Swiss health insurance: you have 90 days, and the meter is already running.

By Nick · Europe Unlocked · Every figure sourced to an official body and dated.

Every new Swiss resident must buy basic KVG/LaMal insurance within three months of arrival — and both the cover and the premiums run retroactively from the day you moved in. Insurers must take you, whatever your age or medical history. Here's how to set it up without overpaying.

The three-month rule, precisely

The obligation to insure starts the day you take up residence, not the day your permit card arrives. You have three months to sign a basic policy with any KVG-licensed insurer; do it inside the window and you're covered — and billed — back to arrival day. Miss the window and the canton assigns you an insurer of its choosing, possibly with a premium surcharge. There is no upside to waiting: the retroactive premium is due either way.

What basic insurance covers

The benefits basket is identical at every insurer, fixed by law: doctors, hospital treatment (general ward, your canton), prescription medicines on the official list, maternity, and emergency care. What differs between insurers is price and service — for the same product, premiums in one canton can differ by more than CHF 100/month between insurers. What basic insurance does not meaningfully cover: dental work, private/semi-private hospital wards, glasses, and most care abroad (emergencies in the EU are partly covered; a US trip needs travel insurance).

The three decisions that set your premium

1. Deductible (franchise). CHF 300 to CHF 2,500. Healthy and liquid? The CHF 2,500 franchise cuts premiums sharply; the break-even arithmetic favours it unless you expect steady medical costs — which, in your 60s, you honestly might. Run both numbers.
2. Care model. Standard (free choice of doctor) is dearest. Family-doctor (Hausarzt), HMO, and telemedicine-first models discount roughly 10–25% in exchange for a gatekeeper. Fine for most; check the model's doctor list covers your area — and your languages.
3. Insurer. Same product, different price. Use priminfo.admin.ch — the federal government's own comparator — not commercial comparison sites with commissions.

Newcomer mistakes we keep seeing

• Assuming your US/CA policy or Medicare counts. It doesn't. Medicare pays nothing in Switzerland; foreign policies don't satisfy the KVG obligation (narrow exemptions exist, mainly for temporary stays — a retiree resident will not get one).
• Buying supplementary insurance too late. Basic insurance can't refuse you; supplementary (private ward, dental, worldwide cover) can — it is health-questioned and age-rated. If you want it, apply at the same time as the basic policy, not after your first diagnosis.
• Ignoring the December switch. You can change insurer for 1 January every year (notice by 30 November). Premiums are re-announced each September; loyalty is a tax.
• Forgetting the budget line. A couple at 2026 averages pays about CHF 930/month in premiums plus deductibles and co-pays — roughly CHF 12,000–14,000/year. Put it in the visa financial plan; cantonal migration offices certainly will.
• Counting on premium subsidies. They exist for lower incomes, but claiming means-tested help sits badly with a residence permit that requires proof of ample means. Budget full price.

The genuinely good news for over-60s

Swiss basic insurance has three age brackets — 0–18, 19–25, 26+ — and that's it. A 68-year-old and a 30-year-old in the same canton, same insurer, same model, same deductible pay the same premium, and no insurer can refuse, load, or exclude you for your health history. For Americans used to age-rated markets and Canadians worried about losing provincial cover, this is the rare part of Swiss pricing that works in an older newcomer's favour. The premiums are high for everyone — but they are not higher for you.