Accident Insurance in Switzerland Explained

In Switzerland, accidents and illnesses are classified differently for insurance purposes.

Health insurance vs. accident insurance

Health insurance covers illnesses and injuries which result from illnesses.

Injuries which result from extraordinary, external circumstances like a loose tile falling on your head, an insect sting or a fall on the ski slope are classified as accidents. These are covered by accident insurance.

Two kinds of accident insurance

Accident insurance is compulsory in Switzerland. But whether accidents are covered by your compulsory health insurance or by your employer's compulsory accident insurance depends on whether or not you are employed.

1. Employment-based accident insurance explained

If you are employed by a Swiss employer, your employer is required to take out occupational accident insurance (UVG / LAA), which covers the healthcare costs of accidents that occur in the workplace and occupational health hazards. Your employer covers the occupational accident insurance premiums.

If you work for a Swiss employer more than 8 hours per week, your employer must take out non-occupational accident insurance for you. This insurance covers the cost of accidents which occur outside of your workplace. You pay the premiums for non-occupational accident insurance yourself – normally as a direct deduction from your salary.

If you are unemployed and are receiving unemployment benefits, you are covered by the unemployment office's accident insurance throughout your unemployment benefit entitlement term. The unemployment office covers a portion of the premium equal to 1% of your unemployment benefit. You cover a part of the premium equal to 2% of your unemployment benefit.

If you are self-employed, you can take out employment-based accident insurance on a voluntary basis if you choose to, but you are not required to do so.

Employment-based accident insurance provides the following benefits with no deductible or coinsurance:

• The medical costs of treating injuries – including the cost of treatment, eligible medicines and hospital stays.
• A loss of income benefit equal to 80% of your insured salary if your injuries prevent you from carrying out your employment duties.
• If an accident results in your becoming disabled, this insurance provides a disability pension. The pension is based on your disability level. The highest pension is reserved for full disability, and is equal to 80% of your insured salary.
• If an accident results in your becoming physically, mentally or psychologically impaired, this insurance may pay out a one-time benefit based on your level of impairment.
• If an accident results in your death. Your surviving, dependent children receive a survivors' pension. Your surviving spouse may receive a survivors' pension under certain circumstances – such as when they have dependent children to care for. Widows and widowers receive a pension equal to 40% of the insured salary. Children with one surviving parent receive a pension equal to 15% of the insured salary, while fully-orphaned children receive a pension equal to 25% of the insured salary. The combined pensions of all your survivors cannot exceed 70% of your insured salary.

Interim accident insurance is a voluntary insurance which provides the benefits of employer-based accident insurance for up to six months after you become unemployed. It can be used to remain well-covered while between jobs.

2. Health-insurance-based accident insurance explained

If you are employed less than 8 hours per week, you only get occupational accident insurance (accidents in the workplace) from your employer. If you are a child, student, housewife/husband, self-employed person or are unemployed and are not receiving unemployment benefits, you are not covered by employment-based accident insurance at all.

In all of these cases, you can (and must) insure yourself against the costs of accidents by adding an accident insurance rider to your compulsory health insurance policy.

The accident rider on compulsory health insurance policies provides these benefits:

• Medical expenses. The accident insurance rider extends your health insurance policy’s hospital and medical care coverage to include healthcare costs resulting from accidents. The deductible and coinsurance which applies to your health insurance policy is applied to accident insurance claims as well.

Avoid double insurance

When you become employed and begin receiving employment-based accident insurance, you have to inform your health insurance provider so that they can place your accident insurance coverage on hold. This reduces your compulsory health insurance premium by around 10%. If you become unemployed or self-employed at some point, you must instruct your health insurance provider to activate the accident coverage.

The health insurance comparison on moneyland.ch lets you select whether or not you need accident coverage from your health insurance. The comparison automatically accounts for the differences in premiums.

Other types of accident insurance

A number of insurance providers offer voluntary accident insurance policies for self-employed individuals. The benefits of these voluntary accident insurance policies are typically similar to those of employment-based accident insurance.

It is also worth noting that many supplemental health insurance policies include accident insurance coverage, or extend the coverage provided by compulsory health insurance.

More on this topic:
Extreme Sports: 15 Sports Which Are Not Fully Covered by Swiss Compulsory Accident Insurance
Health insurance comparison
Interim accident insurance explained
Occupational accident insurance in Switzerland: A guide for employers