I moved here in March and applied for Sana24 Health insurance arounf mid may and filled in all the forms including the fact that I had chemotherapy for a cancerous condition in 2002.

They took over 6 weeks to reply and after numerous calls by me to them they wrote to say cover is declined.

I'm now worried about not getting any cover as I've been working here over 4 months now and Germainder wrote and asked to see Health card last week..

Can they refuse or should I ask for cover with higher premium?

Any advise appreciated.

Thanks

Mike

You can't be declined for standard health insurance cover in Switzerland.

The only factor that affects premiums is age. Of course the franchise you want to pay affects this as well.

Go to comparis.ch and do a comparison. All the companies have to offer the same amount of cover for standard cover.

Just typed in the letter I got...

===========

ablehnung des antrages fur die zusatzversicherung nach VVG

fur ihren antrag zum abschluss der zusatzversicherung basic mit spital allgemein ganze schweiz vom 5.5.10 danken wir ihnen

ihre angaben in der gesundheitserklarung haben wir gepruft. aufgrund der risikobeurteilung konnen wir die gewunschte versicherungsdeckung nicht abschliessen.
wir bedauern, ihnen kein positiven bescheid geben zu konnon
==================

Am I reading it wrong.. I just stuck in it google translate?

Should I contact them again?

You were turned down for supplementary insurance, not the basic coverage.

Hello everyone,
I am new to this forum and also to Switzerland. I just moved here 3 weeks ago and I just finished gathering papers and info for the insurance company. I can tell from my experience how it went (in my case):
- you choose an insurance company (we chose Agrisano, they were recommended by our landlady who said that most insurance companies operate on the same principles, so no need to spend time on who's better)
- they give you the forms that match your type of insurance and tell you to choose a family doctor.
- you start looking for a doctor (at first I was a bit nervous because I heard that not all doctors can take you as patient, because they have to many other patients and so on- but it wasn't the case, they are fine with this)
- you find a doctor that is ok with you (we looked for someone to speak english at first)
- you need a proof from the Gemeindehaus that you live in Switzerland and a proof from your workplace that you work there.
- you take the forms from the insurance company, the papers from work and Gemeidehaus and the name of your doctor and you give them back to your insurance company--> then they start processing your data to receive the insurance cards (I was told it takes aproximately 2 weeks to get the cards).
I hope this helps and if you have Qs I will answer as best as I can
Regards,

That's all a bit of a palaver and mostly not necessary . For my family the process (SWICA) was:

Choose level of cover and fill in form.
Attach copies of residence permits.
Receive insurance cards after a couple of days.

Also, while the insurance companies operate on the same legally binding principles the service they offer varies considerably as do the premiums they charge.

Hello all,

this is my very first post here, so if it is in the wrong place - just let me know!

We are moving to Lausanne next year and are in the midst of looking at everything we need to do.

With regards to health insurance - we are very much hoping that I will be pregnant on arrival in Switzerland.

As we have been told many times you must have Swiss health insurance I want to make sure that I will be covered completely even if we only apply for health insurance on arrival.

Should we take out the insurance now whilst still in our home country or will it still be okay to just apply directly on arrival?

And does any one have any preferences for HI companies with regards to maternity care?

Thank you

learningfrench

I suggest you contact forum member Jenny who is an independent adviser and has arranged cover for many forum members.

Well swissbobo,
Your input suggests that I spent too much describing in details when I could have gone directly to the facts. My reason for that was because I assumed a lot of people moving to a Switzerland would have problems regarding adapting to new rules so I wanted to share with them my experience, in detail. And as for your concise info, the insurance cards will arrive in a week and a half, not a couple of days and these are details that should not be disregarded .
But thanks for showing the "lighter" version of the insurance process!

All the best,
Andreea

Hmm. It wasn't meant to do that. It was meant to point out that taking the first insurance company recommended by your landlady is not necessarily the best thing to do.

Hello again swissbob,

You are right and in a normal situation I would have waited and just made some inquiries here and there, buuut actually we were in a bit of a hurry because we had to go forward with obtaining the work permits, and in order to get a "go ahead" from the local authorities we had to prove that we have a medical insurance...and I think that a swiss resident knows way more than me about swiss medical insurances..and that was the only reason we took her (landlady's) advice...anyway the contract is based on calendaristic year, so in 2011 we can choose another company if we want.
But thanks for the reply!
Andreea

Hello everyone,

I have read through this thread, done my own research and spoken to several people and am still confused. I moved here (to Neuchatel) at the end of September. A friend of mine from home (UK) who is now living in Zurich told me that when he moved, he did not pay any health insurance for the first three months, as he wrote on the form you have to fill in that he was still covered by the NHS. However, my boyfriend (French) waited 3 months before getting his health insurance (for the same reason) and they back-dated it, hitting him with a whopping great bill for the first three months he was here. My question is: why was it different for my friend than for my boyfriend? Is it because they are different nationalities (and therefore are covered by different health systems in their respective home countries) or because they are living in different cantons? Being a British person living in Neuchatel, you can see that the answer will greatly affect what I do regarding my health insurance! I'd rather not pay for 3 months if I don't have to...

