Guide

How to cancel your supplementary insurance in Switzerland

Alejandro Redondo Lázaro · 19 min read · Published 22.08.2026

Cancelling your supplementary insurance in Switzerland takes one letter, and it has to reach your insurer in time. This guide is about supplementary insurance, the optional cover you pay for on top of the compulsory basic insurance, not about the basic insurance itself. Before you send it, check three things:

• The date. With many insurers your letter has to arrive before the end of September if you want the insurance to end on 31 December (the exact day for each insurer is in the table below).
• How long your contract runs. When you took out the supplementary insurance you agreed to stay for a minimum term, usually one or three years. The insurance can only end once that term is up, and the letter has to reach the insurer before that, not after. With a one-year contract, you give notice in September of that same year and you leave on 31 December. If you send nothing, the contract does not end on its own: it carries on, and every autumn your September date comes round again. The minimum term at each insurer is in the table below. And if you are still inside that term, there are two ways out early.
• The golden rule. If you are switching insurer, do not cancel the policy you have until the new insurer has accepted you in writing.

Further down you will also find a tool that writes your cancellation letter with your insurer’s official address already filled in.

The golden rule: the new policy first, cancelling the old one afterwards

In compulsory health insurance, the basic cover that everyone living in Switzerland must have (KVG in German, LAMal in French and Italian), every insurer operating in your area has to accept you, whatever your state of health. In supplementary insurance (VVG in German, LCA in French and Italian), no such duty exists. The insurer can ask you to fill in a health questionnaire, put an exclusion on your policy (writing into it that a health problem you already have will never be covered) or simply turn you down.

That’s why the order matters so much. Cancel your supplementary insurance and then get turned down by the new insurer, and you are left with no cover. Getting supplementary insurance again can be impossible, or more expensive.

Three ways to cancel, and what happens if you leave Switzerland

1. Ordinary cancellation. This is the normal route, the one for the end of the contract. When you took out the supplementary insurance you signed up for a set term: one year, three years or even no minimum term, depending on the insurer. You can cancel with effect from the end of that term, giving notice three months before the contract ends. After that you can cancel with effect from the end of each year. With a one-year contract, that means you can leave at the end of that first year, giving notice in September. And the law guarantees you a right that no contract can take away. At the end of the third year you can always cancel, whatever your policy says (the policy is the document where the insurer summarises the cover you have taken out). On top of that, since 2022 ordinary cancellation belongs to the customer alone. You can cancel; your insurer cannot.
2. Cancellation after a premium increase. The premium is what you pay to have the insurance. When your insurer tells you the premium is going up (usually in the autumn), that notice can give you the right to cancel the insurance before the increase takes effect, even if the contract has not reached its end. The exact reason and the exact deadline depend on the conditions of your product, meaning the small print you were given when you took it out. Keep one thing in mind. If you let the deadline pass without replying, the increase counts as accepted.
3. Cancellation after a claim. A claim is when something happens that your insurance has to pay for, a treatment for example, and you ask the insurer to pay it. Once you claim that benefit from your insurer, the law lets you cancel that policy from the moment you claim it and at the latest when it is paid to you. After that payment the legal right ends, unless your conditions give you a few more days. It’s the least known route and the one with the most small print. Before you use it, read your insurer’s conditions.

For most people the first two routes are enough. And leaving Switzerland is a separate case that is not exactly a cancellation. When you move your residence abroad, in many products the contract ends, is suspended or carries on under certain conditions. Leaving Switzerland is explained further down. The diagram sums it all up.

The cancellation deadlines, insurer by insurer

The law sets a limit on how long a contract can tie you in, not a period you have to wait out. However long your contract runs, at the end of the third year you can always cancel, giving three months’ notice. That right comes round again at the end of every year after that. That doesn’t mean you have to sit out three years. Many contracts let you leave sooner, and the “Minimum term” column in the table says when.

Is your date September, or the anniversary of your contract? It depends on the day your insurance year ends, and that day is on your policy. In most products the insurance year runs from January to December, which is why the three months’ notice falls in September. If yours ends on a different day, count three months back from there. Look on your policy as well for how long your contract runs and what notice period it asks of you.

That said, the practical rule for ending the insurance at the end of the year is this. With many insurers your letter has to ARRIVE by the last working day of September at the latest. And some set a cut-off time as well, 17:00 for example. Always check your own conditions. And with almost every insurer what counts is the day the letter arrives, not the day you send it. The postmark does not count.

Where to find the conditions that decide your case (AVB or CGA)

The document is called the general terms and conditions, or general insurance conditions, AVB in German and CGA in French. You were given it when you took out the insurance and it usually comes with the policy itself. If you do not have it, ask your insurer for it or download it from their website. Inside, look for the clause called “Termination”, “résiliation” or “Kündigung”. That is where you find the details that decide your case, how long your contract runs, how much notice you have to give and what happens if the premium goes up. At the end of this guide, under the sources, you will find a link to the conditions of every insurer in the table, and the number of the clause to look up.

The table sums up the general terms and conditions and the most common current products, clause by clause. Each insurer’s name links to its official page, where it publishes this information. Your particular product, an older contract or a multi-year contract may have different rules.

One piece of advice holds for every insurer. When in doubt, send the letter signed. Some of them require it.

If your premium has gone up, you may have another deadline to cancel

A premium increase can open a special right of cancellation. The exact reason and the deadline depend on the conditions of your product. Check them as soon as the letter announcing the increase arrives, because that deadline is usually short. And watch out for two increases that many conditions leave outside that special right, the one that comes from having moved house and the one that comes from having lost a discount. If your increase is one of those, the ordinary route is probably all you have left.

