Every autumn, a letter announces the following year's premium, and it is almost always higher. This increase is not an isolated commercial decision: it is the result of a mechanism laid down by law, in which the healthcare costs of each canton determine what the insured people of that canton pay.
Who sets the premium
It is the insurer that sets the amount of its insured people's premiums. Save for exceptions provided by law, it charges them equal premiums: the premium depends neither on state of health nor on income. It may, however, be graded by region, and the law provides for lower premiums for children and young adults.
The law spells out these differences. The insurer must grade its premiums according to differences in costs between cantons, the insured person's place of residence being decisive; it may also grade them by region, within limits set by the Federal Department of Home Affairs. For children and young adults it sets a lower premium, and children's premiums must be lower than those of young adults.
The premium also varies with the deductible and the model chosen. That is why two neighbours insured with the same insurer may pay different amounts, without one being any less healthy than the other.
Who approves it
Basic insurance premium tariffs are subject to the approval of the supervisory authority, and may be neither made public nor applied before that approval. The authority checks that the tariffs safeguard the insurer's solvency and the interests of the insured.
The law sets out the grounds for refusal. The authority does not approve the tariffs where the premiums do not comply with the legal requirements, do not cover the canton's costs, exceed those costs inappropriately, or lead to excessive reserves. A premium can therefore be neither too low in order to attract customers, nor inflated beyond what the costs justify.
Why it follows healthcare costs
The insurer's premiums must cover the specific costs of each canton, and it is the insured person's place of residence that is decisive. The Federal Office of Public Health sums it up: the rise in premiums is a direct consequence of the constant rise in healthcare costs, because in each canton, premiums must cover the expected costs for each insured person.
These costs are those of all basic insurance benefits: consultations, medicines, hospital, home care, laboratory tests. When they rise in a canton, that canton's premiums follow, whatever the insurer. That is also why changing insurer does not protect you from a general increase: it affects every insurer in the canton, even if the gap between them remains and may justify a change.
Insurers' reserves act as a buffer. They must guarantee the insurer's solvency, but the law forbids the authority to approve premiums that would lead to excessive reserves.
The latest published figures
On 23 September 2025, the Federal Office of Public Health announced that in 2026 the average monthly premium would be 393.30 francs, an increase of 16.60 francs, or 4.4 per cent, compared with 2025. The adult premium rose by 18.50 francs, to 465.30 francs.
According to the same release, the average premium for young adults rose to CHF 326.30, up 4.2 per cent, and for children to CHF 122.50, up 4.9 per cent. An average hides wide differences, however: the actual premium depends on the canton, the region, age, the deductible, the model and the insurer, and comparing for one's own situation says more than the national average. For insured people living in the European Union, Iceland, Norway or the United Kingdom, the law sets a separate rule: their premiums are calculated according to the state of residence.
What a household can do
- Compare premiums for your canton, your age, your deductible and your model, and change insurer within the deadlines: basic insurance benefits are the same everywhere.
- Review your deductible and your model: these are the only two settings in basic insurance, each with its own rules for changing it.
- Check your entitlement to an individual premium reduction with your canton, especially after a change in income or family situation.
- Do not cancel a complementary insurance policy in the same move without first obtaining new cover in writing.
The announced increase also gives you a right: when the premium changes, the insured person may change insurer for the end of the month before the new premium takes effect, with one month's notice. The exact deadlines are set out in our guide to changing insurer.