Choosing a Swiss health insurance franchise
Updated · 2 sources
Direct answer
Adults in Switzerland choose a franchise of CHF 300, 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000 or 2,500. After the franchise, you pay 10% of further costs, up to CHF 700 per year.
Key facts
- Adult franchise options: 300 to 2,500 CHF
- Retention: 10% of costs above the franchise
- Retention cap: CHF 700 per year for adults
- Higher franchise = lower premium
How cost sharing works
You pay your medical costs yourself until you reach the franchise. After that you pay 10% of each bill (the retention) until you have paid CHF 700 in retention for the year. The insurer pays the rest.
How to choose
A high franchise lowers your premium but raises your risk. Compare total yearly cost: premiums plus what you expect to pay out of pocket. Get your real premiums from your insurer or the federal priminfo site, then enter them in our comparison tool.
FAQ
- What is the lowest franchise?
- CHF 300 for adults.
- What is the most I can pay out of pocket?
- Your franchise plus CHF 700 retention per year, on top of premiums (excluding hospital daily contributions).
- Why do most advisers recommend CHF 300 or CHF 2,500?
- Intermediate franchises (500–2,000) rarely offer enough premium discount to compensate for the added out-of-pocket risk compared to the extremes.
Related guides
- Franchise CHF 300 or CHF 2,500? The break-even is about CHF 1,800 of billsChoose the CHF 2,500 franchise if your expected medical bills stay below roughly CHF 1,800–2,000 a year and the CHF 300 franchise if they run above it. The federal rules cap the premium discount for the highest franchise at CHF 1,540 a year, so the mid franchises (500–2,000) are dominated in almost every scenario: they carry most of the risk for a fraction of the discount.
- How to change health insurer in Switzerland: deadlines and stepsYou can change your Swiss basic health insurer (KVG) every year for 1 January, with no health check and no right of refusal, as long as your cancellation reaches the old insurer by the last working day of November and you have no unpaid premiums. Supplementary insurance is a separate private contract: never cancel it before the new insurer has accepted you in writing.