How often should I review my health insurance policy?

At least once a year – at the latest when the new policies arrive. In addition, always whenever your life changes: a new job, a move, a new family member, divorce or retirement. Then your optimal insurance cover can change too.

What happens after my health insurance policy is compared?

You see which combination of basic and supplementary insurance suits your needs and where there is potential to save. If you wish, you can switch directly online to a suitable partner health insurer, have alletta cancel your old policy and secure cashback.

Health Insurance Policy: How to understand your document

Every year, the new health insurance policy lands in your mailbox or email inbox – and often goes straight into a folder. Yet it's extremely important: The policy clearly states which products you have, which premiums you pay, and how well you're actually covered in case of illness.

In this knowledge article you'll learn:

What a health insurance policy exactly is
What information you can find in it
Where typical pitfalls lie
How alletta uses the SmartReader to analyze your health insurance policy digitally and identify optimization potential

Why your health insurance policy is so important

Your health insurance policy is the binding basis between you and your health insurer. It shows you at a glance:

Which basic insurance you have taken out
Which supplementary insurances are active
Which premiums you pay per month or year
Which deductible and co-payment apply
For which persons the coverage applies (individual, couple, family)

Precisely because basic insurance and supplementary insurances often grow over the years, the health insurance policy quickly becomes confusing. Without regular checks, you may be paying too much – or have gaps in coverage you don't even know about.

What's in the health insurance policy

💡 Note: Depending on the insurer, the health insurance policy looks different visually. However, the most important content is always structured similarly.

📄 Content and structure of the health insurance policy

Typical elements of a health insurance policy are:

Front of the insurance card showing name and card number

Back of the insurance card with the European health insurance card

Often emergency number from abroad, sometimes policyholder number

Name

First name

Your AHV number

The card number

Date of birth, possibly gender

Identification number and possibly name of your health insurer

Card expiration date

Magnetic stripe

Sample page 1 of the health insurance policy with personal details

Sample page 2 of the policy with basic insurance and deductible

Your health insurer

Name and possibly logo of your health insurer - sometimes this is only displayed for the entire group, not for the individual insurer within an insurance group.

Contact details

You often find the contact details for phone and email at the top left. Usually you can also communicate via the health insurer's portal.

Premium overview

Especially when several people are listed on the policy and you have basic and supplementary insurances, the premium overview helps you keep track.

Validity

Look at the validity carefully to make sure you have the latest version of your policy. Sometimes the contract duration is also shown here.

Premium per person

Premiums per person are often very different. This is because not all people may have the same products. And then premiums differ significantly by age and gender.

Total premium

Keep a close eye on this number – this is the amount you will pay every month. Comparing insurance coverage and premiums is worth it. Here is your link to do so:

Address & Website

You'll find the address and link to the insurance company's website at the bottom left.

Number of pages

The number of pages is indicated at the bottom right. Basic and supplementary insurance are often on separate pages. Remember to always look at all pages carefully.

Basic insurance policy

Here all important information about your basic insurance is listed. By the way: You can change your basic insurance annually until the end of November. Benefit from alletta's digital comparison:

Basic insurance model

The most important information about your model: Free choice of doctor or specific guidelines on how to proceed when ill (e.g., call telemedicine, visit family doctor, etc.) Your chosen deductible. By the way, you can also adjust this annually. With or without accident: If you work at least 8 hours per week for the same employer, you can exclude accident coverage.

Environmental levy

The environmental levy redistribution is credited separately through the basic-insurance premium invoice for everyone who is eligible. The amount is set annually by the federal government.

Fine print for basic insurance

It's worth reading the fine print. Important information is often found here, for example about premium reductions.

Sample page 3 of the policy with supplementary insurance

Sample page 4 of the policy with the premium overview

Supplementary insurance policy

Here all important information about your supplementary insurances is recorded. If you're looking for information about benefits, you'll find this in the benefit overview or in the insurance conditions. Your health insurer makes these available on their website.

Supplementary insurance product

Here you see the name of your supplementary insurance and perhaps also hints about the coverage scope. Important: You often also see the contract term, especially if you have a multi-year contract. You can usually change supplementary insurances annually until the end of September. With a multi-year contract, you can do this upon expiration and in case of premium increases.

Total premium for supplementary insurances

The total premium for the various supplementary insurances is shown here.

Insurance conditions

The insurance conditions are decisive for your insurance coverage. These can be downloaded from the health insurer's website or ordered by phone.

Basic insurance in the health insurance policy

In the basic insurance according to the Health Insurance Act (KVG), you are mandatorily insured. In your health insurance policy you'll find, among other things:

The chosen insurance model (e.g., family doctor, HMO, Telmed, or Standard),
The amount of your deductible
Information about your co-payment
The indication of whether accident is included in your basic insurance
The premiums per month

Here you can often save without giving up important benefits – for example, by choosing an alternative model or adjusting the deductible to your situation. More about deductible and co-payment can be found in the article on Cost sharing in health insurance .

Supplementary insurance in the health insurance policy

Supplementary insurances are voluntary and vary greatly from insurer to insurer. Your health insurance policy may include, among other things, the following components:

Hospital supplementary insurance (general, semi-private, private),
Outpatient supplementary insurance, supplementary insurance for alternative medicine,
Dental insurance or dental supplement
Travel and emergency services

Many policies have grown over time: a new supplementary cover here, an upgrade there. You may end up paying for benefits you no longer need, while more important areas are underinsured.

