Cross-border commuter health insurance: your protection in Switzerland.

SWICA is proud to be consistently ranked first in terms of customer satisfaction and image in independent surveys such as those conducted by Comparis, moneyland.ch, bonus.ch and AmPuls. These results motivate us in our efforts to continue delivering the best customer service and quality.

• SWICA 24/7 customer services: we would be delighted to provide you with personal advice. If you have any questions about your insurance cover, our phone helpline is available 24 hours a day. 

  Phone +41 58 800 99 43

   

• santé24: your Swiss online practice: The experienced doctors and medical specialists at santé24 provide expert advice and treatment for all matters relating to prevention, illness, accident and maternity – 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, worldwide. 

  Phone +41 44 404 86 86
   

Medbase medical centres and SWICA partner practices are modern medical facilities offering a comprehensive range of conventional and complementary medicine. They are among the leading medical and treatment facilities in Switzerland.

SWICA will register you with your chosen health insurer in your country of residence using the S1 form.

• You must register with a statutory health insurer in your country of residence to receive an insurance card for treatments you plan to have.
• The SWICA insurance card is not valid in your country of residence.
• If you gave us authorisation and the name of a health insurer when you submitted your application, we will already have completed your registration for you. If not, we will send you an S1 form, which must be forwarded to a statutory health insurer.
• The same procedure applies for family members who are not in employment.
• The health insurer in your country of residence will determine whether your family members are eligible for registration.
• If not, we will be unable to continue insuring your family in Switzerland.
• If you have any questions, please contact the health insurer in your country of residence.

You need a Swiss insurance card to access services in Switzerland. You will also receive an additional insurance card, free of charge, from the health insurer in your country of residence for treatment there.

We cannot issue an insurance card without an AHV (Swiss social security) number. If you are starting work in Switzerland for the first time, your employer will normally apply for an AHV number. You usually then have to wait up to four weeks for your insurance card. Please let us know if you have already been waiting significantly longer. We will check the personal data and address details we have on record for you, make any necessary corrections and, if necessary, order a new insurance card.

Important information: Your employer will not usually apply for AHV numbers for family members who are not in employment. We are unable to generate an insurance card until we have numbers for your family members. We would be happy to make the application on your behalf. Please let us know if you would like us to do so.

It usually takes up to four weeks for your insurance card to be issued. To access treatment in Switzerland before you have received your SWICA insurance card, you can present your insurance policy to your doctors, pharmacies and other service providers. Care providers are also welcome to contact us to confirm your insurance status.

You can access your electronic insurance card on the mySWICA customer portal without having to wait the full four weeks, and present it to receive treatment in Switzerland.

Once you have been accepted by SWICA and registered with your chosen health insurer in your country of residence, that insurer will provide you with an insurance card to access services in your country of residence. You should contact that insurer directly if you need a replacement certificate.

Under your right to choose a country for treatment, you can opt to receive your treatment in Switzerland or in your country of residence. For treatments in Switzerland, use your SWICA insurance card. In your country of residence, please only use your foreign health insurance.

You can use the mySWICA customer portal to gain convenient online access to a digital version of your SWICA insurance card.

Any changes that could potentially affect your insurance relationship must be reported to SWICA within one month. Such changes include in particular:

• Changes of name and family circumstances (marriage/divorce, birth of a child)
• Changes of address (particularly if changing your place of residence to another country)

Changes in professional/income circumstances should also be reported, including those of your family members.

• Termination of your employment in Switzerland (including temporarily)
• Starting a new or additional job (including outside Switzerland)
• Change of canton in which you work
• Working from home/remote working
• Drawing a pension or daily benefits

Insurance normally starts when you begin working in Switzerland (or start drawing a pension in Switzerland), provided that we receive your insurance application within three months of this date. If received later, your insurance will not begin until the date that SWICA receives your application, and a premium surcharge may be applied.

Cross-border commuters living in Germany, Italy, Austria or France have the right to opt out of the insurance obligation in Switzerland within three months of it starting to apply. To do so, a written application must be made to the relevant cantonal authority. This opt-out right also applies to pensioners subject to an insurance obligation in Switzerland who are resident in Portugal or Spain (Swiss and Spanish nationals only).

• A fully completed insurance application (including signed quote)
• A copy of the employment contract/cross-border commuter permit
• A signed power of attorney for each non-working adult family member
• A supplementary sheet for cross-border commuters signed by each adult

When switching insurer within Switzerland, we do not require an employment contract or cross-border commuter permit. SWICA can also terminate your existing insurance for you. To do so, we also require the signed termination form.

Family members who are not in work must normally be insured with you in Switzerland, provided that (in the case of children) the other parent is not in work. If the other parent is in work in your country of residence (whatever their level of income), your children will not be insured with SWICA. The health insurer in your country of residence will verify and determine who is classed as a non-working family member.

If you live in Denmark, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Portugal, Spain, Sweden or the UK, non-working members of your family must be insured in your country of residence. If you live in Finland, your family have free choice in this matter.

