Can a health insurance refuse us as a client?

Updated on January, 12th 2024.

As we have seen in previous chapters of this series of articles on health insurance in Switzerland, the LAMal, or basic health insurance, is compulsory for most of us.

Therefore, you cannot be rejected and all insurers are obliged to accept you, no matter the current state of your health. 

It may seem obvious, however, some exceptions do exist. But since we do not have a choice, it makes sense for the subscription to a basic insurance not to be conditioned to the acceptation of the insurer – but this is not the case for all health insurance policies. 

Indeed, supplementary insurances and, more broadly, every optional insurance admission is subject a stringent and painful questionnaire. It is on this basis that insurance companies can freely choose to accept you, make reservations in certain cases, or even refuse to insure you. Generally speaking, medical questionnaires also ask you to indicate whether another insurance company has already refused to insure you, or accepted you with reservations… It’s a case of the snake biting its own tail, and sad and surprising as it may seem when it comes to health, some people will simply reply that “no one would agree to insure a burning car”.

However, do not worry, with the LAMal, you will be able to go wherever you want and benefit from relatively extensive basic health cover in the same way as anyone else, without risking paying more because of your health condition or history.