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Swiss Health Insurance Premiums for 2027: Compare Plans and Meet the November 30 Cancellation Deadline
This guide is for people already resident and insured in Switzerland who are reviewing their compulsory basic insurance for 2027. Its job is narrow: turn the annual premium notice into a like-for-like comparison, then complete a basic-insurer switch without missing the receipt deadline or confusing basic and supplementary coverage.
Status note — Last checked: October 3, 2026. Switzerland’s average compulsory basic health insurance premium will be CHF 412 per month in 2027, up 5.0%, or CHF 19.70, from 2026. That national figure averages all premiums paid across all age groups. It is not the amount any one household will be charged. Insurers must send each policyholder’s individual 2027 premium notice by October 31, and an insurer change for January 1 requires the current insurer to receive the cancellation by November 30. The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) premium page and the September 29 federal announcement publish the approved 2027 figures.
It is not a guide to first enrollment after moving to Switzerland, the three-month enrollment rule, permit delays, exemptions, or cross-border worker coverage. New arrivals should use the separate Swiss health insurance three-month-rule guide. This article also does not recommend a deductible, insurance model, or insurer for an individual household.
The practical sequence is: read the personal notice, reproduce the same insurance setup in the official calculator, test one change at a time, and treat the switch as complete only when the cancellation, new enrollment, and coverage confirmation line up.
The CHF 412 average is a signal, not your quote
The 5.0% national increase shows the direction of premiums, but it cannot tell you whether switching will save money. The federal announcement explains that an individual premium depends on factors including residence, age, chosen deductible, insurer, and insurance model. Accident coverage can also change the comparison.
Start with the amount in your own 2027 notice. Then record the settings behind it:
- postal code or place of residence;
- birth year for each insured person;
- annual deductible, called the franchise in Swiss insurance;
- whether accident coverage is included; and
- the current insurance model.
Those are the inputs used by Priminfo’s official 2027 premium calculator. A lower price produced with a different deductible, accident setting, or access model is not a like-for-like insurer comparison. It is a different insurance configuration.
The national mean also blends adults, young adults, and children. It should not be multiplied by household size or used as a budget estimate. Your insurer’s notice and a Priminfo result based on the household’s actual inputs are the relevant numbers.
Compare basic insurance in two passes
FOPH approves the premiums for compulsory basic insurance and publishes them through Priminfo. The premium-approval page says insurers received the 2027 approval decision at the end of September and must notify their policyholders individually by the end of October.
Use the official calculator in two passes rather than changing every setting at once.
Pass 1: hold the insurance design constant
Enter the same residence, birth year, deductible, accident setting, and model category as the current policy. Compare the approved 2027 premiums for that configuration across insurers.
This first pass isolates the insurer-price difference. Compulsory basic insurers cover the same statutory benefits and must accept anyone who is subject to compulsory insurance in their area of operation, regardless of age or health and without a waiting period. The FOPH switching FAQ confirms that no health questionnaire is required for basic insurance.
Do not stop at the first number in the results. Confirm that the model category and accident setting are genuinely equivalent to the current policy, and read the new insurer’s model rules before enrolling.
Pass 2: test the deductible and model separately
The deductible and model can change the monthly premium, but each changes something the policyholder must absorb or do.
A higher deductible generally means a lower premium and more medical spending paid by the policyholder before the insurer begins its share. A lower deductible generally means a higher premium and less spending before that threshold. The official Priminfo deductible calculator can compare the available choices. It cannot predict a person’s medical needs, so it should inform—not make—the decision.
Restricted-provider models may reduce the premium by changing the required first point of contact. Priminfo’s 2027 categories include standard, practice-based, telephone/digital, pharmacy, and flexible models. The official calculator instructions explain the categories. A cheaper model is only a usable alternative if its contact pathway, provider network, and policy rules fit how the insured person can obtain care.
Change one input at a time and save the result. That produces three distinct numbers: the cost of changing insurer only, the cost of changing the deductible, and the cost of accepting a different access model. It prevents a large apparent “saving” from concealing a higher deductible or a model restriction.
Keep basic and supplementary insurance on separate tracks
The November 30 switch described here concerns compulsory basic insurance. Supplementary insurance is a separate, voluntary contract with different benefits, acceptance rules, and cancellation periods.
For basic insurance, every authorized insurer serving the place of residence must accept an eligible applicant. Supplementary insurers can ask health questions, impose exclusions, or decline an application. The FOPH FAQ and Priminfo supplementary-insurance guidance warn that supplementary coverage may not be available again on the same terms after cancellation.
