The deductible is the most effective way to influence premiums in basic health insurance—and it’s the choice most often made incorrectly. When you can change your deductible, what deadlines apply, and how families can find the right tier for each member.
Hardly any decision has such a direct impact on your health insurance costs as the choice of deductible—and hardly any is left to chance so often. Many policyholders stick with the tier they were assigned years ago: Healthy people pay unnecessarily high premiums with the minimum deductible, while those with chronic illnesses pay unnecessarily high treatment costs with the maximum deductible. Yet the deductible can be adjusted every year—free of charge, with a single letter. This article explains the rules, the deadlines, and the simple calculation you can use to find the right tier for each family member.
A Quick Explanation: What Is the Deductible?
The deductible is the amount you pay out of pocket per calendar year before basic health insurance begins to cover costs. Adults can choose between the standard deductible of 300 francs and the optional deductibles of 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, and 2,500 francs; for children, the range is from 0 to 600 francs. After the deductible comes the copayment: 10 percent of the remaining costs, capped at 700 francs per year for adults and 350 francs for children. Those who choose a higher deductible assume more risk and receive a premium discount in return—the amount of which is capped by law to ensure that the principle of solidarity is upheld. Important to know: Maternity benefits and certain preventive care services are exempt from cost-sharing, and for several years now, pregnant women have generally been exempt from these costs starting in the 13th week of pregnancy.
Changing Your Deductible: Deadlines
The deductible can only be changed effective January 1—changes cannot be made during the year, not even in the event of a sudden illness. To switch to a lower deductible, you must notify your health insurance provider by November 30 at the latest. When switching to a higher deductible, many health insurance providers are more flexible and accept notifications until the end of December—but don’t rely on that; be sure to also notify them of the increase by the end of November—that way, you’ll be on the safe side in any case. You can submit this notification informally (by letter, through the customer portal, or in some cases by phone with written confirmation), and there is no cost. Switching health insurance providers is a special case: If you switch providers as of January 1—with a notice period ending November 30—you are free to choose your deductible and plan with the new provider; so the switch is an opportunity to adjust both parameters at once. And anyone expecting a child in the fall or planning surgery should factor in the foreseeable costs for the following year when making their decision in November.
The rule of thumb: Where your break-even point lies
The choice between the lowest and highest deductible comes down to a simple calculation. With the 2,500-franc deductible, you save a fixed annual premium amount compared to the 300-franc deductible—often in the range of 1,000 to 1,500 francs, depending on the health plan and region. In return, if you get sick, you’ll have to cover up to 2,200 francs more in costs yourself (the difference between the deductibles) plus, if applicable, a higher copayment. This leads to the common rule of thumb: If your annual healthcare costs are consistently below about 2,000 francs, the highest deductible is usually more cost-effective; if they regularly exceed that, the lowest deductible is worth it. The intermediate levels are rarely mathematically optimal—they offer the smallest discount per unit of risk covered—but they can be justified psychologically if a 2,500-franc out-of-pocket limit is simply too much for you. The key is to be honest with yourself: pull up your benefit statements from the last two or three years (which takes just a few minutes in your health insurance app) and base your decision on your actual numbers, not on a gut feeling.
The Most Common Thinking Errors
Three mistakes crop up time and again. First, the “optimism fallacy”: You choose a high deductible but don’t set aside the money you’re saving—so when appendicitis strikes, you’re short 2,500 francs in your account. Anyone who chooses the maximum deductible should set aside the difference in a separate account as a safety net; after two healthy years, the cushion is built up and the math works out in any scenario.
Second, the “lump-sum” mistake: Treatments can often be legally deferred to the correct year—scheduling a routine exam in December or January can save several hundred francs, depending on your deductible status; those who know this plan major and minor procedures for the same calendar year whenever possible.
Third, the “forgetting” mistake: Life circumstances change—such as wanting to have children, a chronic diagnosis, or retirement—but the deductible stays the same. Make the deductible question a regular part of your annual insurance review in October, along with comparing premiums and choosing a plan.
The family perspective: Decide on a per-person basis
For families, the rule is: The deductible is chosen per person—and may vary from person to person. This opens the door to smart combinations. The perfectly healthy father takes the 2,500 deductible, the mother—who is expecting her second child—takes the 300, and the children choose based on their individual circumstances. The math is a bit different for children: Their premiums are low, so the discounts for higher deductibles are correspondingly small—yet visits to the pediatrician are frequent. For most families, therefore, a zero deductible or a very low deductible for the child is the most stress-free choice; the savings from higher child deductibles are rarely worth the stress of out-of-pocket payments. Good news: For families with multiple children, the cost-sharing is capped—families pay a total of no more than twice the maximum amount for a single child. And what about young adults in training? It’s especially worth taking a look at this annually, because with the elimination of the hospital contribution and lower premiums, the break-even points shift once again.
Step by step: How to change your deductible at
First: Review your benefit statements from recent years and calculate your personal annual costs.
Second: Ask your current insurer for the premiums for all deductible tiers for the following year—they’re listed in the October premium notice or in the federal government’s official premium calculator on priminfo.ch.
Third: Calculate the break-even point and select a level—for each family member.
Fourth: Submit the change in writing by November 30 and review the confirmation along with the new policy.
Fifth: If your deductible is high, set up a financial cushion to cover out-of-pocket expenses. The entire process takes one evening—and is one of the most worthwhile evenings of the year.
Quick answers: three common questions
Does my deductible carry over when I switch health insurance providers? No—when you switch, you’re free to choose your deductible with the new insurer; it isn’t automatically carried over. Be sure to check the first policy from your new provider carefully for this detail.
Is the deductible reduced if I become insured partway through the year—for example, after the birth of a child or moving from abroad? No, the full deductible applies per calendar year, even if coverage doesn’t begin until the fall; this makes it advisable, if possible, to schedule any foreseeable medical treatments for the new year.
And how does an accident factor into this? Those with accident coverage through their employer (UVG) pay neither the deductible nor the co-payment in the event of an accident—accident insurance does not require any cost-sharing. If, on the other hand, the accident is covered under basic insurance (children, non-working individuals, self-employed individuals without UVG), accident treatments are subject to the deductible and copayment just like an illness. This is also something to consider when choosing a deductible: For families with active children and a high child deductible, a few minor accidents can quickly undermine the cost-saving model—one more reason to opt for the lower deductible for children.
Conclusion
Changing your deductible is easy, free, and can be done annually—yet this flexibility is used far too rarely. Those who know their actual healthcare costs, have the November deadline marked on their calendar, and make individual decisions for each family member can get the most out of their basic health insurance without having to forgo any benefits. Choosing the right deductible isn’t a matter of faith, but a matter of math—and you already have the numbers you need right there in your folder.
Legal Notice: This article is for general information purposes only (as of July 2026) and does not replace individual advice. The statutory provisions (in particular the KVG and KVV) as well as the regulations of the respective health insurance provider are authoritative; amounts and discount rates are approximate values or reflect the legal status as of 2026.
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