Insurance contract made simple
Do you have any questions about your contract with CSS, the policy, insurance card or powers of attorney? We help you keep track of everything relating to the contract.
Insurance contract – your policy
In Switzerland, we refer to the insurance contract as a "policy". The policy for basic insurance is valid for one year. Supplementary insurance may be valid for several years.
We’ll send you your policy for basic insurance as soon as your current health insurer has confirmed cancellation. You’ll receive the policy for supplementary insurance once we have reached a decision on admitting you. This will depend on the health information you provide.
Insurance card
Your insurance card is personal and non-transferable. It contains important data about you and your insurance. Show your insurance card each time you visit a doctor’s practice or go into hospital. That will enable your data to be recorded quickly and correctly, and means CSS can be billed directly.
Front of card (is used in Switzerland)
Back of card (important when abroad)
Order insurance card
Defective or lost? Order a new (health) insurance card free of charge. If changes are made to your policy, you’ll receive it automatically.
Confirmation of insurance
Your insurance policy and insurance card are all you normally need to prove you're insured when abroad. Only a few countries require an international insurance certificate.
Granting a power of attorney
Does another person or authority help you with aspects of your health insurance? Or maybe you take care of insurance matters for someone close to you?
Contract roles for premiums, benefits and correspondence
To make the administrative tasks relating to insurance as efficient as possible, CSS relies on different contract roles. The insured person generally assumes all the contract roles. For families, it can make sense to divide the contract roles between more than one person, e.g. have one of the parents receive the child’s statements and correspondence.
Contract role: Premium payer
- Receives premium statements and reminders.
- Undertakes to pay the premiums.
- Receives credits from premium corrections.
Contract role: Recipient of benefits
- Receives benefit statements and reminders.
- Undertakes to pay the co-payment.
- Receives refunds.
Contract role: Recipient of correspondence
Receives all other documents such as offers, applications, policies and insurance cards.
Cancelling the insurance contract
There are a few points to be noted by anyone wanting to cancel their health insurance. We explain the deadlines, what steps you need to take and what you need to remember if you want to avoid any problems.
What to do when someone dies
When someone dies, their health insurer must be informed. Health insurance ends automatically when someone dies, and any premiums already paid are refunded.
FAQs
The policy is the document that confirms your insurance contract. It contains all the important information about your chosen insurance.
In an emergency abroad (outside EU/EFTA), a copy of the policy is often requested in addition to the insurance card. You can download it at any time from myCSS.
Yes, you can change your insurance contract. It’s one of the ways in which you can save on health insurance. For example, you can adjust the deductible (retention fee) or the model of basic insurance. Please note that it is often only possible to make changes at certain times of the year.
If you don’t pay your premiums, the following may happen:
- Payment reminder: You’ll receive a reminder that payment is due.
- Reminder: If you still don’t pay, you’ll be sent a reminder that incurs an additional fee.
- Debt collection: If you still don’t pay the bill after that, debt collection proceedings may be started against you.
Important to remember: Only benefits under basic insurance – such as emergency treatment, maternity benefits – will continue to be paid. No benefits will be paid under supplementary insurance.
