Health insurance premiums in 2026: 4% more expensive
Comparis health insurance expert Felix Schneuwly predicts that health insurance premiums will rise by an average of 4% in 2026.
22.05.2025
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1. Smaller premium increase than the last three years?
Health insurance premiums rose sharply between 2023 and 2025. However, health insurance expert Felix Schneuwly predicts that the times of major premium increases will be over in 2026. According to the expert, premiums will go up by 4% on average next year.
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The forecast is based on the projected rise in healthcare costs. According to Comparis and the ETH Swiss Economic Institute (KOF), they rose by 4.4% in 2024. In 2025, health costs are expected to increase by 3.7%. For 2026, an increase of 3.4% is forecast.
In addition to rising health costs, the financial situation of the individual health insurers also affects the premium forecast. The projection also takes into account the medical services used that are covered by basic insurance, as well as the price trends for these services.
Overview: how health insurance premiums have been changing in Switzerland
Averages based on the whole of Switzerland for an adult.
| Year | Change on previous year |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Forecast: 4% |
| 2025 | 6% |
| 2024 | 8.7% |
| 2023 | 6.6% |
| 2022 | –1.4% |
| 2021 | 0.5% |
| 2020 | 0.2% |
| 2019 | 1.2% |
| 2018 | 4.9% |
2. Reserve reductions as the main reason for premium shocks
According to Schneuwly, the sharp rise in premiums in recent years was mainly caused by the politically enforced reserve reductions for health insurers. Without these reductions, premiums would have risen by about 3% annually between 2018 and 2025 – and would continue to do so.
“Policy-induced premium volatility is hopefully over now and health insurers can use their reserves in a way that prevents every cost fluctuation from leading to a fluctuation in premiums.”
3. Other reasons for the rise in health insurance premiums
Comparis health expert Felix Schneuwly sees three further reasons for the increase in premiums:
The expansion of the catalogue of services covered by basic insurance.
Hospitals have often made losses in recent years. As a result, they have now increased their rates and prices for medical services. This increase is ultimately passed on to policyholders in the form of higher premiums.
Finma is putting pressure on health insurance providers. It wants a reduction in the fees paid to doctors and hospitals for services provided to those with semi-private and private insurance policies. Some of the hospitals’ profits are consequently lost. To compensate for this, hospitals need to increase the rates for services under basic insurance.
This article was first published on 27.09.2016