Saying nothing works against you. If you do not cancel within the deadline, the increase counts as accepted. And if you miss that deadline, you will normally have to wait for the next ordinary cancellation date your contract allows, unless another ground for cancelling applies. Remember the legal minimum. At the end of the third year you can always leave, and every year after that.

One-year or three-year contracts: the term decides when you can leave

Supplementary insurance is taken out for an agreed length of time. Depending on the insurer there are one-year contracts, three-year contracts and contracts with no minimum term. Those last ones can be cancelled with effect from the end of the year. Some insurers offer longer terms. While the minimum term is running, the ordinary route is normally not available. That is why the “Minimum term” column in the table matters as much as the deadline.

The law puts a ceiling on how long a contract can tie you in. At the end of the third contract year you always have the right to cancel, giving three months’ notice, even if the contract was signed for longer (Article 35a of the Insurance Contract Act). And Article 98 stops your contract from taking that right away from you. So a five-year contract does not tie you in for five years.

And if you are still inside the agreed term, there are two common ways out early. The first is the premium increase deadline from the section above. The second is cancelling after a claim (Article 42). When you claim a benefit you can cancel, at the latest until it is paid to you. And the contract cannot take that right away from you (Article 98). Watch out for what happens if you cancel this way, because on this route the insurance does not last until the end of the year. Cover ends 14 days after your letter arrives, so here the golden rule matters more than ever. These 14 days are not the ones for changing your mind about a contract you have just signed; those are in the questions at the end. And this route has a costly trap. If you cancel this way during the year following the signing of the contract, the law lets the insurer keep the premium for the period you are paying for, usually the whole insurance year (Article 42).

For exceptional cases the law also allows cancellation for good cause (Article 35b). It only accepts grounds that make carrying on with the contract unreasonable. A higher premium or a better offer elsewhere do not count. And your insurer has the same right. The deadlines and the small print of each route are in your insurer’s conditions. Read them before you go ahead.

If you leave Switzerland, tell your insurer before you go

If you go back to your home country or move abroad, this is what matters. In many products the supplementary insurance ends by itself when you move your residence abroad, without anyone cancelling anything. It also ends when your habitual residence has been outside Switzerland for longer than your conditions allow. In other products it can be suspended or kept on under certain conditions. If you are leaving for a long spell, look at what your conditions say before you go, even if you are not changing your official residence.

In every case you do the same thing with your insurer. Tell them in good time, in writing and with proof. Keeping quiet about the move is expensive. Some conditions let the insurer cancel with retroactive effect from the actual date you left and claim back the benefits it paid you after that date. Attach the deregistration certificate from your municipality to your notice (Abmeldebestätigung in German, attestation de départ in French). That document proves beyond argument the date you left. Whether your insurance ends on that same day depends on your conditions. The two dates do not always match.

When the insurance ends if you leave (it depends on your insurer)

Every insurer ends the insurance at a different moment, and that decides how much premium you end up paying. Depending on your conditions, the insurance can end on the day you move, on the date shown on that deregistration certificate, or at the end of the period you have already signed up for, often 31 December. In that last case you still owe the premium up to that date even though you no longer live in Switzerland. There is a general rule that works in your favour on every route. When a contract ends early, the premium is only owed up to that end and anything you have overpaid is refunded (Article 24, which no contract can change). The law provides for exceptions. The one that matters in this guide is cancellation after a claim within the year following the signing of the contract. Check your own case in your conditions before you buy the ticket.

Can you keep your supplementary insurance from abroad?

Sometimes you can, and it depends on your insurer. There are three ways. The first is keeping it if you are still subject to Swiss compulsory health insurance, normally without being able to add to it or increase the cover you already have. That is the case for cross-border workers, posted workers and pensioners in the EU. The second is carrying it on and paying a surcharge, if your insurer offers that option and agrees to it in your case. The third is negotiating it in writing, and in that case it is not a right of yours but an agreement with the insurer. And some conditions say nothing about leaving Switzerland. In that case you are left with ordinary cancellation or suspension. What your insurer offers is in its conditions. Ask us and we will look at them with you.

The cancellation letter: what it has to say and how to send it

Since 2022 the law accepts what it calls text form, a written message such as an email. In practice, some insurers also ask for a signed document for certain cancellation routes set out in their conditions. To avoid arguments, use the channel your insurer indicates and always keep proof.

The letter has to say who you are (name, address and policy or customer number), what you are cancelling (each product by its name) and for when. It is addressed to the company that actually insures you, and that is not always the same one as for your compulsory health insurance. At several insurers those are two different companies, and the exact name is on your policy.

The safest way to send it is by registered letter. Not because the law requires it, but because almost every set of conditions goes by when the letter arrives, and registered post gives you proof of the date. For ordinary cancellation the law only asks for text form. Send the letter with time to spare. A registered letter arrives on the day your insurer collects it, not on the day you send it.

So that you do not have to start from scratch, this guide comes with a tool that writes the letter for you. You put in your details and your products, choose which official language you want the letter in (German, French or Italian), and download the PDF with your insurer’s official address already filled in. The PDF also carries the English translation, so you know exactly what you are signing. And if you want, you sign with your finger or the mouse and your signature is printed on the letter.

Generate your cancellation letter in a minute→

Frequently asked questions

The short version

First the new insurer accepts you in writing, then you cancel the old policy. If your minimum term is already up, with many insurers your letter has to arrive by the last working day of September at the latest for the insurance to end on 31 December. If you are still inside that term, your way out is usually the deadline that a premium increase opens, and if you do not reply in time, that deadline closes. At the end of the third year you can always cancel, however long your contract runs. And the tool writes the letter for you.

Related guides