Hi,

We are about to arrange the insurance policy for our baby coming this autumn and I was hoping to find some answers here. It's the first time and we have just moved to Switzerland, so kind of a jungle for us.

We have Helsana and have decided to go with the basic insurance of choice. We then have a choice of supplementary insurance to add. One is called "top" and is the more basic one. Then there is one with called "completa" and it's the more complete covering things like alternative medicine, dental care ect. Does anyone have experience in this matter? We wonder if it's important to pick "completa" right from the start or if we can add that later for the child?
Also, they have added "legal insurance" do we really need this in the first years for a baby? I hope someone have some useful input for me

You best include the baby in your family insurance.
Supplementary insurance is a personal decision. I cancelled mine because I see no need for it at the Swiss level. Unless of course you already know you want any crazy alternative medicine available. Others will be able to give you detailed advice on that.

Legal insurance for the baby?? What do the genes say, will it definitely be a brat?
AfaIk, anything children brake is covered by the liability insurance of the parents. And I doubt your child will be taken to court before the age of 10 or 15 or so??

Don't overdo it with the insurances!! They will try to sell you anything.

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Thanks a million! This is very helpful! And yeah, legal cover I don't get, just wanted to get that straight and ask as life in Switzerland is new to me

good that you get health insurance before the child is born.

I would recommend getting good dental for the child too.

The cost will max out around 250 a month, I expect? If there is major stuff you need for the child such as orthodontic treatment in the teens, it will cost you plenty.

There's a difference between broad legal insurance for all sorts of things, and specific legal insurance limited to just one field.

The legal insurance sold by a medical insurance company (Krankenkasse in German and caisse maladie in French) may be for only those legal matters which are to do with medical issues. (By the way, the tenants' association, called Mieterverband in German and Asloca in French, has a similar field-related legal insurance which is only for matters to do with being a tenant.) This limitation can drive the premium down rather nicely.

I understand. But is it necessary to have the dental and orthodontic treatments added already when the child is born? Or can we change this for example when the child is a couple of years older? This is where we are stuck.


Ah I see, so it's worth asking the insurance company more specific what is covered in the legal cover.

certainly it's worth getting good insurance before the child is born because once the child is born and (hopefully not but) any significant issue is discovered, above-basic health insurance becomes expensive.

ask this of your provider. But I think any complication in health would make the insurance not available or expensive.

better add the alternative medicine now. You may cancel it later if not needed.
dentist : you have time until child is 3-4 years old

if you need to add alternative medicine insurance, then they will insure the child with exceptions if you find something after birth.

I wouldn't recommend planning for this. Later you try to add it, the more chance for refusal. In the end, it's an insurance... You could also try to put the money to what you would send on the premium to a jar and use it to pay orthodontics later on. Personal preference, but supplemental for children is relatively cheap

How it was explained to us. You should take out the basic insurance and then the max complimentary package prior to the birth.

After the birth you can cancel or adjust the complimentary as required.

The logic being, if there are any issues or complications at birth and the baby doesnt have the complimentary insurance to cover this, they will never have it as the insurance wont accept to cover a known issue.

And with this logic in mind, if there was any issue, you will never be able to change the complimentary insurance, it will only be covered by the provider that covered you at birth. So dont go for providers that give you a great lead in deals but are unreasonable after the first year. You really should look at the full price no offer conditions and pick one you would accept that you could be stuck with for a long time.

It sounds all negative but it really is just business, and how the Swiss system works

Yes and no.
Adjusting the insurance at a later point in time will require a new assessment anyway and leads to the same problems. So if you want to change from complimentary II to complimentary I (example)

Offer conditions: the offers that I have seen usually have 1-2-3% discount for the first 2-5 years so not much of a difference. We are talking of premiums that cost anyway 10-15-20 CHF/month.

Will it require an assessment if you decide to lower protection? Personally I never had to do that, only for increasing the protection but may depend on providers.

Your baby will be covered by basic insurance anyway, so you are only looking at additional insurance.

1. Already insure your baby with additional insurance prior to it being born. While your baby will not get the benefit of a "private" room should it ever need to go to hospital (childrens wards generally do not have it), should there be any issues at birth you will be covered for other treatments, etc, etc. You in any event only start paying once the baby is borne.

2. Whether you want to continue the additional insurance is a matter of finances and risk appetite. Basic insurance will get you quite far in Switzerland but there are always add-ons. I at least get some of the premiums back, e.g. by having the swimming courses reimbursed.

3. Dental insurance: Some insurers let you insure your child up to three years after birth without requiring an examination. So less urgency there. Considering that there is a high chance that a child will get braces... (i.e. believe around 50% in Switzerland) it is essentially flipping the coin.

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The main thing is family insurance, apply for it first!

We’re currently going through this process. Is there any reason for the baby to be with the same health insurance provider as the parents? I’ve found I can get better cover cheaper elsewhere but I’m not sure on downsides (if any)

your administrative overheads....

Downside is only the amount of work you need to do to understand the different policies. 2 apps, 2 processes etc. Personally unless the advantage is SO HIGH I would not do it.

Thanks both

It’s around 360chf a year difference with better supplemental coverage - probably worth the extra admin hassle

Does family insurance exist, as a product, in the Swiss system? I'd always thought each person was insured individually.

No.

Tom