Changing the basic insurer does not require canceling supplementary insurance held with the current company. Priminfo says the insurer cannot force a policyholder to cancel supplementary coverage merely because the basic policy moves. If supplementary coverage is also under review, check its contract terms and secure any desired replacement before canceling it. Do not put a supplementary-policy cancellation on the basic-insurance November 30 timetable unless its own conditions say so.
The switch calendar has a receipt deadline
The sequence for a January 1, 2027 basic-insurer change is short, but the order matters.
By October 31: receive and check the personal premium notice
The insurer must communicate the new premium by October 31. Compare the notice with the existing policy: insured person, residence, deductible, accident coverage, and model. An unexplained mismatch is a question for the insurer before the comparison is finalized.
You do not need to wait for the paper notice to explore approved 2027 premiums in Priminfo, but the notice remains the authoritative statement of that person’s renewal terms from the current insurer.
During November: enroll with the new basic insurer and cancel the old one
If switching, apply to the new basic insurer and send the cancellation to the current insurer in parallel. Do not wait for the current insurer’s cancellation acknowledgment before enrolling with the new insurer.
FOPH recommends sending the written cancellation by registered mail or A-Post Plus by November 15 and keeping the receipt. Priminfo provides official sample letters for cancellation and new enrollment.
By November 30: the current insurer must have received the cancellation
The legal point is receipt, not the postmark. The current insurer must receive the notice by November 30 during its normal office handling. A letter mailed on November 30 can therefore be late. The Priminfo switching instructions and the FOPH FAQ both state the receipt rule.
The year-end switch is available regardless of whether the individual premium rose and regardless of whether the current policy uses a special model. If the policyholder stays with the same insurer and changes only the deductible or model, separate handling dates can apply. Follow the insurer’s premium notice and current Priminfo instructions rather than assuming that every internal change uses the cancellation deadline.
Before year-end: verify the coverage handoff
The new insurer must confirm in writing to both the insured person and the previous insurer that it is providing coverage. Federal guidance states that the transfer does not take effect until the new insurer has informed the existing insurer that coverage will continue without interruption.
Keep four records together:
- the new-insurer application or enrollment confirmation;
- proof that the old insurer received the cancellation on time;
- the old insurer’s acknowledgment; and
- the new insurer’s written coverage confirmation.
Do not treat proof of mailing alone as proof that the switch is complete.
Resolve arrears before assuming the switch will take effect
Outstanding amounts can block a change of basic insurer. The official rule is narrower than “any invoice causes a problem”: Priminfo says a person cannot switch if money is still owed to the current insurer on December 31 for debts for which a payment reminder was received by November 30.
If that situation may apply, ask the current insurer for the exact balance and payment status early enough to resolve it and retain proof. This article cannot determine whether a particular payment has legally cleared or whether an individual debt falls within the rule.
The separate question of what happens when premiums or cost-sharing amounts remain unpaid is covered by the FOPH overdue-premiums guidance. Do not assume that an attempted switch erases the debt or stops collection steps.
Check premium reduction with the canton, not the calculator alone
People with limited means may qualify for an individual premium reduction. The cantons administer that support and decide eligibility. Priminfo’s premium-reduction directory links to the responsible office for each canton.
Treat this as a separate workstream from comparing gross premiums. Check the canton’s application or renewal process, deadlines, and treatment of an insurer change. Priminfo can compare approved premiums, but it does not replace the canton’s decision about a person’s subsidy.
A final control sheet for the 2027 decision
Before sending anything, the file should answer these questions:
- Is the comparison based on the person’s actual 2027 notice rather than the CHF 412 national mean?
- Were residence, birth year, deductible, accident setting, and model kept identical in the first Priminfo comparison?
- If the deductible or model changed, is the lower premium being considered alongside the higher cost exposure or access rules?
- Is the decision limited to basic insurance, or has supplementary insurance been separated and checked under its own contract?
- Has the new basic-insurance enrollment been submitted without waiting for the old insurer’s cancellation acknowledgment?
- Will the current insurer receive—not merely be sent—the cancellation by November 30?
- Is proof of receipt stored?
- Are any debts covered by the arrears rule still unresolved?
- Has the new insurer issued the written confirmation needed for a continuous handoff?
- If premium reduction may apply, has the responsible canton been checked directly?
The average increase explains why this comparison matters. The personal notice, a controlled Priminfo comparison, and a documented handoff determine whether a switch is actually better and whether it takes effect on January 1.