Swiss are an active lot. The reasons for this are many, but the fact that regular exercise helps to prevent a plethora of illnesses (including diabetes) and annoying pains (backaches, for example), are definitely top-runners.
The obvious health benefits also provide an incentive for insurance companies to support the fitness efforts of their policyholders, or at least to add gym benefits to their marketing gimmicks.
While contributions to the costs of gym memberships are not included in Swiss compulsory health insurance policies, many insurers include these as a benefit on their outpatient insurance policies.
The preventative healthcare benefits usually cover part of the cost of gymnasium memberships, and often fitness courses, exercise programs (like aerobics), maternity fitness sessions, and preventative physical training as well.
How to get the most out of your health insurance gym benefits
Differences in the fitness benefits and coverage offered by various insurance policies are huge. A comparison is the best way to find the right offer. Select the fitness center option in the supplementary health insurance comparison to find, filter, and sort policies based on their gym membership coverage.
This table shows the gym coverage included in Swiss supplementary health insurance offers:
Insurance company |
Supplementary health insurance offer |
Coverage for gym memberships |
Atupri |
Basic |
75%, max. CHF 200 per calendar year |
Atupri |
Mivita Reala |
50%, max. CHF 200 per calendar year |
Atupri |
Intense |
75%, max. CHF 500 per calendar year |
Axa |
Health Actif |
75%, max. CHF 200 per calendar year |
Axa |
Health Complet |
75%, max. CHF 300 per calendar year |
Birchmeier |
Activa/Sanvita Plus 2 |
75%, max. CHF 250 per calendar year |
Concordia |
Natura |
50%, max. CHF 200 per calendar year |
Concordia |
Natura Plus |
50%, max CHF 200 per calendar year |
CSS |
Myflex Economy (in combination with hospital
insurance) |
50%, max. CHF 150 per calendar year |
CSS |
Myflex Balance (in combination with hospital
insurance) |
50%, max. CHF 250 per calendar year
|
CSS |
Myflex Premium (in combination with hospital
insurance) |
50%, max. CHF 500 per calendar year |
EGK |
Sun |
Max. CHF 360 per calendar year |
Glarner Krankenversicherung |
Allgemein |
50%, max. CHF 150 per calendar year |
Glarner Krankenversicherung |
Premium |
50% max. CHF 300 per calendar year |
Groupe Mutuel |
Optimum |
50%, max. CHF 200 per calendar year |
Groupe Mutuel |
Premium |
50%, max. CHF 500 per calendar year |
Helsana |
Sana |
75%, max. CHF 200 per calendar year |
Helsana |
Completa |
75%, max. CHF 200 per calendar year |
Klug |
Completa |
75%, max. CHF 200 per calendar year |
Klug |
Completa Plus (supplement for Completa) |
Covers an additional 75%, max.
CHF 200 per calendar year of the
costs that are no covered by Completa. |
Klug |
Sana |
75%, max. CHF 200 per calendar year. |
KPT |
Pulse Eco |
CHF 50 per calendar year |
KPT |
Pulse Top |
CHF 200 per calendar year |
KPT |
Pulse Premium |
CHF 300 per calendar year |
ÖKK |
Prävention (supplement for Start) |
50%, max. CHF 300 per calendar year |
Rhenusana |
Rhenuplus Gold |
75%, max. CHF 200 per calendar year |
Rhenusana |
Rhenuplus Platin |
75%, max. CHF 400 per calendar year |
Rhenusana |
Lifecycle (supplement for Rhenuplus) |
CHF 100 per calendar year in addition
to Rhenuplus |
Sanitas |
Vital Smart |
50%, max. CHF 200 or CHF 300 per
calendar year |
Sanitas |
Vital Premium |
80%, max. CHF 400 per calendar year |
SLKK |
SLKK Qualicare Basis |
75%, max. CHF 300 per calendar year |
SLKK |
SLKK Qualicare Comfort |
75%, max. CHF 300 per calendar year |
Sodalis |
Sana (in combination with hospital insurance) |
50%, max. CHF 200 per calendar year |
Sodalis |
Sana Plus (in combination with hospital insurance) |
50%, max. CHF 200 per calendar year |
Sumiswalder |
Kombi Allgemein |
CHF 100 per calendar year |
Sumiswalder |
Kombi Halbprivat |
CHF 200 per calendar year |
Sumiswalder |
Kombi Privat |
CHF 300 per calendar year |
Sumiswalder |
Komplementär |
CHF 200 per calendar year |
Swica |
Completa Forte |
90%, max. CHF 300 per calendar year |
Swica |
Completa Praeventa |
50%, max. CHF 300 per calendar year |
Swica |
Optima (supplement for Completa Praeventa) |
90% of remaining cost, max. CHF 300
per calendar year in addition to Completa
Praeventa |
Sympany |
Plus |
CHF 200 per calendar year |
Sympany |
Premium |
CHF 300 per calendar year |
Visana |
Ambulant |
CHF 200 per calendar year |
Visana |
Basic |
CHF 200 per calendar year |
Some insurance companies expect you to show that you have actually completed a certain amount of training sessions before they pay out the benefit.
Not all gyms qualify for this health insurance benefit. Many health insurance providers only compensate you for fees paid to gyms which are approved by quality control agencies like Qualitop and Qualicert. Before taking out an insurance policy, make sure that the gyms and fitness course providers which you want to use are on your insurer’s list of accepted gyms. If they are not, then you will not benefit from the gym contributions.
If your only reason for getting a supplemental health insurance policy is the gym benefits it offers, you may find that the insurance premiums you pay will almost always outweigh the gym benefits. However, getting a supplementary health insurance policy can still pay off if you also need the other coverages it provides.
For example, if a supplementary insurance offer costs 300 francs per year and includes a 200-franc benefit towards your gym membership, you are only actually paying 100 francs per year for all of the other coverages included in the policy.
More on this topic:
Compare Swiss supplemental health insurance offers now
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Compare Swiss mandatory health insurance offers now
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