Basic insurance forms the foundation of health care in Switzerland while supplementary insurance offers individual protection and extended health benefits. It opens up opportunities ranging from preventative measures through to specialised treatments that go far beyond standard provision.
Find out how targeted supplementary insurance can sustainably improve your insurance protection and health. Make a conscious decision for more health and self-determination.
What is supplementary insurance?
Supplementary insurance complements basic insurance cover with benefits tailored to individual requirements. It covers areas that go beyond basic provision, such as the cost of gym memberships and alternative treatments. Supplementary insurance enhances the flexibility of healthcare by providing access to a wide range of treatments from support for visual aids and special dental treatment through to psychological counselling.
A particular advantage for people who travel abroad a lot is the possibility of extending insurance cover to international trips.
Supplementary insurance allows insured persons to tailor their health protection to their individual needs and take advantage of benefits beyond basic medical care.
Questions?
Would you like to know more about supplementary insurance in Switzerland? Swiss Life would be happy to advise you.
Conclusion and switching of supplementary insurance
You should consider your personal and future needs when concluding or switching voluntary supplementary insurance that goes beyond mandatory basic cover. Among other things, such supplementary insurance permits a free choice of doctor and hospital, which is particularly advantageous in emergencies or for special dental treatment.
Switching and terminating: The conditions and deadlines for switching or terminating supplementary insurance policies vary depending on the provider. It is important to review your own insurance needs regularly and compare offers, especially when your life changes. Waiting periods for certain benefits from new providers and any notice periods must also be taken into account before a switch or termination.
Advice: Professional advice can be decisive for choosing a policy that meets your personal needs. Many providers and information centres offer free consultations.
Fitness: supported by your health insurer
Supplementary insurance is placing more and more emphasis on an active lifestyle. Insurance companies offer financial support for gym memberships, sports classes, yoga and even Pilates, swimming training and nutritional counselling. In line with the trend towards digitalisation, some offers also include virtual courses and apps for training at home. In addition, there are also wellness treatments such as stress-relieving massages.
Innovative programmes encourage regular exercise through challenges and bonus programmes, while personal health consultations help to develop an individual fitness programme. These offerings not only promote physical and mental health, but also support a healthier lifestyle in the long term.
The reimbursement of fitness costs is frequently granted on the basis of a percentage up to a fixed maximum amount per year.
Glasses and contact lenses: what is covered?
Supplementary insurance offers valuable financial support for glasses and contact lenses for people who care about their eyesight. These insurance benefits frequently extend beyond the simple assumption of costs and can also cover special visual aids such as high-quality varifocal glasses and special contact lenses for sporting activities.
In addition, some insurers recognise the need for regular eye tests and incorporate these into their offerings to ensure optimum eyesight quality. In some cases, insurers also offer to pay for therapeutic visual aids that can help to correct certain vision problems such as night blindness or aversion to light. With these benefits, supplementary insurance helps to reduce the cost of visual aids and at the same time promotes a conscious approach to healthy eyesight.
Complementary and alternative medicine
This supplementary insurance offers insured persons access to a wide variety of complementary and alternative treatments beyond the conventional medical spectrum. In addition to acupuncture and osteopathy, these include treatments such as homoeopathy, phytotherapy, kinesiology, anthroposophic medicine and chiropractic. They serve to promote physical and mental well-being.
This variety of treatment options facilitates an individual and holistic approach to health and prevention. In addition, some health insurance companies recognise the importance of psychological and nutritional counselling as part of complementary medicine, helping insured persons to develop a holistic understanding of health. Supplementary insurers can thus meet the individual needs of their insured persons and make an active contribution to maintaining their health and well-being.
Travel vaccinations and foreign insurance
For people who like to travel, supplementary insurance that combines travel vaccinations and comprehensive travel insurance ensures essential protection. It supplements statutory accident insurance and offers additional insurance cover abroad. It offers comprehensive protection for travel vaccinations and medical emergencies abroad by providing benefits that go beyond the usual scope.
