Supplementary insurance
A supplement to basic insurance: hospital ward, dental, complementary medicine and cover abroad.
Why this matters
Basic insurance covers the medical standard – no more. The child’s braces, glasses, transport after an emergency in the mountains or treatment by a naturopath are largely at your own expense without supplementary cover. Correcting a child’s tooth alignment quickly costs several thousand francs, and basic insurance as a rule contributes nothing. Free choice of hospital and doctor beyond your canton of residence also comes only with the right supplement.
Supplementary insurance runs under the Insurance Contract Act (VVG) and is voluntary – for both sides. Companies may ask health questions, impose reservations or decline an application altogether. The best moment to sign is therefore while you are young and healthy; those who only come after a diagnosis often find no door left open. Supplements matter especially for families with children, for people wanting a semi-private or private hospital ward, and for anyone who values complementary medicine.
What you get out of it
Only the supplementary cover you really need — no duplicate cover.
Hospital, dental, glasses, complementary medicine and cover abroad properly arranged.
Plan your application in good time: we know each provider's health checks.
What we take care of for you
- Analysis of your existing supplementary insurance for gaps and overlaps
- Comparison of supplementary hospital cover (general, semi-private, private) with premiums and benefits
- Guidance through the health check — honest and with a realistic assessment
- Cancellation and switching service with deadline monitoring
The advice is free for you — we are remunerated by the insurance companies through brokerage commissions and will disclose these on request.
Tips from our consultations
What we tell our clients time and again – free of charge, even before the first meeting.
Only cancel an existing supplementary insurance once the new provider’s written confirmation of acceptance is in your hands. If the health assessment turns out differently than hoped, you would otherwise be left with no cover at all. This order of steps is the most important principle in any switch.
Concealed diagnoses or treatments can come to light years later – the company may then refuse benefits and terminate the contract. An honestly declared reservation is far better than cover that bursts when it counts. When in doubt, declare one thing too many rather than one too few.
Basic and supplementary insurance do not have to be with the same company. Often the cheapest basic insurance is not where the right supplements are on offer – separating the two then saves on both sides. Don’t let combined offers pressure you.
The November rule of basic insurance does not apply to supplementary insurance: what count are the notice periods in the contract, often three months to the end of the year, sometimes with multi-year terms. Check these details in the policy before planning a switch. Otherwise the contract quietly renews for another year.