What a strange story?!

First of all Student Care is not a broker, it is an insurance provider.

It forms part of the CSS group.

If you look carefully at your Groupe Mutuel policy, you will see that you are NOT insured by the Groupe Mutuel. No-one is. It is a group of 14 different companies. Maybe you're insured by CMBB? or Mutuel Assurances? etc.

Student Care forms part of the CSS group just like CMBB forms part of the Groupe Mutuel.

Student Care is a very specific type of insurance.

CSS is the only "normal" Swiss health insurance provider offering this product. None of the other 94 do.
No, it is not the same as "normal" health insurance over here i.e. it is not "LAMal" .
But, it is the equivalent and it is perfectly legal.

If I were you and under 30, I would have gone for the student insurance personally. The annual deductible is only 100.- and the premiums are peanuts compared to what we have to pay in the normal Swiss system.

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As for somebody offering you money to find them new customers..... What can I say? Everyone goes about this business differently. I have never done that but I do know of people who do. (not just with the student insurances but with all of them)

Most people seem to be up for it as it's an easy way to make some cash. Whether it's illegal or not, I have no idea. I think that UNIL will probably have something to say about it anyway if it's happening on their campus though.