Hi,

I have been in Switzerland for just over 3 months, and was told by an insurance company not to bother taking insurance until part way through my 4th month, as after 3 months have past, I will not need to pay for the first 3 months. Is this correct?

I've not heard that one before. Normally you have to take out insurance which will be back-dated to the 1st of the month in which you arrived and by now you should have done this.

You could contact Jenny, our resident expert for advice.

That's new to me, you have to pay from the first of the month when you arrived.

I would be willing to bet for an insurance company to take you on they will be looking for the 3/4 months of premiums

If you don't take it out the Government will sign you up with a company of their choice, the rate may be high & you can't cancel till next year! Premium will be backdated to the day you arrived, so there is nothing to gain by waiting.

I’m very hesitant to post this because I am the last person to break any rules.
My husband and I arrived in Zurich at the beginning of December last year. We didn’t sort out the insurance until February 2011. At that point we had no idea about the back-dating of the premiums.
A friend recommended a company to us (they are one of the most expensive ones, but are said to be very good), so we phoned them and they sent an agent to our place. We signed the contract, also opting for complementary insurance. There was NO mention whatsoever of the outstanding December/January premiums. I clearly remember that we did tell the agent when we’d arrived in Switzerland. He was extremely friendly and stayed a bit longer for a nice chat.
We started getting billed at the beginning of March.
I learnt about the backdating thing later and from the EF!!
Now I’m starting to wonder if the agent did us a favour because we got on so well…

This reflects the experience I had with a helpful insurance agent, who positively encouraged me to wait past the 3 months date, and also post dated my application forms.

Friendly - and then another word that begins with fr...! The law is clear that you have to pay from day one. We moved on 24th of March and had to pay form 1st of March.

34 of March ?

I couldn't agree more with you. Just this once I wish I hadn't read any of the info on this thread.
As they say, ignorance is bliss.

What she said. You may "get away" with paying from month 4, but you are legally obligated to have it from day 1. The 3 months are there to give you time to search for insurance, but you're covered for that time by whatever insurer you eventually settle with. The system is designed that way for your protection, so that if you take ill during the first few days before you have time to contact an insurer, you don't wind up dead in the gutter.

As you might imagine, the Swiss government isn't terribly keen on abusers of the system, so play around at your own risk.

Back in the old days (1980s), insurance wasn't obligatory, so I only got it after I got married (a bit after two years here)!

Tom

Oooops, corrected.

This thread addresses the same issues.
This is how I feel now...

We arranged health insurance after arriving, got various quotes etc. Ended up going with company that has an arrangement with my employer. They take premiums directly from my salary. After some months I noticed we also did not pay from day 1. Can't remember exactly but perhaps we did not pay for 1 month or so - and we nowhere intentionally mislead anyone.

It really depends on the company day to day and there seem no hard fast rules for it.

You are meant to be backdated from the entry date and usually are but I have noticed some of the policies we do for people, especially expats at the 3 month time, with our partner companies tend, at the moment, to be charging from the date signed we don't know why and as it is beneficial neither us nor the clients are questioning it in case they decide to change their mind...