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Sophie

Death, and what it leaves behind

Nobody likes this page. It exists because AHV and pension fund survivors’ benefits are lower than people imagine, and because the gap can be calculated in advance.

Cohabitation, the system’s blind spot

The AHV pays no widow’s or widower’s pension to a cohabiting partner, however long the relationship lasted. A pension fund may pay one, but only if its regulations provide for it and, almost always, if the partner was notified in writing during the member’s lifetime.

That notification is free, takes ten minutes, and is systematically forgotten. For an unmarried couple it is the first thing to check, before even considering insurance.

What funeral costs cover

A funeral in Switzerland is an immediate expense, payable before any insurance benefit and before the estate is settled. Some contracts provide a rapid advance for it, others do not — that is a clause to read, not to assume.

Repatriation from abroad is a separate item, often absent from death policies and frequently already covered by travel insurance. Check which of your contracts carries it before buying a third.

What drives the price

  • Age and state of health when the policy is taken out.
  • The sum insured and the contract term.
  • Marital status: married, registered partnership, or cohabiting — the difference is decisive.
  • The form chosen: pure risk, or mixed with savings.

We show no tariffs on this page. Unlike LAMal premiums, no public register publishes prices for this branch: they depend on your profile and are calculated case by case. Quoting a figure here would be an invention.

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