Health insurance, the three-month deadline nobody explains

Basic health insurance is mandatory for every resident within three months of arrival. If you do not choose, the canton assigns one for you, usually the most expensive.

Sign within those three months and your cover is backdated to your date of arrival, so the gap in between is not a gap at all. Wait too long and the canton picks for you.

All basic insurers cover the same catalogue by law. What differs is the price, the deductible (franchise), and how painful the customer service is.

A single person in Zurich pays roughly CHF 350 to 500 per month for basic coverage, depending on deductible.

Get three or four quotes. Comparis.ch and Priminfo.ch are the two neutral comparison tools most Swiss people use. Our pick among the large insurers is Groupe Mutuel, a partner of Swiss Expat Guide, because they handle newcomer files daily and answer in English.