I am in a complicated situation with health insurance (name of insurer not important, it is not entirely their fault) and could use some advice.
A gentleman who introduced himself as an independent insurance advisor came to my door and offered to give me an insurance proposal so I could save a lot on my current insurance. I should have known better, but let him in anyway. He gave me an offer which would indeed be cheaper, and when he said he needed a signature I got suspicious and asked why I should sign if it was only for an offer. He assured me it was no contract, and he would call me within the next week so I could give a final decision before anything else was done. Idiot that I am I signed anyway...
He then left and afterwards I realised he didn't leave me his name, or any contact details. Nor did he leave a copy of the offer for me to read through. I immediately emailed the insurance company (it was night already) and told them to consider any contract they might receive as not agreed upon by me. When I did not receive an answer from them other than a receipt of confirmation, I called a few days later. I was then told it was fine, nothing would be done with it if they received anything.
Of course I never heard again from the insurance advisor, only from the ins. company, welcoming me as a new customer... I called again and was told it would be cancelled. I also sent a registered letter informing them of the situation.
Today I received a response, only referring to a signed contract, bla bla bla.
I find it very frustrating that they are so incredibly inflexible and would happily have me on a contract where it was crystal clear that I was tricked and have tried to tell them this 4 times, starting the day the conract was signed! Is there any way out? I can try to explain it better, and beg for their sympathy one more time, or should I just say I was lied to and was made to sign something that I did not know was a contract? (Not to mention that the final contract was completely different than the "offer" mentioned that night). I don't want to be stuck to a supplementary insurance I don't need or want for four years!

Tell them you misplaced your copy and ask them to send an exact copy of the one that you erroneously signed. This way you'll at least have a copy that you can peruse to perhaps find a loophole. Then I would contact a lawyer who specializes in this type of situation and find out of you can file a complaint against the agent who sold you the policy (I assume his name would be on the contract somewhere, or you could request it from your insurance company) and nullify the contract.

Thanks, that is something worth trying, so I can at least try to get a hold of the company that tricked me. I wonder if a lawyer would not be more expensive than the total premium I would have to pay, since at least the insurance company is going to let me off the hook for the basic insurance, if I show them I am already insured elsewhere. So the total amount is not going to break the bank, but I feel they are hiding a bit behind a signature, while they know full well I tried to cancel from day one. Bureaucrats!

In all cases you need a copy of the contract so that you may know the full facts of the policy for which you signed. It will help you determine if a lawyer is a good idea or necessary.

First write down everything that happend and document it where possible (E-Mails etc.). Then I would contact the Ombudsmann.
They should be able to either help you or put you in the right direction.

Isn't there a law about a cooling off period when you sign a contract in your own home?

Is it true that you may cancel a contract within 10 days if the contract was signed in your own home?

Swiss Code of Obligations Art. 40a ff.

It is a 10 day time limit from the time you signed the contract and you have been informed about your revocation rights. Art. 40e.

BUT:
You have no revocation rights if you called the sales person to your home (Art. 40c) or if the contract is about a insurance policy (Art. 40a Abs 2).

But also see Art. 24 about Mistakes and Art. 28 about Fraud.

So would you advise the OP to quote these laws and refuse to pay their demands?

Thanks for all the help, I will def not let this pass and will write them a letter where I explain the situation again. I also just got an offer from another member for some legal aid, so it ain't over yet!

It is very strange though that the insurance company seems happy to take my money (well, thats not so strange, now that I write it down) although they know i was lied to and tricked into a contract I obviously don't want. And at the same time they seem to be protecting the guy who sold it to me, as he surely will get a commission out of this. They still didn't tell me his name or address so I can take further action against him.

I will pay at first, but making very clear it is done under protest, and that I am disputing it and want all of it back, if proven right. I don't need collections people and Office de Poursuite on me while this is not settled...

if you pay then forget about getting anything back, dont be surprised that its an acceptance of the insurance.

If others have not suggested it, send a certified letter with signatory-delivery confirmation explaining your case in detail and inform them you will send a copy of this letter to the insurance ombudsman.

I have no idea how you can get out of this complementary insurance, but my advice for what its worth, is to keep it. After all, it probably costs as much as one restaurant dinner a month. I would advise anyone who doesnt have complementary health insurance to do the same.

I dont work for an insurance co, nor do I know anyone who does. I dont have shares in one either, but I had good reason to be grateful for my complementary insurance and I have worked in health for over 30 years.

Health is wealth.

If you take out insurance and don`t pay the premiums, it becomes void.

Don`t pay anything.

Stick to your original plan.

Someone coming to your door and "sales-talking" does have a cooling off period. So cool them off!

A bit of advice here - old fashioned advice that works - When a salesman sweet-talks you, make him write it out in simple words, just how he/she is presenting it to you, and then make him sign it, as YOUR understanding of what is offered.

You mis-read the OP first post. He already has insurance, the new company will let him off the basic insurance part because he already has it.

No, I did not misread his posts. The company will now let him off the basic, but he still has to pay the complementary he signed up for.

A short update from the front: I sent another signed letter wherein I simply repeated my story and now the insurance company, without explaining why, has decided to cancel my basic insurance without further questions. They do, however, still insist on the extra insurance and have also not given me the name of the advisor/culprit. Oh, and they say they are also sorry that I am stuck with this extra insurance (why not just cancel it then?)
The Ombudsman is also looking into the matter now, and I will ask the company once more to give me name and details of the insurance advisor, so I can take further steps against him.
To be continued...

Hi

How long is the contract duration for the additional insurance?
Some broker try to make contract duration 8 years.

You wrote the guys was a broker:

- Did he identifies?
- Did you signed a protocol?

According to FINMA this broker can get a penalty fee until 500'000 CHF if he did his job properly.

please let me know.

sorry for the wrong sentence:
According to FINMA this broker can get a penalty fee until 500'000 CHF if he did not do his job properly.