Health Insurance in Switzerland for UK Expats

Switzerland runs a private healthcare system, and taking out insurance is not optional once you are a resident. The obligation starts from the day you arrive, not from when you get around to it. You have 90 days to register, and that window exists to give you time to choose your insurer, not to put the decision off.

This guide covers how the system is structured, what you are required to arrange, what it costs, and how to get registered correctly.

The system has two layers, and understanding both matters before you choose your cover.

The basic statutory layer is known as KVG in German-speaking cantons (Krankenversicherungsgesetz) and LAMal in French and Italian-speaking cantons (Loi sur l’assurance-maladie). Every resident is required to hold it, regardless of nationality, age, or health history. Every approved insurer must accept every applicant. There is no medical underwriting at this level.

Above that sits supplementary private insurance, regulated under VVG or LCA in French. This is optional. It is where you extend your cover beyond the statutory minimum, the type of hospital room, whether you can see a specialist without a referral, and which treatments and therapies are included.

You have 90 days from registering your Swiss residence to arrange your KVG/LAMal insurance, according to the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH/BAG). If you register within that window, cover is backdated to your arrival date with no gap.

The benefits included in basic cover are set by federal law and do not vary between insurers. They include GP visits, specialist consultations, hospital treatment in a shared ward, emergency care, maternity, and essential prescribed medicines. Because the benefit set is fixed, the practical differences between providers come down to premium level, franchise options, and how reliably they administer policies.

When you take out your KVG/LAMal policy, you choose an annual franchise, the amount you pay out of pocket before your insurer contributes anything. The options are CHF 300, 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, or 2,500 per year, as set by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (BAG). CHF 300 is the minimum. Choose a higher franchise and your monthly premium falls.

Once you have met your franchise for the year, a 10% co-payment (Selbstbehalt) applies to further costs, capped at CHF 700 for adults and CHF 350 for children. After that cap, the insurer covers the full cost of basic treatment. The choice is a straightforward financial trade-off: a high franchise makes sense if your health use is likely to be low; a low franchise gives you more predictable costs if it is not.

Premiums depend on your canton, age, chosen franchise, and insurer. The average monthly premium in 2025 reached CHF 378.70, up around 6% on the previous year, according to Expatis cost of living data. Cantons like Geneva and Basel sit above the national average; some rural cantons are lower.

Beyond the statutory minimum, VVG insurance lets you shape your cover to suit how you want to use healthcare in Switzerland. That means private or semi-private hospital rooms, direct access to specialists without a GP referral, private clinic networks, dental treatment, and alternative therapies not covered under KVG/LAMal.

For those relocating at a premium level, comprehensive supplementary cover is the norm rather than the exception. Unlike basic insurance, VVG policies are individually underwritten. Insurers can decline applications or apply additional premiums based on health history, so it pays to arrange supplementary cover early, ideally before your move date.

This point is worth addressing directly, because a lot of content on the subject handles it incorrectly.

Your Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) is valid in Switzerland for temporary visits. According to NHS Business Services Authority guidance on the GHIC, it gives you access to state-provided healthcare there on the same terms as a local resident while you are visiting.

Once you establish Swiss residence, however, that no longer applies. At the point of residency, you are subject to the mandatory KVG/LAMal requirement. The GHIC is not a substitute for Swiss health insurance, and it cannot be used to bridge the gap while you sort your policy. The 90-day registration window is time to act.

The two tools most commonly used to compare KVG/LAMal providers are Comparis (comparis.ch) and the official federal comparison tool, Priminfo (priminfo.admin.ch). Both filter by canton, age, and franchise level so you can compare approved insurers and their current premiums side by side. Once you have made a decision, you apply directly with the insurer.

The documents you will typically need are your residency documentation, your commune registration (Anmeldung), and your passport. It is one of those things that goes considerably more smoothly when it is planned before you land.