Reminders and debt enforcement

By paying your invoices on time, you avoid incurring unnecessary fees.

Steps involved in the reminder and enforcement process

  1. If the payment due date has passed, you will receive a payment reminder.
  2. If you still fail to pay despite having been sent a payment reminder, you will receive a first overdue notice. This incurs a fee.
  3. If your invoice has still not been paid, we will send you a final notice. In addition to reminder fees, we will charge default interest of 5%.
  4. If debt enforcement proceedings are initiated, the debt enforcement office will demand payment of the outstanding debt. You will have to pay the outstanding amount through the debt enforcement office.
  5. As soon as you have paid all outstanding and current premiums, we will delete your entry in the debt collection register. However, we charge a deletion fee for each case of enforcement.

Good to know:

According to Art. 64a of the Swiss Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG), health insurers are required to collect outstanding premiums and co-payments under compulsory health insurance (basic insurance).

Swiss Federal Health Insurance Act, Art. 64a

The law requires that the reminder process for basic health insurance is kept separate from that for supplementary insurance. You will therefore be issued with a separate written reminder for supplementary insurance, which in turn incurs fees.

Subject to certain conditions, we can offer you the chance of paying in instalments so as to support you if you are having financial difficulties. Our Customer Service would be happy to look into this with you. 

Frequently asked questions

There are various reasons for this:

  • The reminder may have overlapped with your payment. Please note that premiums are due for payment on the first of each month.
  • If you have set up a standing order, your reference number will not be consistent with that of the invoice. As every invoice has its own reference number, you must use the payment slip for the right month or the right payment period.
  • The amount paid does not correspond with the amount on the invoice. Please pay the exact amount invoiced. Any changes to your contract since the invoice was sent out will be accounted for retroactively in the next invoice.

If you cannot pay the invoice, please contact our Customer Service as soon as possible or get in touch with social services at your place of residence.

Deferral of benefits under basic insurance

The cantons can keep a list of all insured persons who fail to pay their premium invoices despite debt enforcement efforts. The following cantons keep a list of those who fail to pay their premiums on time: Aargau, Lucerne, Schaffhausen, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Thurgau, Ticino and Zug. If a canton issues a decree to this end, insurers defer the provision of benefits until all outstanding debts are paid (KVG Art. 64a (7)). This means that insurers are not allowed to provide any more benefits under compulsory health insurance (OKP) during this time. This does not include emergency treatment. Once you have paid the invoice, all benefits will be settled with retroactive effect.

Suspension of benefits under supplementary insurance

If we still do not receive any payments after issuing reminders and payment deadlines, we will suspend benefits under supplementary insurance and any claims for daily sickness benefits. This means that the insured person is no longer covered in the event of an insured event. If the insured person pays the premiums at a later date, he/she has no retroactive entitlement to benefits for the period during which cover was suspended.

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