Health insurance premiums 2027: what separated parents need to settle before 30 November

On 29 September 2026, the Swiss federal government published next year's health insurance premiums: on average, they rise by 5.0% in 2027. Every autumn, most households follow the same routine: compare, cancel, switch. For separated parents, it gets more complicated. Whose name is on the child's policy? Who pays the premium, who chooses the deductible, and whose bank account do the refunds go to?

These sound like paperwork questions. In practice, they are among the most common sources of friction between two households, because they combine money, a child's health and deadlines that do not forgive. Here is what changes in 2027, what the law actually says, and how to organise things together before the 30 November deadline.

The 2027 figures at a glance

These are national averages published by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). The premium you actually pay depends on where you live, your age, your deductible, your insurer and the insurance model you choose.

1. Who has to pay the child's premium? The law is clear

Since 1 January 2024, the Federal Health Insurance Act has contained an explicit rule, article 61a KVG/LAMal: parents are the sole debtors of their child's premiums until the end of the month in which the child comes of age, and they are jointly and severally liable. Put simply, if a premium goes unpaid, the insurer can claim the full amount from either parent, whatever name appears on the invoice.

The same article contains an exception designed for separated families. A parent is released if the maintenance they pay includes the premiums under an agreement or a court ruling, and if they confirm they have actually paid it. Only the other parent then remains liable towards the insurer.

The deductible and the co-payment follow the same logic: they are owed by whoever owes the premiums (art. 64 KVG/LAMal). The child, meanwhile, is protected: they can never be pursued for premiums or cost-sharing their parents failed to pay, not even after turning 18.

Check this now: reread your agreement or court ruling. Does it state in black and white that the maintenance covers the child's premiums? If it says nothing, agree in writing on who pays what. Often, one clear sentence is enough to prevent a disagreement that would otherwise come back every year.

2. Switching the child's insurer: decide together, send on time

Insurers must announce new premiums at least two months before they take effect, so the letters arrive by the end of October. You can then switch basic insurance for 1 January with one month's notice (art. 7 KVG/LAMal). This year, your cancellation must reach the insurer by Monday 30 November 2026 at the latest. The postmark date is not enough.

For basic insurance, switching carries no medical risk. Every insurer must accept the child, with no health questionnaire, and the old policy only ends once the new insurer has confirmed cover. There is no possible gap in coverage.

Between separated parents, the real risk lies elsewhere: one parent sends a cancellation without the other knowing. The law says a child is insured by their legal representative (art. 3 KVG/LAMal), and with joint parental authority, both parents are. The common-sense rule is simple: compare together, decide together, and whoever sends the letter forwards a copy to the other.

• Compare on the official source. The federal premium calculator, priminfo.ch, lists every insurer and every model, ad-free. Compare like for like, with the same deductible and model, or the comparison means nothing.
• Send your cancellation by registered mail, ideally a week before the deadline, and keep the receipt.
• Be careful with supplementary insurance. It falls under insurance contract law: the insurer can ask health questions, add exclusions or refuse, and cancellation periods depend on the contract. Never cancel a child's supplementary policy before the new insurer has accepted them in writing, especially if it covers orthodontics.
• Basic and supplementary can be split. Your old insurer cannot force you to cancel its supplementary policies because you are leaving its basic insurance.

3. The child's deductible: who carries the risk?

For a child, the law requires no deductible: the standard deductible is zero. Parents may opt for a deductible between CHF 100 and CHF 600 to lower the premium. Above the deductible, a 10% co-payment applies, capped at CHF 350 a year per child, half the adult cap (art. 64 KVG/LAMal, art. 93 and 103 KVV/OAMal).

In an intact family, choosing the CHF 600 deductible is a bet on the child's health: you save on the premium and accept paying more if something happens. Across two households, that bet has a twist: the parent who enjoys the saving is not necessarily the one who carries the risk.

Picture a parent who pays the premium alone, while unreimbursed medical costs are split fifty-fifty under the agreement. If that parent picks the CHF 600 deductible to lighten their monthly bill, the other parent takes on half of a risk that can reach CHF 950 a year, without seeing a franc of the premium saving. The deductible is therefore a joint decision, made with the agreement on the table.

4. Subsidies: reducing the child's premium

For low- and middle-income households, cantons must reduce children's premiums by at least 80% (art. 65 KVG/LAMal). This premium reduction is not paid to the parents: the canton pays it straight to the insurer, and it appears as a deduction on the premium invoice.