Typical problems with the health insurance policy

⚠️ Too many or unsuitable components

When your life situation changes – for example, through family growth, moving, job change, or retirement – your health insurance policy should change with it. In practice, this rarely happens. Typical consequences:

You pay for double or excessive coverage
Previous children's coverage remains in place, even though it's no longer needed
Important areas such as hospital supplementary or outpatient benefits are too weakly insured

A structured policy comparison helps you look at the entire health insurance policy, rather than just comparing individual premiums.

Young woman puzzled by a hard-to-understand health insurance policy

What's not in the health insurance policy

The health insurance policy does not provide you with concrete information about which specific benefits the listed products cover. This information is described in great detail in the so-called insurance conditions. Easier to understand are the “benefit overviews”, where the most important benefit components are shown. You can find both on the website of your current health insurer. Even easier is the by alletta: upload your policy and compare the most important benefit components.

Young woman discovering gaps that are not listed in the policy

How alletta analyzes your health insurance policy

SmartReader: AI reads out your health insurance policy

With the alletta SmartReader, you can easily have your health insurance policy checked digitally. Our avatar, alletta, guides you step by step through your policy and explains technical terms in simple language. The process is straightforward:


You upload your health insurance policy as a PDF or photo.	The AI reads all relevant data – from products and benefit levels to premiums.	Your policy is compared with current offers from our partner health insurance providers.	You can see at a glance where you can save and where there are gaps in your coverage.

The SmartReader is available online around the clock and can be used in multiple languages. This allows
international professionals and people who do not have German as their native language to finally truly understand their health insurance policy.

💻 Fully digital – from comparison to switching

At alletta, the entire process runs digitally:

Compare your health insurance policy online
Receive transparent suggestions and switch directly to the right insurance if desired
Benefit from the cancellation service for your old policy.

This saves you time, paper, and avoids sales pressure.

Benefits with alletta and your health insurance policy

Save money thanks to cashback and optimization

alletta works digitally and efficiently – and shares part of the brokerage fees with you. When you take out a new health insurance policy through alletta, it's completely free. And on top of that, depending on the products chosen, you can receive up to 300 CHF cashback per person.

In combination with an optimized policy, households often save significantly without giving up important benefits.

🛡️ Neutral advice and strong Swiss partners

alletta is registered as an independent insurance broker with FINMA under the number F01442247. This means:

alletta represents your interests
Recommendations are neutral and not tied to a single insurer

For your health insurance policy, alletta works with leading Swiss health insurers:

This gives you a selection of modern products that fit your life and budget.

🌐 Digital, multilingual and available at any time

The alletta SmartReader is available online and can be conveniently used on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. The platform is designed to be multilingual, allowing international employees and newly arrived residents to easily review and optimize their health insurance policy.

Steps to a better health insurance policy

Finally, a practical step-by-step guide on how to optimize your health insurance policy.

✅ Step 1: Prepare your health insurance policy

Find current policy (including all pages)
Add policies from partner and children
Check that all data is current
You can find it in your document folder, in your mailbox, or in your health insurer’s online portal.

✅ Step 2: Check health insurance policy with SmartReader

Go to alletta.ch
Upload health insurance policy as PDF or photo
Let analysis and comparison be created automatically

✅ Step 3: Compare offers and define priorities

Which benefits are really important to you (e.g., hospital supplementary, alternative medicine, dental insurance)?
Where are you paying for components you hardly use?
Are there cheaper offers with comparable benefits?

If you have questions or want personal support, you can always contact alletta.

We are directly in the web app via the icon

✅ Step 4: Make a decision and adjust policy

Select suitable combination of basic and supplementary insurance
Complete new health insurance policy digitally
Cancel old policy in time cancel (alletta handles this for you)
Secure cashback and start optimally into the next insurance year

Conclusion: Use your health insurance policy as an opportunity

The health insurance policy is more than just an administrative document. It shows you how well you're covered in everyday life and in emergencies – and where you might be paying too much.

With the digital SmartReader from alletta, you can have your health insurance policy checked quickly, understandably, and neutrally.

This transforms a complex document into a clear basis for decision-making – for better protection and lower costs. If you want to directlycalculate, compare and complete premiums , you can do this conveniently online via alletta.

Frequently asked questions about health insurance policy

❓ What is a health insurance policy?

The health insurance policy is your contract document with the health insurer. It records who is insured, which basic and supplementary insurances apply, and how high the deductible, co-payment, and premiums are.

❓ How often should I check my health insurance policy?

At least once a year – at the latest when the new policies arrive. Also whenever your life changes: new job, move, family growth, divorce, or retirement. Then your optimal insurance coverage can also change.

❓ What does the alletta SmartReader do for my health insurance policy?

The SmartReader automatically reads your health insurance policy, assigns components, compares them with offers from Swiss partner health insurers, and clearly shows you where you can save or close gaps – without jargon and without paperwork.

❓ What do I need to upload my policy to alletta?

You only need your current health insurance policy as a PDF or well-readable photo. You upload this online to alletta. The SmartReader takes over the rest and creates a clear evaluation for you.

❓ What happens after comparing my health insurance policy?

You see which combination of basic and supplementary insurance fits your needs and where there's savings potential. If you want, you can switch directly online to a suitable partner health insurer, have your old policy canceled by alletta, and secure cashback.