Health insurance for young adults: answers to the most frequently asked questions

From 1 January after your 18th birthday, and until you turn 26, the category you fall into is “young adults” instead of “children”, and you will no longer receive the family discount for children and young people.

We will not be able to tell you exactly how much more expensive they will be until October, when the new premiums are set.

Generally speaking, however, the premiums double or increase even more depending on the insurance products you choose, the amount of your excess and where you live.

The premiums go up because of your transition to a different age group. From your 18th birthday, and until you turn 26, the category you fall into is “young adults” instead of “children”.

The Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG) provides for financial relief for families with young children. That’s why there are discounts on the premiums for children and young people. When a child turns 18, the child discount no longer applies. We support all young adults with a youth premium until they turn 25.

SWICA doesn’t recommend any specific products exclusively for young adults. We advise all of our customers to take out Completa Top, Praevita and our supplementary hospitalisation insurance plans, such as Hospita Semi-Private Flex. These plans fill the gaps in mandatory basic insurance and support a healthy lifestyle with substantial contributions – for example towards gym memberships, yoga courses and many other forms of exercise.

It depends on your personal health situation. As a rule, it’s only worth opting for a low excess (300 francs) if your annual healthcare costs amount to 1500 francs or more. A high excess (2500 francs) is your best bet if you almost never need to go to the doctor, because then your premiums will be lower. But don’t forget that if your excess is high, you must have the financial means to contribute towards the costs accordingly if the worst comes to the worst.

You can choose an excess of 300, 500, 1000, 1500, 2000 or 2500 francs. You can adjust the amount to suit your needs every calendar year. SWICA must receive notice by 30 November for a reduction in the excess and by 31 December for an increase.

If you are covered by a GP plan, remember to report your change of doctor. You can inform SWICA about your new GP here:
Report a change of doctor

Your current policy tells you what insurance products you currently have. For your parents too, it is probably a while since they chose the right products for you. Your circumstances have changed – and your insurance cover should reflect that. If you have any questions regarding particular products or insurance cover, SWICA will be happy to help you over the phone or in person.

No. SWICA will generally only separate policies at your request. If you do not communicate a decision to SWICA, you will remain part of your family policy for the time being.

Not automatically. When you transition to a different age group, you can choose whether you would like to have your own policy or remain under your family policy. You will remain under your family policy for as long as SWICA does not receive a decision from you.

SWICA recommends that you have your own policy so that you can get to know the processes relating to health insurance and gradually gain independence. As an adult, you are legally responsible for your insurance cover anyway. With your own policy, you can set up your own personal account for credit amounts (for a gym membership, for example), and only you will be able to access your data.

You can give your parents power of attorney if you want them to continue taking care of your health insurance. If you stay under your family policy, your parents can keep taking care of your health insurance (to a certain degree*). But you will not be able to set up your own account for credit amounts, and you will not be the only person with access to your health data. Your parents will, for example, be able to see when and where you receive treatment. The parents of adult children do not receive any information regarding particularly sensitive data.

No. Premiums are calculated irrespective of the policy arrangement. But if you benefit from a group discount on SWICA supplementary insurance as part of the family policy (for example via your mother’s or father’s employer), this will be lost when you switch to your own policy.

You can. But SWICA will have to separate the policies at the latest when you move out – unless you are a weekly resident and still registered with your parents.

Since you are now an adult (or soon will be), your parents will no longer have full control over your health insurance from the next calendar year. If you remain under your family policy, they will still be able to take care of your health insurance affairs to a limited extent*. If you opt for your own policy and still want your parents to help you, you can grant one of them power of attorney. 
*The parents of adult children do not receive any information regarding particularly sensitive data.

If you remain under your family policy, your parents will see when and where you receive treatment. SWICA will not give your parents any information regarding particularly sensitive data (such as the reason for treatment). If you have your own policy, only you will be able to see your data unless you grant a comprehensive power of attorney to one of your parents.

Yes, that’s possible if you opt for your own policy, which allows you to choose your preferred method of payment and set up a separate account for credit amounts. You can change the payment method, payment account or account for credit amounts online at any time.

There are many different things you can do to save money on your health insurance:

• Choose a less expensive basic insurance plan
• Check your eligibility for reduced premiums
• Benefit from SWICA collective partnerships
• Live a healthy lifestyle with Benevita
• Opt for a high excess (2500 francs) – provided your annual health costs amount to less than 1500 francs.

You’ll find detailed tips on saving money here.

It’s possible. People with limited financial resources may be entitled to reduced premiums in accordance with the Health Insurance Act (KVG). Young adults in particular such as schoolchildren, students or apprentices often have little or no income.

Your parents' financial circumstances are usually taken into consideration when determining your eligibility. The procedure for applying for reduced premiums varies between cantons.

Find the relevant authority

You can notify SWICA of your new address online. This is also the latest point at which SWICA will separate the policies, because after moving you will no longer live in the same household as your parents. This does not apply to weekly residents. In this case, you can remain under your family policy and simply change your correspondence address if necessary.

Register a change of address online

If you move a long way away, your new home may be in a different premium region. Switzerland is divided into different premium regions with varying premiums.

This could cause your premiums to change. If you have taken out a Favorit Casa or Favorit Santé basic insurance plan, your GP or health centre must be registered in the canton where you live or work. You should take this into account when moving to another canton.

A stay abroad can take many different forms. Travelling for several months, spending a year abroad as part of your studies, moving abroad for an indefinite period of time – these all have different consequences for your health insurance.

SWICA recommends getting individual advice in these cases. Feel free to contact us here at any time. You can find some basic information on insurance products relating to various different stays abroad in our overview.

Get in touch now

Since you usually work more than eight hours a week as part of your apprenticeship, you are insured by your employer against occupational and non-occupational accidents. This means that you no longer need this cover from SWICA, and can exclude accident cover from your health insurance.

If you take a break from work after completing your apprenticeship, remember to include accident cover with SWICA again. You can easily do this online at any time. You can also check whether your training provider has taken out insurance with SWICA. If they have, as an employee you will be able to benefit from discounts on certain supplementary insurance plans.

Make sure that you continue to include accident cover with SWICA. If you are not employed by the same employer for at least eight hours a week, you are not insured by your employer against occupational and non-occupational accidents. As soon as you have a job, you can easily exclude accident insurance with SWICA online at any time.

Congratulations! If you start working, you can exclude accident cover from your basic insurance with SWICA. That’s because if you work more than eight hours a week for the same employer, non-occupational and occupational accidents are covered by that employer.

You can suspend your basic insurance if you are going to be doing military or civil service for more than 60 days. The federal government will assume the costs for this period. This means that SWICA will only charge you for the costs of any supplementary insurance for this period. In order for us to be able to set everything in motion, we need the marching order or the call-up for civilian service in advance.

You can send SWICA a copy via our app, by email or by post. Alternatively, you can use this online form.