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How to switch health insurance for 2027 (Switzerland)

By the Rappenwise team. Last checked .

To change basic health insurer for 1 January 2027, your cancellation letter must reach your current insurer by Monday 30 November 2026; the postmark does not count. Apply to the new insurer at the same time: it must accept you, and your old cover only ends once it confirms, so there is no gap. Supplementary insurance follows its own contract and the new insurer may refuse you, so our suggestion is not to cancel it before you have a written yes.

Every rule below links to the law or the federal page behind it. This page names no insurer and does not compare insurers or premiums. It is general information, not legal or insurance advice.

For context: the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) expects the mean premium for 2027 to be CHF 412 a month, up 5.0% or CHF 19.70 (release of 29 September 2026). That is a national average; your own premium depends on your canton, age, franchise and model.

What is the deadline to switch for 2027?

Monday 30 November 2026. The rule comes from the Health Insurance Act (KVG, in French LAMal): when your insurer tells you the new premium, you can leave with one month's notice to the end of the month before the new premium applies (KVG Art. 7 para. 2). The new premium applies from 1 January 2027, so the notice must be in by 30 November 2026.

Four details matter:

  • Receipt counts, not the postmark. The priminfo FAQ says the date that counts is the day the insurer receives your letter, and the BAG FAQ says the same.
  • Normal business hours. According to the priminfo FAQ, the letter must be with the insurer "zur gewöhnlichen Geschäftszeit" (during normal business hours) on the last day. Do not rely on the last day.
  • No weekend shift this year. If the date falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline is the last working day before it (priminfo FAQ). In 2025 that moved it to Friday 28 November, because 30 November 2025 was a Sunday. In 2026, 30 November is a Monday, so the date stays.
  • It applies to everyone. It does not matter whether your premium rose or fell, or whether you have a higher franchise or a special model (BAG FAQ; BAG guide, February 2026, p. 15-16).

The 30 November date assumes your insurer told you the 2027 premium by 31 October 2026. If it did not, ask your insurer or the BAG which date applies to you.

Step by step: the dated checklist for 1 January 2027

Weekdays checked against a calendar. "Our suggestion" marks dates that are ours, not an official rule.

Dated checklist for switching basic health insurance for 1 January 2027: step number, when, step and source
#WhenStepSource
0NowCheck you have no reminded unpaid premiums, cost shares, default interest or collection costs (see the section on unpaid bills below)KVG Art. 64a para. 6; BAG FAQ
1By Saturday 31 October 2026Your insurer tells you your 2027 premium and points out your right to switch (at least two months ahead)KVG Art. 7 para. 2; BAG release
2Early NovemberCompare 2027 premiums on the federal priminfo calculator; choose a franchise (our break-even calculator) and a modelpriminfo
3Together with step 4, not afterApply to the new basic insurer for 1 January 2027. It must accept you whatever your age or health: no health questionnaire, no waiting period, no quote needed firstBAG fact sheet, 29 September 2026; BAG release; BAG guide p. 15; priminfo switching page
4Post by Friday 13 November 2026 (our suggestion; the BAG and priminfo say mid-November, and 15 November 2026 is a Sunday)Send the cancellation letter below by registered post or A-Post Plus; keep the receiptBAG FAQ; BAG fact sheet; priminfo switching page
5Must arrive by Monday 30 November 2026, during business hoursDeadline. Any model, any franchise, premium up or downKVG Art. 7 para. 2; KVV Art. 94 para. 2, Art. 100 para. 3; priminfo FAQ
6Same deadline, 30 November 2026Staying with your insurer but want a lower franchise or to leave a restricted model? Tell it by this date (the priminfo switching page suggests 15 November)KVV Art. 94 para. 2, Art. 100 para. 3; BAG guide p. 16; priminfo switching page
7After you apply (no fixed date)The new insurer confirms in writing to you and to your old insurer. Only then does the old insurance endKVG Art. 7 para. 5; BAG FAQ
8Ask your insurer for its date; the earliest official date given is 15 November 2026Raising your franchise for 2027 (possible only from 1 January, for at least one year). Official pages differ: the BAG guide says end of December, the BAG fact sheet 31 December 2026, the priminfo FAQ mid-December, the priminfo switching page 15 NovemberKVV Art. 94 para. 1; BAG guide p. 16-17; BAG fact sheet; priminfo FAQ; priminfo switching page
9Thursday 31 December 2026 / Friday 1 January 2027Old cover ends, new cover starts, no gapKVG Art. 7 para. 5; priminfo switching page
10Missed 30 NovemberYour letter takes effect at the next possible date; you stay for 2027priminfo FAQ
11Wednesday 31 March 2027 (for 30 June 2027)Mid-year exit with three months' notice, only in the standard model with the ordinary franchise (CHF 300 adults, CHF 0 children)KVG Art. 7 para. 1; priminfo FAQ

Moving the other way, from the standard model into a restricted model with the same insurer, is possible at any time of year (KVV Art. 100 para. 2).

