028; the rules are in our switching guide.

Three months counts from the birth. If you are close to the date, ask the insurer or your canton's office which day it treats as the last.

What franchise and co-payment apply to a child in 2027?

Much less than for an adult. The law says: "Für Kinder wird keine Franchise erhoben, und es gilt die Hälfte des Höchstbetrages des Selbstbehaltes" (no franchise is charged for children, and half the maximum co-payment applies; KVG Art. 64 Abs. 4). In figures:

• Franchise (deductible): none in ordinary insurance; the BAG says children and young people "zahlen keine" (pay none).
• Selbstbehalt (co-payment): 10% of the costs above any franchise, up to "350 Franken für Kinder" a year (KVV Art. 103 Abs. 2), against CHF 700 for adults.
• Hospital contribution: none. "Keinen Beitrag zu entrichten haben Kinder und Jugendliche bis 18 Jahre" (children and young people up to 18 pay no contribution); priminfo says the same.

You can choose a higher franchise for a child: "für Kinder 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 und 600 Franken" (KVV Art. 93 Abs. 1). In return the premium falls by at most CHF 70 to CHF 420 a year, depending on the franchise (BAG guide, p. 17; priminfo lists CHF 420 at CHF 600).

The most one child pays in franchise and co-payment in a year is therefore the franchise plus CHF 350: CHF 350 with no franchise, up to CHF 950 with CHF 600. Whether a higher franchise pays off for your child is a break-even question; our franchise guide works it through, so we do not repeat it here.

What is the family ceiling for two or more children at the same insurer?

Children from one family who are insured with the same insurer have a joint yearly ceiling. Two rules set it.

• Ordinary insurance (no franchise). KVG Art. 64 Abs. 4: "Sind mehrere Kinder einer Familie beim gleichen Versicherer versichert, so sind für sie zusammen höchstens die Franchise und der Höchstbetrag des Selbstbehaltes für eine erwachsene Person zu entrichten" (if several children of a family are insured with the same insurer, together they pay at most the franchise and the maximum co-payment of one adult). Our arithmetic: an adult's ordinary franchise plus an adult's co-payment cap, CHF 300 + CHF 700 = CHF 1,000 a year (KVV Art. 103 Abs. 1 and 2). The Federal Insurance Court (now part of the Federal Supreme Court) read the rule the same way, as franchise plus co-payment cap, in decision K 154/04 of 18 March 2005. No authority publishes the CHF 1,000 total itself.
• Optional franchises. KVV Art. 93 Abs. 3: the children's cost sharing may not exceed "das Zweifache des Höchstbetrages je Kind (wählbare Franchise und Selbstbehalt nach Art. 103 Abs. 2)" (twice the maximum per child, meaning the chosen franchise plus the co-payment cap).

Maximum franchise + co-payment per year for all children together, 2027, all at the same insurer (CHF)

Our arithmetic on KVG Art. 64 Abs. 4 and KVV Art. 93 Abs. 3 (law as in force on 1 July 2026). Per child = franchise + CHF 350 co-payment cap. Not included: the higher co-payment on certain medicines. Children pay no hospital contribution.

How do you read the family ceiling table?

With optional franchises the ceiling only bites from the third child; with two children it equals the normal maximum. With the CHF 100 franchise, three or more children have a lower ceiling (CHF 900) than with the ordinary CHF 0 franchise (CHF 1,000). This looks odd but is how the law is written: without a franchise, the children's ceiling is tied to one adult's maximum (KVG Art. 64 Abs. 4); with a chosen franchise, it is twice one child's maximum (KVV Art. 93 Abs. 3). Below these ceilings the CHF 100 family pays more, because each child pays its first CHF 100 in full. If your children have different franchises, "so setzt der Versicherer die Höchstbeteiligung fest" (the insurer sets the maximum). If they are with different insurers, no ceiling applies: both articles speak of children "beim gleichen Versicherer" (with the same insurer), so each child pays up to its own maximum.

What does a bad year look like for three children?

Hypothetical example, not a real family. Three children, all insured with the same insurer in 2027, each with CHF 4,000 of costs covered by basic insurance in that year. Out-of-pocket franchise and co-payment only; no premiums, no medicines with a higher co-payment, no hospital contribution (children pay none).

Our arithmetic: each child = franchise + 10% of the rest, with the co-payment capped at CHF 350; ceiling from the table above.

With the ordinary franchise the ceiling saves little in this case, because each child's co-payment already stops at CHF 350. With CHF 600 franchises it cuts the family's bill by almost a third. What the higher franchises save in premiums is not in this table: real premiums come from your insurer or priminfo, and the break-even is in our franchise guide.

The ceiling is a yearly maximum for children insured with the same insurer. To change a child's insurer for 2027, notice has to reach the current insurer by Monday 30 November 2026; our switching guide has the details. This is how the rule works, not a recommendation to move anyone.

How much is a child's premium, and who gets a reduction?

