Are you paying for accident cover twice?
You might be. If you work at least 8 hours a week for one employer, your job also insures you against accidents outside work, so you can suspend the accident cover in your health insurance. When the job ends, the employer's cover stops 31 days later, so you switch it back on.
Ep. 49 · Ueli's Word · 58 seconds. Watch
The real rule
Why the Swiss laugh, and what it means if you're new here.
In Switzerland, an accident outside work has its own word: Nichtberufsunfall. If you work at least 8 hours a week for one employer, that accident is already insured through your job. Your health insurance can also include accident cover, and then you pay for the same leg twice. As a newcomer, check your health insurance policy: you can suspend the accident cover there, and the premium goes down.
Blüemli's verdict: Ding. 8 hours or more. 8+ hours a week for one employer: leisure accidents are covered through work.
NICHTBERUFSUNFALL: literally: “not-job accident”; really: any accident outside work Ueli's Word
Be like Ueli. One leg. One accident cover.
Learn more: Swiss health insurance for expats
The rule, explained
The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH, in German BAG) explains how accident insurance and health insurance fit together. Employees who work at least 8 hours a week for one employer are insured through work not only for accidents on the job, but also for non-occupational accidents: a Nichtberufsunfall, any accident in your free time. Because of that, they can suspend the accident cover in their health insurance, and the premium goes down. The FOPH also names the catch: the employer's cover ends 31 days after the employment ends. If you leave or lose your job, accident cover must be switched back on in your health insurance. So it is one accident cover per leg, and it moves with your job.
Sources: FOPH (BAG), compulsory accident insurance and start and end of cover
Questions people ask
Can I remove accident cover from my Swiss health insurance?
Yes, you can suspend it if you work at least 8 hours a week for one employer, because your job already covers accidents outside work (FOPH).
What happens to my accident cover when my job ends?
The employer's cover ends 31 days after the employment ends, so switch accident cover back on in your health insurance (FOPH).
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