I'm really sorry if this question has been asked somewhere before, but I did genuinely try to do my research, I'm just not very good with this sort of thing.

If you have a residence permit, you are required to have health insurance from day 1 in the country.

It sounds really stupid, but I also had to pay for insurance "in the past".
The bill was like 1200 chuffs. It is the way it is. The Swiss love their
rules, and they stick to them.

Okey doke, maybe my friend from home was temporarily covered by his employers or something! Thanks for the clarification, I may as well set it up now then, rather than having a horrid huge bill. I guess I date it from the day I requested my B permit? I'd better get onto that, my "please fill out this form about which insurance provider you're registered with and send it back within 20 days" limit finishes on Sunday

aparently, if you change jobs, you can eventually change complementary/basic insurance in between if the new insurer sends a confirmation to the old insurer that they offer a special fee schedule to employees of your new company. Then, the old insurer could agree to let you go.
Although I was told that the "old" insurers hardly let you go and you have to wait till the end of the year and cancel before end Sept.
Based on my experience from today, reps of ns companies hardly tell you that this is possible or that it exists - you have to ask and push for like 10-15 min till they present you this option - just another example of customer unfriendliness and nothing out of the ordinary daily rules.

Otherwise, you can transfer the basic one (now is the time - till end Nov) and get a new basic insurance and continue with the old supplementary.

Hello Everybody

Due to a steep increase in prices for health insurance, I'm considering to change my current insurance provider (where I have had basic health insurance "traditionelle"). I would like to change to another provider and to the model of GP (as it seems to be much cheaper).

Now my question is the following: at this moment I am in a treatment which will last for another 6-7 months and even if I change to GP, I don't want to change my current specialist doctor who helps me with this treatment (I only want this GP to apply for next possible situations). Do you know if it is possible that the new provider won't cover my bills from that doctor, unless I change it (he's not a family doctor, he's a specialist doctor in a hospital)??

Thank you a lot for any advise.

Just to chip in, my friend sent me a link to this site which lays out some FAQs quite clearly (although this has been done well in the first post in this thread anyway). I found it useful in addition to the extremely useful information at the start of the thread!

hi

I have been living in Switzerland for an year and i have taken up my health insurance with Intras, a basic franchise. now i have to stay out of Switzerland on my study purpose in UK for one year, but i would be travelling on alternative weekends to see my family. if i have to cancel my health insurance as i will not be residing continuously, how does it work, my insurance company asked me to go to geminde house and to de-register my name, if i do it, will it effect my visa?
will it effect on extension on my visa, i have b-permit till march, but as my family would be here till next sept, i have to extend my permit, with out having a health insurance can i still get my visa extension. please help me letting me know the rules in Switzerland on insurance policy.

Note that it doesn't always have to be a Swiss insurance. If you are a student and you have foreign health insurance that covers as least as much as the mandatory Swiss insurance, you can keep your foreign insurance. Your insurance company will have to sign some form. There is a maximum duration for this (I think 3 years, although I got lucky and they screwed up my case and gave me 4 times 6 months and then 3 years, so I got 5 years total).

thank you Kamarate, the site you suggested answered my doubts, but i was just
13. Do I have to remain insured in Switzerland when I am temporarily abroad (travelling, studying)?
Yes. If you leave the country for a certain period but do not take up residence abroad, you are still required to have insurance in Switzerland (even if you have informed the local authority of your absence).
14. If I take up residence abroad, can I retain my basic health insurance in Switzerland?
Essentially, insurance coverage ceases when you leave Switzerland. Exceptions are made for certain groups (pensioners, unemployed, cross-border commuters, etc.) on the basis of bilateral agreements with the EU and the agreement with EFTA countries.

In addition, for people who were subject to compulsory health insurance, insurers may (but are not obliged to!) offer to continue to provide coverage on a contractual basis. The contract may be concluded with the same or a different insurer. The insurance relationship is then governed by insurance contract law.

thinking do I fall under any such category provided above, as i would be taking a room to live during my stay. does geminde will be able to answer my doubts, the problem i have is, in my geminde they dont speak english and i have problem with making signs to make them understand with my google german.