Lower than an adult's, by law. "Für Kinder und für junge Erwachsene setzt der Versicherer eine tiefere Prämie fest als für die übrigen Versicherten; ... die Prämie für Kinder muss tiefer sein als diejenige für junge Erwachsene" (insurers set a lower premium for children and young adults than for other insured people; the children's premium must be lower than that of young adults; KVG Art. 61 Abs. 3).

When does a child stop being a child? The BAG guide says insurers offer reduced premiums for children and young people "bis zum vollendeten 18. Altersjahr" (up to the completed 18th year of age; p. 13), while the ordinance grades age groups "aufgrund der Geburtsjahre" (by year of birth; KVV Art. 91 Abs. 3). Your insurer's notice shows the year your child moves to the young-adult premium.

We print no premium figure here. The 2027 BAG averages for children in every canton are in our guide to health insurance costs in 2027, with a Zurich family example. Your own figure is on your insurer's offer or notice.

Prämienverbilligung (premium reduction). Cantons reduce premiums for people on modest incomes, and for children the floor is set federally: "Für untere und mittlere Einkommen verbilligen die Kantone die Prämien der Kinder um mindestens 80 Prozent" (for low and middle incomes the cantons reduce children's premiums by at least 80%; KVG Art. 65 Abs. 1bis). The KVG does not define low and middle incomes; each canton sets its own limits. The money goes directly to the insurer, so you see it as a lower bill. For Zurich, our premium reduction guide explains the procedure.

What does basic insurance pay for your child, and what not?

The same catalogue as for adults, plus a few rules for children. From the BAG guide (law as at 1 January 2026):

Accident cover. Accident insurance through an employer covers people who work at least eight hours a week for the same employer (BAG guide, p. 10). A baby has none, and the BAG guide says: "Wenn Sie keine obligatorische Unfallversicherung (gemäss UVG) abgeschlossen haben, müssen Sie sich bei Ihrer Krankenversicherung gegen Unfall versichern" (if you have no compulsory accident insurance under the UVG, you must insure against accidents with your health insurer; p. 10). Canton St. Gallen's page says "You must also take out accident insurance for the children" (machine-translated cantonal page).

Ordinary dental care and braces are outside basic insurance. Zusatzversicherung (supplementary insurance) is private cover with its own rules on acceptance and notice, and this page does not cover it; our switching guide has a table of how it differs from basic insurance.

What this means for your budget

A child adds two lines to the household budget, the same two as an adult.

1. Premium. The child's monthly premium from the insurer's offer or notice, after any premium reduction. In the birth year, expect a first bill that covers the days from the birth to registration, because the premium is charged day-exact and retroactively.
2. Cost-sharing set-aside. Up to the child's own maximum per year: CHF 350 with no franchise, up to CHF 950 with CHF 600. With three or more children at the same insurer, the family ceiling in the table above caps the total: CHF 1,000 with the ordinary franchise (our arithmetic: CHF 300 + CHF 700 = CHF 1,000), CHF 1,900 with CHF 600 each. Divided by 12, CHF 350 is CHF 29.17 a month and CHF 1,000 is CHF 83.33.

Two dates come back: three months after a birth, and 30 November each year, the notice date for changing insurer for the next year (switching guide).

Any spreadsheet with these lines works. Our Swiss Budget Planner, which we sell, lets you rename categories, so you can add each child's premium as a fixed line and the cost-sharing set-aside as a savings line. For the adults' side, see our guide to health insurance costs in 2027.

Sources and last checked

Checked against these official pages on 20 October 2026 (German pages with an English gloss).

• Swiss Confederation, Bundesgesetz über die Krankenversicherung (KVG), SR 832.10 (Federal Health Insurance Act), status 1 July 2026: Art. 3, 5, 6, 29, 61, 64, 65.
• Swiss Confederation, Verordnung über die Krankenversicherung (KVV), SR 832.102 (Health Insurance Ordinance), status 1 July 2026: Art. 8, 10, 91, 93, 103.
• BAG, Krankenversicherung: Versicherungspflicht für in der Schweiz wohnhafte Versicherte (compulsory insurance for people living in Switzerland): newborn deadline, cover from birth, day-exact and retroactive premiums, no family insurance, assignment by the canton.
• BAG, Kostenbeteiligung für in der Schweiz wohnhafte Versicherte (cost sharing for people living in Switzerland): no franchise and CHF 350 cap for children, no hospital contribution, maternity.
• BAG, Ratgeber "Die obligatorische Krankenversicherung", PDF (guide to compulsory health insurance), law as at 1 January 2026: pages 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17.
• priminfo (federal government), FAQ: day-exact premium at birth, children's cost sharing.
• priminfo, Sparen bei der Krankenkasse – Grundversicherung (saving on basic insurance): children's franchises and discounts, premium reduction paid to the insurer.
• Canton of St. Gallen, hallo.sg.ch, Health insurance (machine-translated English page): insuring before the birth, accident cover for children.
• Federal Insurance Court, decision K 154/04 of 18 March 2005 (university mirror): reading of KVG Art. 64 Abs. 4.