Double health insurance: what to do and how to avoid it?

1. Double health insurance: what should you do about it?

In Switzerland, you can only take out one compulsory health insurance policy. This is intended to prevent double insurance with compulsory health insurance.

However, several thousand people each year receive premium bills from two health insurers. This means that they are effectively double insured.

The cause is usually an administrative error on the part of the previous or new insurer in the context of a change in health insurance, as these examples illustrate:

Basic health insurance: how can you avoid being double insured?

Terminate your basic insurance yourself in advance and pay all bills in good time. Request a written confirmation of termination. With this confirmation, you can legally take out a new basic insurance policy.

2. Double accident insurance: what should you do about it?

Double insurance is relatively common with accident insurance. This is because policyholders can opt for accident insurance with their basic insurance, though they are often already insured through their employer.

Accident insurance: how can you avoid being double insured?

If you work eight or more hours a week with the same employer, you are insured against occupational and non-occupational accidents by your employer’s cover. Have you taken out accident cover in your basic insurance policy while working more than eight hours per week with the same employer? If so, you are double insured against accidents.

Good to know: you are insured for a further 31 days after the end of an employment contract of at least eight hours per week. You can extend the cover with interim insurance.

3. Double supplemental insurance: what should you do about it?

If you already have supplemental insurance and take out further supplemental insurance, you’ll be double insured. Thanks to a revision to the Insurance Policies Act, policyholders can now react before double insurance occurs.

Supplemental insurance: how can you avoid being double insured?

• Check the cancellation periods: check the cancellation period of your previous insurance before applying for new supplemental insurance. Most supplemental insurance policies last at least one year and have a notice period of three months.

• Don’t submit multiple requests at the same time: if both insurers accept your request, you’ll be bound to the new policies and have double insurance.

• Exercise your right of withdrawal: thanks to the revision of the law, a right of withdrawal has been available since 2022 (link not available in English). Have you realized that you’ve accidentally taken out a new insurance contract even though you already have a similar insurance policy? You can withdraw from the new contract within 14 days. It’s best to send your withdrawal by registered mail to your insurance company. This way, you have reliable evidence in the event of a legal dispute. The date the letter is stamped counts as the date of withdrawal. It’s not possible to withdraw from a request or insurance contract after the deadline.

Good to know: if you apply for supplemental insurance, it’s legally binding for 14 days. If a medical examination is necessary for the request, the health insurer may take up to four weeks. After this period, you are no longer bound.

Supplemental insurance: what should you do if you miss the 4-week deadline?

If you don’t cancel your new insurance policy within four weeks of noticing that you are double insured, you will continue to be bound by both contracts. The new insurance company may agree to suspend or terminate the contract by mutual agreement. However, you are not legally entitled to this. If the insurance company doesn’t agree to your wishes, you may only terminate your new or current supplemental insurance according to the applicable contract terms.

If the minimum contract duration of both contracts doesn’t end on the same day, it’s usually worth cancelling the insurance policy that can be terminated earlier.

If the earliest possible termination dates are identical, it’s usually worthwhile cancelling the insurance policy with the worse contract conditions. Take into account the scope of cover and the cost of premiums, for example.

Good to know: irrespective of the individual contractual agreements, thanks to a legal change that came into effect in 2022 (link not available in English), you are able to terminate insurance contracts ordinarily from the third year to the end of the insurance year – subject to the notice period.

4. Summary: double insurance with health insurers

In the case of basic insurance, double insurance is generally not possible. However, administrative errors can lead to situations where you are seemingly double insured after receiving bills from two health insurance companies. In any case, you only have to pay the bills of one health insurer.

Your employer takes care of your accident insurance if you work more than eight hours per week for them. You can avoid double insurance by removing the option from your basic insurance.

In the case of supplemental insurance, double insurance is possible. As a policyholder, you can cancel a request for supplemental insurance within 14 days. If you miss the cancellation deadline and you have become unintentionally double insured, you can cancel the new insurance policy within four weeks of discovering that you are double insured.