How do I word the cancellation letter?

The federal premium site priminfo publishes official sample letters in German, French and Italian, but not in English. As there is no official English letter, the safest option is to send the official text. Below is an English version for you to understand and fill in, then the German wording as priminfo gives it. Replace everything in square brackets.

English (for reference):

[First name] [Surname]
[Street, number]
[Postcode, town]
Insured number: [Insured number]

[Name of insurer]
[Street, number]
[Postcode, town]

[Place], [Date]

Cancellation of compulsory health insurance (basic insurance, KVG)

Dear Sir or Madam

I hereby cancel my basic insurance as of 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027 I will be insured with another health insurer under the KVG.

Thank you for carrying out this request. Please send me written confirmation.

Kind regards

[Surname, first name]
[Handwritten signature]

German (official priminfo wording):

Versicherten Nummer: [Versicherten Nummer]
[Name] [Vorname]
[Strasse, Nummer]
[Postleitzahl, Wohnort]

[Name der Krankenversicherung]
[Strasse, Nummer]
[Postleitzahl, Ort]

[Ort, Datum]

Kündigung der obligatorischen Krankenpflegeversicherung (Grundversicherung)

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren

Hiermit kündige ich meine Grundversicherung per 31. Dezember 2026. Ich werde ab 1.1.2027 bei einem anderen Krankenversicherer nach KVG versichert sein.

Besten Dank für die Ausführung des Auftrages. Bitte stellen Sie mir eine entsprechende schriftliche Bestätigung zu.

Freundliche Grüsse

[Name, Vorname]
[Unterschrift]

How to use it:

  • Send it registered. The official sample recommends registered post (Einschreiben); the BAG FAQ also names A-Post Plus. Keep the receipt until the confirmation arrives.
  • Several people on one policy. In basic insurance every family member is insured individually (BAG guide p. 4). Add one line per person (name, date of birth, insured number) and have each adult sign. Check with your insurer whether one letter covers everyone.
  • The letter cancels basic insurance only. It says nothing about supplementary policies, and that is on purpose: they continue unless you cancel them separately.
  • Official PDFs to fill in: German, French, Italian. The same priminfo page has a sample for changing your franchise if you stay with your insurer.

Can my new insurer refuse me, and could I end up uninsured?

No to both, for basic insurance. Every insurer must accept every person for basic insurance. The BAG's switching fact sheet adds that this applies whatever your age or health, without reservations, waiting period or health questionnaire (the duty to accept is in the BAG guide, p. 15 too).

The gap question is answered by KVG Art. 7 para. 5: your old insurance ends only when the new insurer has told the old one that you are insured with it without interruption. If the new insurer fails to do that, it must compensate you for the damage, in particular the premium difference. In practice, if your cancellation reached the old insurer on time but the new one never confirms, the old insurance simply continues.

If the new insurer does not react to your application, the BAG recommends sending it the application, stating the franchise you want and the start date, by registered post or A-Post Plus. Applying early in November leaves time for that.

What about my supplementary insurance?

Supplementary insurance (for example for a semi-private hospital ward or extras that basic insurance does not pay) works under a different law, the Insurance Contract Act (VVG). The rules are almost the opposite.

