Residents in Switzerland have until November 30th to switch their current health insurance policy to a new one. But there are reasons to be wary of marketing calls from various insurance companies urging you to buy their policy.
From September 1st, 2024, health insurance brokers are no longer allowed to try to sell an insurance policy by phone to a person who has never been insured with a particular company, or who has not been insured there for at least 36 months.
This law went into effect because legislators decided that these “unwanted calls are a major source of annoyance for policyholders. But thanks to these measure, the activity of insurance intermediaries will be better regulated,” the government said at the time.
But is it?
It seems not.
Even though insurance carriers risk a fine of up to 100,000 francs for breaking this law (if reported), Marcel Thom from Deloitte consultancy, which carried out a study into the 2026 health insurance premiums, said that illegal telephone canvassing remains widespread.
Nearly 44 percent of survey respondents said they received at least one unsolicited call this year, even though they are prohibited.
A particularly critical point is that 70 percent of those who agreed to an interview do not recall receiving a report afterward, even though this is mandatory.
“The ban on unsolicited telephone canvassing seems to have little effect in practice,” Thom pointed out.
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What should you do if you receive such a call?
If you don’t want to be disturbed, just tell the caller ‘no’ and hang up.
If they persist, you may want to remind them that they are breaking the law.
Or you can file a complaint with the health insurance Ombudsman’s office, here.
