If the insurance goes up They continue with the direct debit. Mine went (slightly) up and I didn't have a new form. You must have got a letter towards the end of last year with your new premium for this year. Going by your age (assuming your born in 86) you've become a fully grown adult in the eyes of the insurance which means the insurance goes up and it can go up by quite a bit. Get a quote on Swica's website with your age being 26 and 25. See what the difference is

You don't even get the yearly balance-sheet that you need to file your taxes?

Call them.

Have you been to a Dr in the last 4 months, they seem to take money & send the paperwork a week or so later!

On the positive side, Swica also pays bills just as quickly; my money comes in long before my credit card statements.

I am a few weeks away from 26 and not seen a doc or visited a hospital in my whole time here.....2 years almost.

Thanks I'll try the quote thing and give them a call tomorrow to find out what's going on. Certainly seems unethical

I think it's the year you turn 26 it get's put up but I'm sure

Actually, it's the year after you turn 18.

My daughters are 19 and 21, so I know all too well!

Tom

You better prepare them for another shock: They'll have to live with another rise:

KVK/Art: 61
3 Für Versicherte bis zum vollendeten 18. Altersjahr (Kinder) hat der Versicherer eine tiefere Prämie festzusetzen als für ältere Versicherte (Erwachsene). Er ist berechtigt, dies auch für die Versicherten zu tun, die das 25. Altersjahr noch nicht vollendet haben (junge Erwachsene).

or specially for you:

3 Per gli assicurati che non hanno ancora compiuto i 18 anni (minorenni), l’assicuratore deve fissare un premio più basso rispetto a quello degli assicurati d’età superiore (adulti). Egli è legittimato a fare altrettanto nel caso di assicurati che non hanno ancora compiuto i 25 anni (giovani adulti).2

No, they already pay the same as I do.

Tom

I assume you mean that if you are sick you would fly back to the UK to pay for private medical treatment, since by being permanently resident in Switzerland you are not entitled to use the NHS and it would be unethical of you to try to do so.
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthc...ingabroad.aspx

Nope not private.

I have my sources, my nhs is secure and so it should be. I have paid into the system for ten years and a British citizen. Many non citizens pick up plenty of free benefits from the UK and pay nothing into the system and simply take.

I could say the same about my situation (longer than 10 years!), as could many people here, but that is not how the system works. I'm simply pointing out that what you propose to do is as unethical as you are accusing Swica of being, and stinks of entitlement as much as the "non citizens" that you appear to resent. Hypocrite, anyone?!

So what you are saying is taking however much money from someones account as you want without authroisation or notification is how the system works here? Interesting.

Well lifes a bitch and than you marry one, as my father would say...............in jest of course

I dont see my claim to use the NHS as unethical, I apologise that you are a tad bitter about it.

Yes I do feel some entitlement. As mentioned prior, I am not often sick. I have used the NHS twice in my life, once to be born and once when I broke my wrist. I, and my family, and generations have worked all our lives and paid into the system for generations. Whether that counts an iota or not I dont care. For all the spongers take when paying nothing, as well getting a home I had to pay for, benefits I had to pay for, etc I had to pay for, if I can recoup a tenth of what I paid in, then I am still losing but am satisfied. Thats not unethical.

Get over it.....and I will get over how the system works here? i.e. free access to ones personal account to debit funds. Deal?

It's not without authorization.
At some point, you signed a contract, right?
That signature also allows them to take the monthly rate from your account as announced in a letter you normally get at the end of the year.
The problem is, you never bothered to contact them about you not getting any correspondence.
What would you call a person who signed-up for a credit-card, registers monthly withdrawings but never receives any paper-work?
Is that an intelligent way to handle things?

I don't know how NHS works in the UK, but in Germany (and Switzerland), the system is not designed to work as a savings-account.
What goes in per month also goes out (more or less).
And it's an insurance anyway - people should get rid of the idea that the system "owes" them something because they paid in so much and they were never sick. BFD - that's the way an insurance is supposed to work.
Why do you think all the dentist-stuff is not included?
Because most everybody develops problems with the teeth earlier or later. As such, it's better to handle the risk individually (i.e. take care of your teeth and start saving...)

Same in the UK - it's not a savings account. Mr BarrZurich, despite his many years of paying into 'the system' in the UK, could really use a few economics lessons. The welfare state is designed so that the richer pay more into the system than the poorer, and everyone who lives within it is entitled to take out the same, whether they do or not is not the issue. He will actually have benefited from both the NHS and 'the system' far more than he realises - childhood vaccinations, education, roads and public amenities etc. It's very sad that he is so resentful, but perhaps thats one of the reasons he left the UK.

One final point that I feel JBZ should be aware of - even if you pay your Swica insurance for 30 years and never claim anything, if you then cancel and stop paying for it and go and live in a different country Swica will not pay for any subsequent medical treatment you need there. Of course, if this hypothetical move is back to the UK, despite not having paid taxes to the UK for 30 years the NHS will still treat you (if it still exists...).

How did you manage to get that deal done? I'm paying SWICA a whopping CHF 285 / month for hardly anything (CHF 2500 deductable, standard model, free choice of doctor).

I have the same frustration. You have to pay everything out of pocket until you reach your franchise. When I signed up with Swica, they tried to stear me to a very very high franchise, and I said..."um... no". But until you reach your annual franchise, they don't really pay much of anything. Once you do reach it, that's when your benefits start to kick in.

I have a 1000CHF franchise on Favorit Telmed and pay 400CHF a month in premiums. I also have some supplemental coverage.

What???

You're a smoker!!! You should go see a doctor right away so he/she can look down your throat and tell you your smoking habit has caused high cholesterol and you should take some pills for the rest of your life to prevent those migraines you've been having.

Then you'll really understand why you need insurance.

Hey Tom.

You are right it goes up on the 1st of January following your 18th birthday taking you out of the child bracket into young adult 19-25. However Simplon is also right it will go up again increases again from 26 to full adult category.
They may be paying the same as you now but ultimately will pay more, they are female.

Cheers,
David

I dont have high cholesterol and dont suffer migraines, but thanks for your concern