Swiss Health Insurance Fitness Incentive Programs Explained

Fitness incentive programs are meant to promote a healthy lifestyle by rewarding you financially. Here, moneyland.ch answers the most important questions and gives you a clear overview of reward programs from Swiss health insurance providers.

Can living a healthy lifestyle lower my health insurance premiums?

Some Swiss health insurance providers give you the option of participating in fitness incentive programs that reward you for exercise, healthy nutrition, and certain other activities. Most of these reward programs are only available in combination with voluntary, supplemental outpatient or hospital insurance, and not with mandatory health insurance.

With fitness incentive programs, you earn points for certain activities such as exercise, healthy nutrition, health education, medical checkups, social engagement, and wellness. Depending on the program, you can then redeem these points for cash back, premium discounts, vouchers, or charitable donations.

Most of these programs give you the option of linking data from tracking devices to earn rewards based on your physical activity. Some give you the option of submitting your location to earn rewards based on time spent at sports facilities or courses. You generally have the option of entering the information manually instead, although options vary between programs.

Are there any other ways to earn points?

Yes. Some programs also reward you for other activities that are not related to a healthy lifestyle. These may include customer loyalty (multiple-year contracts or contract renewals), abstaining from paper documents, using other insurance offers from the same insurer, and helping to onboard new customers, among other things.

It is important to note that there are also other supplemental health insurance providers that reward you for lifestyle choices, but not through points-based reward programs. For example, some Swiss insurers have lower supplemental health insurance premiums for non-smokers.

Many supplemental health insurance offers include benefits aimed at incentivizing you to live a healthy lifestyle. These benefits typically cover part of the cost of gym memberships, sport club memberships, swimming pool subscriptions, and yoga courses, among other things.

Some insurers reward you with claims-free discounts for health insurance when you do not make any claims in an insurance year.

Which fitness trackers can I use with health insurance reward programs?

Compatibility varies between the apps used for health insurance reward programs. Most support Apple Health and Google Fit, which in turn can be used with many popular tracking devices. Direct compatibility with Fitbit, Garmin, Suunto, Polar, and Withings varies between apps.

Is the data I submit to fitness incentive programs secure?

The platforms used to collect data about your physical activities are generally operated by third-party service providers. Depending on the reward program, the company behind the platform may be based in Switzerland or in a foreign country (Germany, for example). How secure your data is and how it can be used depends on the terms and conditions of the rewards program agreement, and on the laws of the country in which your data is processed. If you do not have complete trust in the service providers involved, then you should avoid using fitness incentive programs.

It is important that you understand that there is always a chance that digital records of your health and lifestyle could end up being accessed by unauthorized third parties. Additionally, the terms and conditions may allow information you share to be passed on to your insurance provider or to other third-party companies (for marketing and insurance purposes, for example). This can have positive or negative repercussions for you in the future.

Take time to carefully consider whether you are comfortable with sharing data about your health and lifestyle, and which data you are willing to turn over. If you prefer not to use fitness trackers or location sharing, you may still be able to earn rewards for completing tasks and challenges.

Do the points I earn expire?

With most health insurance reward programs, your points expire after a certain period of time. For example, CSS and Visana points expire at the end of the following calendar year. ÖKK points expire after 12 months. Swica points expire on September 1.

Can children use fitness incentive programs?

Age requirements vary between programs. CSS only offers this service to adults aged 18 or older. The programs from Helsana and Visana are available to children from the age of 12, with their guardian’s consent. Swica only offers its program to adults, but applies the discounts you earn to your child’s insurance premiums as well.

How much are points worth?

The value of points is different from one program to another. For example, the nominal value of a Swica Benevita point is one centime, while that of a Visana MyPoints point is 10 centimes.

Can I continue using the app if I give up my insurance?

Most of the apps used for lifestyle-based reward programs can be used by non-customers as well. However, certain features and content may only be available to customers. Additionally, there may be limitations for earning and redeeming points.

Is using the reward programs for supplemental health insurance worth it?

The most important things to consider when choosing supplemental health insurance are the cost and the insurance benefits. Reward programs should not be a major consideration, as the savings are often marginal. Additionally, there is no way to know for sure that you will consistently be able to continue meeting the criteria for rewards.

However, if the best-value outpatient insurance or hospital insurance for your needs also offers a reward program, then using it can save you money.

Make sure to consider all aspects involved, including security. Activity and location tracking, in particular, should only be used if you trust the service providers and are comfortable with sharing this information.

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