This insurance offers essential protection particularly for risks associated with travelling abroad, such as the necessary vaccinations against diseases such as yellow fever, hepatitis A and B and typhoid, which are not normally covered by mandatory basic insurance.
In addition, this supplementary insurance covers all treatment costs in the event of medical emergencies abroad. These costs in particular can soon add up, frequently augmented by additional services such as medical repatriation abroad. Some policies also include assistance benefits to help in case of loss of travel documents or theft. By offering such specialised benefits, supplementary insurance enables you to embark on your journey without a care in the knowledge that you can draw on both financial and organisational support in unforeseen situations.
We’ll help you
Seek advice from Swiss Life. We offer optimum support on all aspects of supplementary insurance.
Pregnancy and desire for children
Supplementary insurance offers comprehensive benefits specifically tailored to the needs of expectant parents. Whether pregnancy, childbirth or the desire for children, the benefits go far beyond the coverage of basic insurance. They also include additional check-ups, alternative birth methods such as water birth, midwife care after childbirth and specialised treatment for those wishing to have children.
Some policies also provide assistance with artificial insemination and cover for treatments that can be crucial for couples wishing to have children. With these extended benefits, supplementary insurance supports the family planning process and offers expectant parents additional security and comfort at this special stage of their life. It facilitates more individual and comprehensive health care for pregnancy and childbirth.
Observe the notice period
Depending on the provider, supplementary insurance has a minimum term of between one and five years and generally runs for one year with a notice period of three months. In many cases, the insurance company must receive notice of termination of supplementary insurance by the end of September at the latest. Both minimum terms and notice periods can vary greatly depending on the provider. It is therefore important to read the policy conditions carefully.
When switching insurance provider, make sure you have already taken out a new supplementary insurance policy in order to avoid a gap in your insurance cover as health insurers can also reject your application for supplementary insurance.
Frequently asked questions about supplementary insurance
The need for supplementary insurance depends on your personal needs, your life situation and your health objectives. If you wish to receive benefits over and above basic insurance coverage, supplementary insurance may be advisable. This includes, for example, extended dental treatment, alternative treatments and better cover abroad.
Depending on your personal situation and health preferences, a sensible supplementary insurance policy is one that covers the areas important to you. Think about which health benefits are important to you that are not covered by your basic insurance and make your selection accordingly.
Supplementary insurance can cover a wide range of benefits that are not covered by basic insurance. These include alternative treatments, private or semi-private hospital rooms, dental treatment, glasses and contact lenses, gym memberships and much more.
Depending on the model and provider, supplementary insurance for alternative medicine could cover, for example, costs of CHF 10 000 per year.
The costs of supplementary insurance vary greatly depending on the provider, the premium rate selected and the scope of benefits. It is important to compare the offers and consider which benefits are important to you personally.
As many insurance policies include waiting periods for certain treatments, it is advisable to take out supplementary insurance before you need specific benefits. It is also often easier to take out supplementary insurance while you are young and healthy.
Viele Zahnzusatzversicherungen bieten eine Deckung für kieferorthopädische Behandlungen an. Die genauen Bedingungen und Deckungssummen sind jedoch unterschiedlich, weshalb eine genaue Prüfung der Versicherungspolice ratsam ist.
In many countries, including Switzerland, premiums for supplementary insurance are tax-deductible under certain conditions.
The premium for supplementary insurance can be deducted as part of the general flat-rate deduction for insurance premiums.
The amount of the deductible for supplementary insurance can vary depending on the model and provider selected. With some models, you can select the amount of the deductible, which will affect the amount of the premium.
In principle, any person can take out private supplementary insurance. However, the conditions of acceptance, such as medical examinations, may vary depending on the insurer and premium rate. It is important to obtain prior information about the conditions.
Advice free of obligation
Contact us and seek our advice.
Source: iStock
