Swiss mandatory health insurance premiums will increase by a relatively low margin in 2021. But residents can still save significant amounts of money by comparing and changing health insurance providers.
“A moneyland.ch estimate shows that average savings which can be achieved by residents migrating to affordable health insurance providers are huge, in spite of the relatively low premium increases,” explains moneyland.ch analyst Felix Oeschger.
Potential savings of 381 francs per person
Independent Swiss online comparison service moneyland.ch calculated the savings potential for all compulsory health insurance policyholders in 2021. For its estimation, moneyland.ch weighted and analyzed more than 250,000 pieces of health insurance premium data. Calculations accounted for differences in health insurance premiums by insurance provider, age group, health insurance premium region and insurance model.
The results: “Residents of Switzerland could collectively save around 3.3 billion francs per year if they all moved to the most affordable health insurance providers available – without changing their deductibles or health insurance models,” states moneyland.ch CEO Benjamin Manz. That is an average of 381 francs per person and year.
Residents could collectively save far more if they also migrated to the most affordable managed care insurance models. By moving to both the most affordable insurance providers and managed care models, residents could save an average of 658 francs per person and year in 2021. That would translate into 5.6 billion francs in mandatory health insurance premium savings for the population as a whole.
These savings estimates are hypothetical figures, because in actuality only a small fraction of residents change mandatory health insurance providers in a given insurance year. “Still, the estimates show that many residents could save significant amounts of money by changing insurance policies,” says Felix Oeschger.
Savings potential by age group
Swiss mandatory health insurance premiums are divided into three age groups. These are: children (age 0-18), young adults (age 19 to 25), and adults (age 26 or older). Each insurance provider can set separate premiums for each age group. Premiums for each age group differ broadly between insurance providers, so age-based differences in savings potential are also major.
Young adults and adults stand to save the most by switching mandatory health insurance policies, while savings potential for children is less pronounced. By migrating to the most affordable insurance provider for 2021, adult residents could save an average of 421 francs per person without changing health insurance models. Young adults could save an average of 471 francs per person, while children could save 184 francs per person over 2021.
Savings potential with insurance model migration
The standard mandatory health insurance model covers visits to any doctor or specialist in Switzerland without pre-approval from a managed care provider. Managed care insurance models require policyholders to get referred to specialists by a managed care provider in order for treatments to be covered. In addition to the family doctor, HMO and telemedicine managed care models, many hybrid models are now offered. Premiums for managed care mandatory health insurance are typically much lower than those of standard model mandatory health insurance.
Many residents of Switzerland do not use the most affordable mandatory health insurance model available. The population could collectively save an average of 316 francs per person over 2021 by migrating to the most affordable managed care insurance models. If all residents were to move to the cheapest mandatory health insurance model available to them, the population could collectively save 2.7 billion francs in mandatory health insurance premiums.
A look at potential savings by age group also provides interesting insights. Adult residents could save an average of 390 francs per person and year by moving to the most affordable available health insurance models. That is nearly as much as the 421 francs per person and year which they could save, on average, by moving to the cheapest available insurance providers (without changing insurance models).
For young adults, the average savings which could be achieved by migrating to affordable insurance providers (471 francs per person) are more than twice as high as those which could be achieved by using the most affordable insurance models (209 francs). Children could save an average of just 62 francs per person and year by moving to the cheapest insurance models. By contrast, children could save an average of 184 francs per person and year by changing health insurance providers.
Savings potential by canton
Like last year, savings potential for adults is highest for residents of the Canton of Geneva. On average, adult residents of Geneva could save 661 francs each in 2021 just by changing mandatory health insurance providers. Savings potential is also high in the Canton of Obwalden, at 590 francs per adult resident.
Average savings potential for adults is lowest in the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden (241 francs), Zug (280 francs), and Appenzell Auserrhoden (296 francs).
Individual savings are key
The potential savings calculated by moneyland.ch are averages which shed light on the huge differences in Swiss mandatory health insurance premiums. But your individual savings potential may be higher or lower than the average for your age group. Your actual premium savings potential is determined by your age, place of residence (the health insurance premium region in which you reside), deductible, health insurance provider and insurance model.
“Residents who use the expensive standard model could save thousands of francs per person in 2021 by simply changing insurance providers,” states Manz. “The only way to find out whether changing insurance providers or models makes financial sense in your case is to compare insurance premiums.”
You can easily compare premiums using the interactive compulsory health insurance comparison on moneyland.ch. The comparison even shows whether the premiums for each insurance offer have increased or decreased over recent years.
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Interactive mandatory health insurance comparison
