Yes. Unlike basic insurance, supplementary insurance carries no duty to accept applicants: the insurer decides whether it accepts you, and on what terms.
Why the insurer has this right
Because supplementary insurance is a private contract, governed by the federal law on insurance contracts (VVG/LCA) and not by the KVG/LAMal. The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) puts it bluntly: supplementary insurance falls under the VVG/LCA, and there is no duty to accept applicants. The freedom works both ways — you are not obliged to take out a policy, and the insurer is not obliged to sign.
What the insurer examines
The assessment concerns the risk. The law requires applicants to disclose the facts relevant to this assessment that they are asked about — in practice, the answers to the questionnaire handed over with the application. What each insurer then does with them is a matter of its own underwriting policy: the criteria are set neither by law nor publicly, and they may differ from one insurer to another for the same file.
At least three outcomes are possible
- Acceptance: the contract is concluded on the terms proposed.
- Refusal: the application does not go through.
- Acceptance with a reservation: the contract is concluded, but certain conditions or certain benefits are excluded from it. It is a partial acceptance, and it appears only in the contract documents.
The third is the one people read fastest and understand latest: a policy accepted with a reservation may cover everything except precisely what you took it out for. These three outcomes are the most common, not a closed list — an application may also come back amended on points other than the cover.
The order of the steps matters more than the product
Get the new insurer's written acceptance before cancelling your existing contract. A cancellation sent before that confirmation can leave you with no supplementary cover at all if the application is then refused, and there is no catch-up mechanism: nobody is obliged to take you back.
And basic insurance?
There the rule is the reverse, and it is the one thing to remember if you remember nothing else. An insurer active where you live must accept anyone who is required to be insured: no health questionnaire, no reservation, no refusal based on age or health. The limit is geographical, not personal — an insurer that does not operate in your region simply does not sell basic insurance there, which is not a refusal aimed at you.