Nobody was chosen if my memory serves me right.

This is all for just information anyway. I only plan on going to the doctor in an emergency, so calling through is a moot point anyway.

I can't afford to go to the doctor for snivels

I have been In Zurich for just over 3 months and I have signed a form for health insurance starting at the beginning of this month. The provider says that it is a "requirement" to back date my policy to my arrival in December (even though i only signed from 1st of March!)- however I have contacted the Canton and they state that this is just an insurance company policy and it is not an legal requirement under Swiss law.... Any advice welcome please!- are there any insurance companies that dont backdate??

Hi,

Does anyone know of a health insurer that issues bills in English?

I'm insured with SWICA and get a bit frustrated with their bills - they can only be in German due to their IT systems so I don't know what any of my bills mean and have to ask colleagues each time to translate (which I'd rather not do).

Thanks for your help.
Tim

I went with OKK, and although may be a bit more expensive, they had no problem with my requested start date, which was exactly 3 months from landing. It may be different for each Canton however..

Hello I am a master student that has just arrived to lausanne and I think will stay for 6 months so i wil get probably permis L..I make unpayed stage in an institute and I recently recieve from the commune that I must make an insurance..i DUNNO any insurnce company,what type of insurance to do and I dunno if i CAN make the student's insurance which is cheaper knowing that I am not inscribed at any university...So can you please help me by giving me some info...Thank you for your help

I'm also curious about something: for my initial 3 months in CH (which will include job hunting) should I go for CH health insurance straight away or would I be better off with regular 'travel insurance' such as would be organised for a holiday? Both will be pricey so may not matter much in the scheme of things! Thanks.

Depends - are you going to be applying for residency during this time, or just entering and staying here on a tourist visa? If resident, then you will be expected to have proper health insurance - travel insurance won't cut it at all.

kodokan

Planning to be a resident but that will only work if I have a job. (Have EU passport so no tourist visa). So just wondering the best way of covering myself for the initial 3 months I'm there......if, as expected, a job is a long time coming. Ta.

More interestingly, where will you be living? It'll be pretty much impossible to rent anywhere without a job. And you won't be able to get health insurance without an address either, come to think of it, and the contract would be for the remainder of the calendar year at a minimum.

If you're coming here on a 3 month 'holiday', doing a bit of job hunting and not signing up for anything remotely official, then you could do it on travel insurance.

I see you're in Australia - not sure how it works there, but people living in other EU countries would be covered here as a tourist using their Europe-wide reciprocal health arrangement card, called an 'EHIC'. Maybe there's something like that in place?

Sorry, I'm only giving half the info aren't I! I'll be in Baselstadt, have a flat organised already for the 3 months so I'm a bit organised. I know there are reciprocal arrangements with the UK (and I have a UK national health card as well) but wasn't sure if that would work in CH. Will do a bit more research but it just came to my mind tonight so thought I'd ask. Appreciate the info, thanks.

No problem, glad to hear you've got it so organised already!

Just in case, note that a UK NHS card (the paper one) is NOT an EHIC, which is a credit-card sized blue plastic thing, like here:

http://latesttravelinsurancenews.com...2008/05/14.jpg

And also note that the EHIC has an expiry date. And won't cover some things, like ambulance pick-up.

Good luck with the job hunting.

kodokan

Just wanted to thank Heather for starting this fantastic thread, Jenny for the wealth of information you have shared about this topic (and all the help that you have given me with getting our insurance sorted - I'd have been totally lost without you) and for everyone else who posted helpful questions and answers. I was surprised how hard it was to get all this sorted and am very happy it's all done with now!

No probs

Hi

1st Off...Thanks very much for such an informative post

My wife and I are moving to Zug (most likely) and would appreciate some advice on registering for Health insurance

Apparently we can do some sort of pre-registration process which will get alot of the leg-work done prior to our joining

Plus I believe it may lower the ultimate costs charged for the Insurance

I would appreciate any feedback on this please

Have a fun day

Phil

Hello Jenny

I was wondering how I can get in touch with you...

Looked in your profile and Skype cannot seem to locate you (jennyg73)?

I can be reached via PM and Skype - 'sqkype' and would appreciate your thoughts on a special medical clearance certificate

My wife and I will be moving over from London and have learned there is a procedure whereby we can get some medical check-up to ease the application process... Hope that makes sense

Have a great day

Phil

Left click on the member's name and choose "send a private message to jenny"

Hi vwild1

Hmmm must be going mad...

Tried that and looked inside her profile

Thanks for the advice though

Would welcome a comment from absolutely anyone on whether there is a such a thing as 'special medical clearance certificate' and the process of obtaining such a thing...

The idea is we do all the checks here in the UK upfront and then present 'certificate' upon arrival??

Hi Phil,

The premiums for the basic insurance depend on where you live and your age.
Once you're 26 or over, the premiums are the same for everyone (in your area).
If you have such a medical certificate or not won't make any difference to the premiums unfortunately.

The premiums for the supplementary part of the insurance are also fixed for age groups (though these do change every 5/10 years, depending on the company).

For the basic insurance, there is no health questionnaire - so everyone is accepted regardless of their state of health.

For the supplementary insurance, as a general rule, you're either in or you're out. i.e. they accept you or not based on a health questionnaire. You don't have to go for a medical but you do have to answer questions about your general state of health.

In either case, a medical certificate wouldn't make any difference.

The only cases where the insurance company would contact a doctor is if you have a pre-existing condition. They sometimes ask for more information from your doctor before making a decision on whether to accept you or not.

Where did you hear all this?!

Jenny - thanks for your post...I have replied to your email