Health insurance when arriving in Switzerland
Three months to choose, retroactive effect to the day you arrived, and no insurer that may refuse you.
The household priced
- 1 × New arrivaladult · Deductible CHF 300 · accident included
The most affordable canton is Zug, at CHF 335.10 a month for this household.
The most expensive is Geneva, at CHF 604.30 a month — for exactly the same cover.
Enrolment is compulsory within three months of taking up residence, retroactive to the first day: choosing late saves nothing, it delivers several premiums at once. No insurer may refuse basic cover or ask health questions. Past the deadline, the canton assigns you automatically, often to an expensive insurer — and catching up costs.
What it costs, canton by canton
| Canton | Cheapest | Average premium | Gap over the year | Cheapest insurer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zug | CHF 335.10 | CHF 392.20 | CHF 685 | Agrisano |
| Appenzell Innerrhoden | CHF 353.50 | CHF 418.05 | CHF 775 | Agrisano |
| Uri | CHF 376.60 | CHF 459.79 | CHF 998 | Agrisano |
| Obwalden | CHF 382.80 | CHF 462.97 | CHF 962 | Agrisano |
| Nidwalden | CHF 385.40 | CHF 456.45 | CHF 853 | Agrisano |
| Schwyz | CHF 400.20 | CHF 485.41 | CHF 1'023 | Agrisano |
| St. Gallen | CHF 401.60 | CHF 502.43 | CHF 1'210 | Agrisano |
| Grisons | CHF 404.70 | CHF 496.38 | CHF 1'100 | vita surselva |
| Valais | CHF 406.30 | CHF 508.79 | CHF 1'230 | Agrisano |
| Appenzell Ausserrhoden | CHF 412.30 | CHF 502.48 | CHF 1'082 | Agrisano |
| Lucerne | CHF 414.30 | CHF 493.34 | CHF 948 | Agrisano |
| Zurich | CHF 427.80 | CHF 542.52 | CHF 1'377 | Agrisano |
| Thurgau | CHF 429.70 | CHF 502.37 | CHF 872 | Agrisano |
| Glarus | CHF 433.20 | CHF 496.68 | CHF 762 | Agrisano |
| Schaffhausen | CHF 433.80 | CHF 527.85 | CHF 1'129 | Agrisano |
| Bern | CHF 447.50 | CHF 565.40 | CHF 1'415 | Agrisano |
| Fribourg | CHF 450.00 | CHF 533.49 | CHF 1'002 | Agrisano |
| Aargau | CHF 453.80 | CHF 525.14 | CHF 856 | Agrisano |
| Solothurn | CHF 486.20 | CHF 551.51 | CHF 784 | Agrisano |
| Basel-Landschaft | CHF 494.80 | CHF 603.97 | CHF 1'310 | Agrisano |
| Vaud | CHF 537.30 | CHF 618.51 | CHF 974 | Assura-Basis |
| Ticino | CHF 539.00 | CHF 659.15 | CHF 1'442 | Agrisano |
| Jura | CHF 543.10 | CHF 622.29 | CHF 950 | Agrisano |
| Neuchâtel | CHF 554.20 | CHF 644.53 | CHF 1'084 | Visana |
| Basel-Stadt | CHF 575.90 | CHF 647.20 | CHF 856 | CSS |
| Geneva | CHF 604.30 | CHF 678.60 | CHF 892 | Assura-Basis |
The amounts are the lowest premium found in the canton, across all models, for the composition above. A canton’s lowest premium sits in one specific premium region: your municipality may belong to another. The comparator gives the exact figure for your postcode. When a household has several insured people, each is placed with the insurer cheapest for them: the right-hand column may therefore name two, and nothing requires a family to choose the same insurer for everyone.
Three things to check
- 1Count three months from taking up residence, not from signing the lease or from physically arriving.
- 2A CHF 300 deductible is the prudent choice in year one: you do not yet know your costs in a system you are discovering.
- 3Travel insurance or cover from your home country does not exempt you from enrolment, unless an exemption is formally granted.
The other situations
2026 · OFSP / priminfo.admin.ch