The dates of the insurance year

These dates do not move from one year to the next. They are public, they are short, and missing the first one costs a full year at the rate you wanted to leave.

1. End of SeptemberThe FOPH publishes next year’s premiums

   That is the day comparing becomes possible. Before it, nobody knows the rates — comparators showing prices in August are showing the current year’s.

2. OctoberYour insurer notifies you of your new premium

   The letter comes by post. That is the moment to compare, not to file it away: six to eight weeks remain to act.

3. 30 NovemberLast day for your termination to have ARRIVED at the insurer

   The word is «arrived», not «posted». A B-mail letter sent on the 29th can arrive on 2 December and cost a full year. Registered mail is the only proof that will count.

   Cancelling your health insurer →
4. 31 DecemberLast day to pay into this year’s pillar 3a

   The payment must be credited, not merely instructed. A transfer on 30 December may be booked in January and be lost for that year’s tax deduction.

5. 1 JanuaryThe new insurer, deductible and model take effect

   Nothing overlaps: the old cover ends on 31 December in the evening, the new one starts the next day. There is never a gap, and never a double premium.

6. 31 MarchSecond termination deadline, for some insured people only

   It applies only to those on the ordinary deductible and standard model, taking effect on 30 June. Few qualify — check before counting on it.

7. All yearApply for the cantonal premium subsidy

   Each canton has its own deadlines and procedure: some pay automatically, others require an annual application. It is the one item where sheer unawareness costs thousands.

   Premium subsidies →

These dates concern basic insurance. Supplementary policies (VVG) follow their own deadlines, often longer and specific to each contract: never terminate a supplementary policy alongside basic cover without reading its terms.