Are Swiss Satisfied With Their Health Insurance Providers?

A 2022 health insurance customer satisfaction survey of 1500 residents across Switzerland by moneyland.ch examined the customer satisfaction with their health insurance providers.

moneyland.ch asked survey participants how satisfied they were with: the friendliness and helpfulness of company representatives; the availability of customer service; response time for questions and inquiries; value for money; the correctness and clarity of billing; accommodativeness with regards to payments; time required for benefits to be paid out; the clarity of information provided to customers. Participants were also asked to rate their overall satisfaction.

Participants rated their satisfaction with health insurance companies on a scale of 1 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (completely satisfied).

Result: On average, customer satisfaction has declined since the “corona year” of 2021, with the average rating sliding from 8 to 7.8 points. “As in previous years, customer satisfaction is lower in French-speaking Switzerland and among young adults,” says moneyland.ch CEO Benjamin Manz.

Value for money gets the lowest ratings

Customers are least satisfied with the relation between the cost of health insurance and the value provided. Value for money got an average rating of 7.3 points, which is only enough for a “sufficient” overall rating. Accommodativeness with regards to payments is also only sufficient (7.4 points).

Customer satisfaction is highest for the friendliness of company representatives (8 points), followed by the correctness and clarity of billing (7.9 points), overall satisfaction (7.9 points), and availability of customer service (7.8 points).

Other aspects which received good ratings are the time required for benefits to be paid out, the time required for reimbursement of covered expenses, and the helpfulness of company representatives (7.7 points each), and the clarity of information provided to customers (7.6 points).

French-speaking Swiss are less satisfied

Residents of the Romandie are notably less satisfied with their health insurance providers than people in German-speaking regions. “Higher levels of dissatisfaction in French-speaking Switzerland have been visible in previous years as well, and are likely linked to the fact that premiums are generally higher than in German-speaking Switzerland,” believes Manz. Another possible cause: Health insurance provider Assura is more widely used in the Romandie than in German-speaking regions, and Assura has consistently received some of the lowest customer satisfaction ratings.

Residents of French-speaking regions give their health insurers an average rating of just 7.1 points with regards to value for money, on average. In German-speaking Switzerland, that rating is 7.4 points. The average customer satisfaction rating for all aspects combined is 7.5 out of 10 points in the Romandie, compared to 7.9 out of 10 points in German-speaking Switzerland.

Satisfaction is lowest among young adults

There are no major differences in satisfaction between men and women, or between urban and rural residents. But there are significant gaps between age groups. The younger the resident, the less satisfied they are with their health insurance provider.

The average satisfaction rating among customers aged 18 to 25 years old is 7.3 out of 10 points. That rating is 7.6 points for residents between the ages of 26 and 49, and 8.2 points for adults aged 50 to 74.

One reason for the critical view of health insurance by young residents is that most people in this age group hardly claim insurance benefits, but they are still required to pay the premiums,” says Manz.

The highest-rated health insurance companies

The list of health insurance providers with the highest customer satisfaction ratings can change from year to year. Additional differences may apply to ratings for individual aspects of service (see the table below). The highest customer satisfaction ratings (weighted averages) in 2022 were given by customers of KPT (8.4 points), Swica (8.2 points), and ÖKK (8 points).

Other insurers which received good ratings are Helsana, Sanitas, Visana, and Atupri (7.9 points each), as well as CSS, EGK, Agrisano, and Concordia (7.7 points). These are followed by Sympany (7.5 points) and Groupe Mutuel (7.4 points).

In 2022 also, the lowest customer satisfaction ratings were given by Assura customers, at 7.1 points.

Customer satisfaction ratings of Swiss health insurance companies

Note: Detailed breakdowns of customer satisfaction ratings for each insurance provider are included in the interactive health insurance comparison on moneyland.ch.

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