Health insurance when you are out of work
Losing your job does not suspend the duty to be insured. But two things change, and one of them lowers the premium.
The household priced
- 1 × Unemployedadult · Deductible CHF 2'500 · accident suspended
The most affordable canton is Zug, at CHF 196.00 a month for this household.
The most expensive is Geneva, at CHF 442.70 a month — for exactly the same cover.
Basic cover remains compulsory, with no exception and no deferral. However, as soon as you draw unemployment benefits you are covered against accidents by unemployment insurance: accident cover can be suspended with your health insurer, which lowers the premium. The second point matters more still: premium reductions are based on income, and an income that has fallen often opens an entitlement that did not exist before. Many cantons accept a claim mid-year based on your current situation, without waiting for a tax assessment. Do not settle for last year’s refusal.
What it costs, canton by canton
| Canton | Cheapest | Average premium | Gap over the year | Cheapest insurer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zug | CHF 196.00 | CHF 248.56 | CHF 631 | CONCORDIA |
| Appenzell Innerrhoden | CHF 215.90 | CHF 272.18 | CHF 675 | Vivao Sympany |
| Uri | CHF 253.00 | CHF 311.46 | CHF 701 | Agrisano |
| Obwalden | CHF 258.80 | CHF 314.35 | CHF 667 | Agrisano |
| Nidwalden | CHF 261.30 | CHF 308.37 | CHF 565 | Agrisano |
| Schwyz | CHF 275.30 | CHF 335.46 | CHF 722 | Agrisano |
| Grisons | CHF 276.60 | CHF 345.76 | CHF 830 | ÖKK |
| St. Gallen | CHF 276.70 | CHF 351.48 | CHF 897 | Agrisano |
| Valais | CHF 277.40 | CHF 356.44 | CHF 948 | sodalis |
| Lucerne | CHF 279.45 | CHF 342.77 | CHF 760 | Luzerner Hinterland |
| Appenzell Ausserrhoden | CHF 286.80 | CHF 351.43 | CHF 776 | Agrisano |
| Glarus | CHF 296.80 | CHF 345.72 | CHF 587 | KPT |
| Zurich | CHF 300.90 | CHF 388.92 | CHF 1'056 | Sanitas |
| Schaffhausen | CHF 301.60 | CHF 374.55 | CHF 875 | Assura-Basis |
| Thurgau | CHF 303.30 | CHF 351.76 | CHF 582 | Galenos |
| Fribourg | CHF 314.80 | CHF 379.84 | CHF 780 | Visana |
| Bern | CHF 317.20 | CHF 409.85 | CHF 1'112 | Visana |
| Aargau | CHF 326.25 | CHF 372.67 | CHF 557 | Sanitas |
| Solothurn | CHF 346.30 | CHF 396.73 | CHF 605 | Visana |
| Basel-Landschaft | CHF 365.00 | CHF 445.57 | CHF 967 | ÖKK |
| Vaud | CHF 380.40 | CHF 458.92 | CHF 942 | Assura-Basis |
| Jura | CHF 403.50 | CHF 462.33 | CHF 706 | Assura-Basis |
| Neuchâtel | CHF 403.50 | CHF 483.97 | CHF 966 | SWICA |
| Ticino | CHF 406.90 | CHF 496.95 | CHF 1'081 | Helsana |
| Basel-Stadt | CHF 416.30 | CHF 486.01 | CHF 837 | CSS |
| Geneva | CHF 442.70 | CHF 514.57 | CHF 862 | 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
- 1Suspend accident cover from the first benefit payment.
- 2Reapply for the premium reduction on your current situation: entitlement often opens mid-year.
- 3Never cancel without being enrolled elsewhere: a gap leaves you liable for everything.
The other situations
- Health insurance as a student
- Health insurance in your first job
- Health insurance for a family of four
- Health insurance when self-employed
- Health insurance in retirement
- Health insurance when arriving in Switzerland
- Health insurance for a child
- Health insurance during an apprenticeship
- Health insurance for two
- Health insurance as a cross-border worker
- Health insurance after retirement
2026 · OFSP / priminfo.admin.ch