Basic insurance (KVG/LAMal) compared with supplementary insurance (VVG): compulsory, refusal, leaving, cancellation by the insurer, effect of switching, safe order, missing the date
Basic insurance (KVG/LAMal)Supplementary insurance (VVG)
Compulsory?Yes, for residentsNo, voluntary (BAG guide p. 2)
Can a new insurer refuse you?No: every insurer must take you (BAG guide p. 15), with no health questions or waiting period (BAG fact sheet)Yes. It can refuse you after a health check or exclude some benefits (BAG FAQ), and set premiums by age and sex (BAG guide p. 16)
When can you leave?After the premium notice: letter in by 30 November 2026 for 31 December. Otherwise three months' notice to 31 December (any model), or to 30 June (standard model with ordinary franchise only) (KVG Art. 7 para. 1-2)Set by your policy conditions (AVB). Some policies have six months' notice and a multi-year minimum term (priminfo FAQ). By law you can always cancel to the end of the third year or any later year, with three months' notice (VVG Art. 35a para. 1)
Can the insurer cancel?Not covered on this pageNo ordinary cancellation by the insurer: only you have that right (VVG Art. 35a para. 4)
Does switching basic end it?NoNo. Your old insurer may not force you to cancel it, or cancel it because you changed basic insurer (KVG Art. 7 para. 7-8)
Safe orderApply and cancel at the same time; the old cover ends only after the new insurer confirmsOur suggestion: do not cancel until a new insurer has accepted you in writing. The BAG guide says never to cancel without first finding out the new insurer's admission conditions (p. 16)
Missing the dateUsually 2027 with the old insurer at its 2027 premium (a 30 June 2027 exit is open only in the standard model with the ordinary franchise)Another contract period; check your AVB

There is no single supplementary deadline we can give you: read your own policy conditions. You can keep supplementary cover with your old insurer while your basic insurance moves elsewhere. And if you cancel it, you may not get it back: priminfo warns that a cancelled supplementary policy cannot always be taken out again, especially from about age 55-65 or with poor health. If you are in treatment or pregnant, ask your insurer what your supplementary policy covers before changing anything.

Can I switch if I have unpaid bills?

Not if they were reminded. Under KVG Art. 64a para. 6, a person in arrears cannot change insurer until outstanding premiums, cost shares, default interest and collection costs are paid in full. The BAG FAQ puts it in dates: you cannot switch if you still owe your insurer money on 31 December for which you received a reminder by 30 November. Even a valid cancellation letter does not help then.

Two details from the same article: children cannot switch while such debts exist for them, but parents whose only arrears are for their children may still switch themselves. Debts that were not yet reminded do not block a switch (priminfo FAQ).

Do a higher franchise or an HMO lock me in?

Not for 1 January. A common belief is that a higher franchise or a restricted model (HMO or doctor's practice, telemedicine, pharmacy or flexible models; the BAG categories are PRAXIS, TEL_DIG, PHARM and FLEX) ties you in for a year. For the switch after the premium notice, that is wrong: the BAG guide (p. 15) says the one-month notice applies whether or not you have an HMO, family doctor, telemedicine model or a higher franchise. The ordinance texts, KVV Art. 94 para. 2 and Art. 100 para. 3, both refer to the KVG notice rules, including the premium-notice route.

Where they do matter is mid-year. Leaving on 30 June 2027 is open only to people in the standard model with the ordinary franchise (priminfo FAQ). Which franchise to choose for 2027 is a separate question, worked through with break-even figures in our franchise guide.

I missed 30 November: what now?

A late letter is not lost; it takes effect at the next possible date. For most people that means staying with the current insurer for 2027. If you are in the standard model with the ordinary franchise (CHF 300 for adults, CHF 0 for children), you can leave on 30 June 2027 with a letter that arrives by Wednesday 31 March 2027 (KVG Art. 7 para. 1; priminfo FAQ). Everyone else can leave on 31 December 2027, either with three months' notice or after the next premium notice.

What this means for your budget

Your 2027 premium is a fixed cost from January, so the budget line needs the new monthly amount, not the 2026 one: the new insurer's premium if you switch, the figure in your premium letter if you stay. The national mean of CHF 412 a month is only a reference point.

Next to the premium sits a separate reserve for your franchise and other cost shares: the money you pay yourself before insurance pays. Its size depends on the franchise you chose, which is why our franchise guide works out the most you could pay in a bad year. It works like the monthly tax set-aside: a fixed amount moved each month, kept apart from spending money. Is CHF 100k a good salary in Switzerland? shows how the premium line fits in a full salary budget.

The next dates for basic insurance are 30 September 2027 (three months' notice to 31 December, BAG guide p. 15) and 30 November 2027 (after the 2028 premium notice); your supplementary notice date is in your AVB. All three belong in the calendar now.

Our Swiss Budget Planner has a premium line and a franchise reserve line next to the other fixed costs, so you can see what is left each month. Any spreadsheet with the same two lines does the job.

Sources and last checked

Rules checked against these official pages on 15 October 2026 (German pages with an English gloss).