Cross-border Insurance

Insurance for cross-border commuters in Switzerland

Health insurance is mandatory from the first day of work

It’s impossible to commute to Switzerland without health insurance. Even if you live abroad, you must be able to prove you have health insurance effective on the first day of your employment. Depending on where you live and what’s your citizenship, there are different ways of fulfilling that obligation.

The right to choose – for citizens of neighbouring countries

There are special rules for the countries neighbouring Switzerland. If you work in Switzerland but live in Germany, France, Italy or Austria, you can decide on being insured either in Switzerland or in your country of residence. However, if you choose the second option, you must take proper measures. You have three months to submit an application for exemption to a health fund unit in the canton you’re employed in. If you fail to do that in the required term, the authorities will decide on your mandatory health insurance in Switzerland. Make sure that’s not going to happen, as it often means higher premiums and other additional costs.
 

Be mindful that the right to choose can be executed only once. This means after you decide on either Swiss or foreign insurance, it cannot be undone.

There are only three exceptions to this rule:

• You were unemployed in your country of residence and begin working in Switzerland again.
• You are no longer a cross-border commuting employee and receive a pension from Switzerland.
• You are changing your country of residence.

Other EU/EFTA countries – mandatory health insurance in Switzerland

Insurance obligation in Switzerland is also based on a place of employment. This means that anyone who works in Switzerland should be insured in Switzerland. Besides the exception resulting from the right to choose mentioned earlier, that law applies to anyone working in Switzerland and their unemployed dependants whose insurance is covered by the working person.

Date limits are the same as for the citizens of the neighbouring countries. One should register in the local unit of the health fund within three months, otherwise, the decision is made by the canton. This often results in higher premiums and surcharges for late registration. If anything happens to you before taking out insurance, you’ll have to pay for the treatment with your own money. In case of a hospital stay, this might be easily hundreds or thousands of Swiss francs.

Insurance obligation expires upon termination of the employment relationship.

Non-EU/EFTA countries – mandatory health insurance

Swiss health insurance is mandatory also for citizens of non-EU/EFTA countries and for their non-working family members. If this applies to you, you must submit an application within three months after receiving a G-permit. If you don’t meet the deadline, the canton will choose insurance for you, and it will be effective as of the moment of registration.

Insurance protection expires when:

• Employment in Switzerland ends.
• The G-permit expires or is withheld.
• The insured person dies.
• The insured person is no longer entitled to Swiss insurance (in this case, a new application can be submitted only due to special reasons).
   

Accident insurance in Switzerland

The employer is the one to ensure the accident insurance for the employed, so the risk of an accident doesn’t have to be included in a personal health insurance contract. Remember, though, that family members covered by health insurance aren’t automatically covered by occupational accident insurance of the employed person. The same applies to self-employed.

Supplemental health insurance

Supplemental health insurance can be taken out only if a person lives in Switzerland. The policy may cover, for example, special medicines, alternative therapy and outpatient or inpatient care. If you live in Germany, you can take out similar supplemental health insurance in a German health fund.

Medical appointment in Switzerland – how it works

You have health insurance in Switzerland – that’s a good start. What if, at some point, you need to see a doctor or stay in a hospital? Having valid standard health insurance in Switzerland doesn’t mean all treatment costs will be covered.

How does Swiss health insurance work? It includes a deductible, a so-called franchise. It’s an annual amount paid to cover the costs of treatment. After it’s exceeded, the costs of treatment are covered by the health fund. A yearly franchise in Switzerland totals 300 francs for adults – treatment of children is covered by the insurance starting with one franc.

After paying the franchise, the health fund covers 90% of the treatment costs up until reaching the maximum yearly own share, which is 700,00 CHF for adults and 350,00 CHF for children. When this amount is reached, all further costs are fully covered.
 

Hospital stay in Switzerland

Another issue is hospital treatment costs, which relate not only to the treatment itself but also to accommodation and sustenance. Again, it entails the so-called hospital contribution you have to pay yourself. It amounts to 15,00 CHF a day. Exempt from a hospital contribution are children, the youth under 18 years of age and the studying youth (under 25 years of age).