Since 1 January 2026, the counter-proposal to the premium relief initiative has been in force. Each canton must now spend a minimum amount on premium reductions, set as a percentage of the basic insurance costs of its residents, and define the maximum share of disposable income that premiums may represent. With the 2027 increase, it is worth checking whether your household qualifies, even if it did not before.

For separated parents, two points deserve particular attention:

• Which household the child belongs to. Each canton sets its own rules on which household a child is attached to, especially under shared custody, and which incomes are taken into account. Depending on the canton, entitlement is assessed automatically or on application, with deadlines to meet. Check with your cantonal office, especially in the year of the separation.
• The balance of the maintenance. The subsidy lowers the net premium of the parent who receives the invoice. If maintenance was calculated on the full premium and the subsidy significantly changes the picture, talk it through together, or with your mediator, rather than letting a sense of unfairness settle in.

5. Refunds: which account?

At the paediatrician, the default billing system is "tiers garant" (art. 42 KVG/LAMal): the invoice goes to the insured person, meaning the parents, who pay it and are then refunded by the insurer. In hospital, and often at the pharmacy, the insurer pays the provider directly and then bills you the deductible and co-payment.

Either way, the money flows through the account registered on the child's policy. Hence a familiar scene: one parent pays the paediatrician's bill, the refund lands in the other parent's account, and three months later nobody knows who owes what to whom.

Three habits are enough to avoid it:

• agree in writing on the refund account registered with the insurer;
• forward every invoice and every statement of benefits to the other parent, with proof of payment;
• only split what is genuinely left to pay after reimbursement (deductible, co-payment, uncovered care), never the gross invoice.

6. Is your child turning 18 in 2027?

Parents' exclusive liability for premiums ends at the end of the month in which the child comes of age: from the following month, the young adult owes their own premiums. Yet if they have not completed suitable education or training, the parents' duty of maintenance can continue until it is finished (art. 277 of the Swiss Civil Code).

If your child turns 18 next year, use this autumn to clarify three things with them and with the other parent: who will pay their premiums after their birthday, from which account, and whether the future young-adult premium (CHF 338.80 on average in 2027, against CHF 128.10 for a child) is built into the maintenance budget.

The two-household checklist before 30 November

1. Read the insurer's letter announcing the child's 2027 premium together.
2. Reread the agreement: does the maintenance include the premiums? Who covers the deductible and co-payment?
3. Compare on priminfo.ch, with the same deductible and model.
4. Choose the deductible together, knowing who will carry the risk.
5. If you switch: registered letter, received by 30 November at the latest, copy to the other parent.
6. Supplementary insurance: cancel nothing before the new insurer's written acceptance.
7. Check subsidy entitlement and the rules on the child's household in your canton.
8. Agree on the refund account and how you will share invoices and statements.

How CoParent.ch can help

CoParent.ch does not replace your insurer or legal advice. What it does offer is a neutral, shared framework for everything above:

• Shared expenses: record the part of a consultation left for you to pay, with the receipt attached. The other parent approves or rejects it, the balance calculates itself and can be settled with a Swiss QR-bill.
• Documents: keep the child's policy, the 2027 premium notice, the cancellation letter and the new insurer's confirmation in one place. Both parents see the same version.
• Calendar: add the 30 November deadline as a household appointment, so nobody discovers it on 1 December.

The subscription costs CHF 8.- a month for both households. The Expenses and Documents options are CHF 2.- each and included during the 14-day free trial, no credit card required.

This article provides general information and is not a substitute for personal advice. Subsidy rules vary from canton to canton; if you are unsure about your agreement, a mediator or lawyer can help.

Sources

• Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) and FOPH, press release of 29 September 2026 on the 2027 premiums (in German, French and Italian): bag.admin.ch (PDF version).
• Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG/LAMal, SR 832.10), art. 3, 7, 42, 61a, 64 and 65, as at 1 January 2026: fedlex.admin.ch (English translation for information only).
• Health Insurance Ordinance (KVV/OAMal, SR 832.102), art. 93 and 103: fedlex.admin.ch.
• Swiss Civil Code (SR 210), art. 277: fedlex.admin.ch.
• FOPH, "Health insurance: premium reduction" (in German, French and Italian): bag.admin.ch.
• The federal government's official premium calculator: priminfo.admin.ch.