Not all Swiss health premium calculators are reliable
The medical products (archive picture) are an important factor for rising health costs.
Keystone/Peter Lauth
Health premium comparison websites promise to help policyholders find the best premium. But some sites provide truncated information, while others do not provide any comparisons at all.
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Nem todos os sites de comparação de preços são confiáveis
Changing health insurers, deductibles or insurance models are the only ways for policyholders to influence their health premiums. With an average increase of 6.6% predicted for 2023, many policyholders consult online comparators in the hope of finding the most advantageous package.
Average increase in health premiums is to reach 6.6% next year, according to the the federal health authorities.
But these sites are not always reliable and the results vary from one platform to another, as an investigation by a consumer programme of the RTS public broadcaster reveals. It analysed 16 platforms presenting themselves as comparators.
Despite their appearance, nine of the platforms in question do not offer any comparisons. They simply collect the user’s data, often with a view to passing it on to a broker who can use it to offer basic insurance, but also supplementary insurance.
Only two independent sites with no financial interests have been identified: the Swiss government’s priminfo.admin.chExternal link site and the site developed by a consumer organisation in French-speaking Switzerland in partnership with RTS.
Health insurance coverage is mandatory for residents in Switzerland.
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