Which supplemental insurance is popular in Switzerland?
Which supplemental health insurance is the most popular in Switzerland? A Comparis analysis shows you.
16.07.2024
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1. Supplemental insurance analysis at a glance
Comparis examined over 1,066,000 requests for quotes for supplemental insurance made on comparis.ch over the past five years.
The analysis reveals: the demand for supplemental hospital insurance has fallen significantly in this period.
Interest in dental corrections has risen the most in five years.
Most in demand over the last 12 months was "general hospital ward, all of Switzerland".
2. Which types of supplemental insurance are particularly in demand?
Over the last 12 months, Optimatis, the brokerage partner of Comparis, received the most requests for quotes for the following supplemental insurance policies:
General hospital ward insurance (12% of all quote requests)
Emergencies abroad (11.6% of all quote requests)
Health-promoting measures/prevention (11.1% of all quote requests).
3. What changed the most compared to last year?
The biggest change was seen in hospital flex. This received 16.7% more quote requests.
However, hospital flex accounts for only 2.7% of quote requests for supplemental insurance on comparis.ch overall.
Especially older policyholders, who can no longer change health insurance providers with regard to supplemental insurance, switch from hospital private or semi-private to hospital flex. They pay much lower premiums and can switch from the general ward to semi-private or private rooms with higher out-of-pocket expenses.
4. What changed the most in the long term?
The demand for dental corrections has seen the greatest change since the supplemental insurance comparison was first published on comparis.ch in 2018.
There were 42.9% more enquiries than in 2019/2020. However, these account for just over 1.8% of all searches.
Supplemental hospital insurance declining
Comparis sees a downwards trend in supplemental hospital insurance over the long term. Inpatient insurance (private, semi-private, flex) declined by 20% between 2019 and 2024.
Click for the complete analysis of the demand for supplemental insurance (only available in German).
5. Where are the gaps in coverage?
There are still gaps in rescue and patient transport. Basic insurance only pays half of the costs for a rescue action in Switzerland. Furthermore, there is a maximum payout of 5,000 francs per calendar year.
Important to know
Even accident insurance through the employer does not protect against all costs here. For example, a heart attack while hiking is not an accident. The helicopter transport alone costs around 3,500 francs on average. Of this, basic insurance only pays 1,750 francs.
If you only have basic insurance, you need deep pockets in an emergency. Nevertheless, only 8.1% of quote requests in the last 12 months were for search and rescue operations and transport. Demand has risen in recent years, though.
This article was first published on 18.07.2023