If you live in Austria, France or Italy, non-working members of your family have the right to opt out of the insurance obligation in Switzerland, but only if you do too. This means that everyone must be insured either in Switzerland or in your country of residence.

If you live in Germany, non-working members of your family have their own right to opt out, separately from you. As such, your family members can apply to the relevant cantonal authority for an opt-out within three months, even if you yourself take out insurance with SWICA.

Cross-border commuters are normally subject to the social security system of just one country. Where cross-border commuters work in more than one country, a competent authority must establish which country's social security system applies. Who should carry out this check depends on your country of residence. Please contact us if you have any questions in this regard.

The scope of cover in Switzerland is defined by the Health Insurance Act (KVG). See below for an extract from the list of benefits:

Overview of benefits for cross-border commuters

If you receive treatment in Switzerland, you should send all your invoices directly to SWICA for processing. You must pay the invoice yourself. Depending on the canton, some providers may also settle their invoices directly with us via your SWICA insurance card.

Important: Please present only our SWICA card to providers in Switzerland (doctor, pharmacy, hospital, etc.).

If services are used in Switzerland, all KVG benefits will be reimbursed to you less the annual excess of 300 francs and a statutory deductible of 10% of the invoice amount up to a maximum of 700 francs. However, it is also possible that the benefit amount may be paid directly to the service provider and that you will be asked for the co-payment.

Calculation example: excess and co-payment

• Medical bill: CHF 1000
• Less excess: CHF 300
• Subtotal: CHF 700
• Less 10% deductible: CHF 70
• Reimbursement: CHF 630

When travelling abroad, you are also covered for medically necessary treatment in EU/EFTA countries and the UK, and for emergencies worldwide. In the EU/EFTA or UK, you should if required present your SWICA insurance card; your European insurance card is on the reverse. In the event of an emergency outside the EU/EFTA or UK, we will reimburse your costs up to twice the maximum amount that we would pay in Switzerland.

Unfortunately, SWICA is not able to provide any form of supplementary insurance to anyone living outside Switzerland. If you have any questions about supplementary forms of insurance, you should speak to an insurance company in your country of residence.

If you are a cross-border commuter who is already insured with another health insurer in Switzerland (KVG), you can switch to SWICA with effect from 1 January or 1 July of any year.

• To switch with effect from 1 January, your existing insurer must receive your notice of termination by 30 November at the latest.
• To switch with effect from 1 July, your existing insurer must receive your notice of termination by 31 March at the latest.

Please note that you can only switch insurer if you do not have any premium arrears with your existing insurer. The same cut-off dates apply if you wish to switch from SWICA to a competitor. Your notice of termination is deemed to have been received on time if it reaches SWICA before close of business on the last working day before the cut-off date.

When changing your country of residence to Switzerland, your insurance cover must be adjusted accordingly; we give you a right of extraordinary termination to do so. You have three months from the date of your return to retroactively switch your insurance with SWICA back to a Swiss-resident model (this may mean an alternative insurance model and/or higher excess), or to retroactively switch to a competitor from the date of your change of residence.

After three months, the ordinary notice periods apply when switching to a competitor, and we are no longer allowed to retroactively adjust your insurance cover (no alternative insurance model or higher excess).

eBill is a quick and easy way to pay your invoices. You check your invoice in your e-banking/e-finance app, then approve the payment with just two clicks. If you wish, you can also set up automatic invoice approval up to a certain invoice total.

How to register for SWICA eBill invoices

• Log in to your e-banking/e-finance app as usual
• Select “eBill/e-billing” from the menu
• Register for the eBill service if you haven't already done so
• For identification purposes, enter your insurance number or your most recent premium invoice number

Please note:

• After switching to e-billing, you will no longer receive any paper invoices from SWICA. However, you can view your invoices in the mySWICA customer portal at any time.
• eBill invoices can only be paid from a Swiss account.

As an alternative to eBill, you can also pay your premium invoices via bank or PostFinance direct debit. The invoice amount will be debited automatically from your account on the due date. Please complete the application form to set up your instruction, then send the signed original to your bank. If you have an account with PostFinance, you can simply send the form to us. We will send you payment slips for payment of your premiums and co-payments until your bank authorises the direct debit facility.

Please note:

• A direct debit can only be set up from a Swiss account.
• No direct debits can be made from a foreign account, even if it has a CH IBAN.

Direct debit application form 

SWICA issues invoices with a QR code containing all the information needed for payment. Following receipt, you must take steps to ensure the invoice is paid by its due date.

Note regarding payments from outside Switzerland
The QR IBAN printed on the premium invoice does not work for payments made from other countries. Please use the payment information provided at the top of your QR invoice.

Alternatively, you can make payments from outside Switzerland to the following account, quoting your insurance number and invoice number:

• Account holder: SWICA Healthcare Insurance Ltd
• IBAN: CH62 0900 0000 8405 4156 9
• BIC/SWIFT: POFICHBEXXX
• Bank: PostFinance AG, Mingerstrasse 20, 3030 Bern

Please note: The amount transferred must precisely match the amount in Swiss francs. You must pay any fees for foreign currency transactions yourself.