Hey everyone,

I'm a newbie here (in this forum and in Switzerland), and I was referred to this site by a friend who assured me that this was a friendly, helpful website where people could give me answers to some of the questions I might have about living here.

I recently moved from Canada to live with my husband in Neuchatel. I am a student of the university of Toronto, where I'm taking a break from at the moment. I love reading (could anyone recomend a shop where I could buy english books from), and I am also fond of cooking (something which makes my husband happy). Switzerland is absolutely beautiful from what I've seen so far and I can't wait to have more great experiences here as I go on.

My husband applied for my permit and we have been asked to provide many other documents so the process is on hold as we acquire what is needed.

I am worried about the permit because I just recently found out that I am pregnant. I don't have any insurance at the moment and I would like to know whether you can get insurance even if you don't have a permit yet? and also whether I should let the insurance company know about the pregnancy when I apply? Thankyou.

Cheers
A.A

This site? Friendly and helpful? You must have hit the wrong URL or something.


OK, just kidding. Welcome.

English books: www.amazon.de

Did you enter the country simply as a tourist??? No permit, no insurance, me thinks. Not good.

Welcome to the EF.

I have PM'd ya.

Yes I entered as a tourist and applied for the permit once I got here.

You health insurance will be back dated to the date you applied for your permit. But I think your coverage will only be for basic insurance. You won't get private or semi private unless you pay out of pocket. You should start investigation insurance companies and policies right away. There are some discussions on this forum already. Have a look around. & Welcome.

Hi
I also had to wait some time to get my permit after I applied but on the day I applied for the permit was able to sign up for insurance. All that was required was the letter from the Gemeinde.

As MM said you can start researching right now

Good luck!

Welcome to Switzerland and the forum.

Thank you to everyone for the quick reply and helpful advice. I will try to get a basic insurance for now and hopefully as soon as I have a permit we will be able to upgrade. Thank you for the help.

Cheers,
A.A

Hi there and welcome; you'll be able to get coverage for the pregnancy (it's compulsory to cover pregnancy) and there is a useful document here: http://www.hebamme.ch/x_dnld/tools/iamameh/Broch_Anglais.pdf

You won't be able to get more than basic coverage for the pregnancy since it's existing, but if you want to go somewhere private the basic would cover medical expenses and you could pay for the additional expenses (e.g. for wochenbett, which could be high). This is what I did to be able to go to a midwife led birthing house rather than hospital.

good luck!

Welcome to Switzerland. It is a fantastic country.

Swiss health care is fantastic. I have got my health cover from Ireland. Its for Ex-Pats. Covers me everywhere in Europe plus limited cover outside Europe.
Maybe to look for insurance from Canada would be an idea. Just make sure they cover Switzerland. I also know alot of Insurance companies dont cover you for pregnancy for 10 months. But will cover any emergency issues you may have.
Usually some sort of payment deal can be made when you do find out you are pregnent