3 effective tips to pay less for your health insurance.

There are many tips to save on Swiss health insurance premiums.

▶ ︎ Increase your franchise
In addition to a change of insurer, a means of lowering its premium is, if one is well-worn, to opt for a deductible higher than the mandatory minimum of 300 francs.

The Federal Office of public health (FOPH) recommends that those who decide to increase their franchise without changing insurers should inform their Caisse on time, no later than 30 November.

The possible deductible amounts range from 300.-to 2500.-francs.

▶ ︎ Choose a special health insurance model.
The use of models of family physicians and groups of physicians HMO is also a solution. Giving up the free choice of the doctor or hospital can save between 5% and 25% on the premium. Several cases also offer new insurance models that provide medical consultation by telephone before each medical visit.

Policyholders can also purchase bonus insurance, which allows them to reduce premiums gradually each year if they do not request any reimbursement. This type of insurance, which costs 10% more at the outset, must however be concluded for a minimum period of five years after which the rebate can reach 50%.

The potential for savings is enormous. Thus, if all policyholders chose a cheaper cash register, 3.8 billion francs could be saved. If they opted for the cheapest insurance model, the savings would reach 5.9 billion.

▶ ︎ Avoid duplicates.
Accident insurance is covered by the employer when a person works more than eight hours a week. Health repatriations are often provided by credit cards.

Health insurance may also be suspended during a period of military or civil service or civil protection exceeding 60 consecutive days.
Finally, by paying the premiums per semester or per year instead of each month, policyholders can also lighten their budget a little bit. The savings potential is in the order of 1% for the half-yearly payments and 2% maximum for an annual payment.