Save money on health insurance premium | Sanitas health insurance

Healthcare costs can put a strain on the household budget, especially for families. The following tips can help you save money on your premiums - and find additional ways of getting a discount.

There are a number of ways to do so. You just have to find the best solution for you. And it’s not just premiums where you can save money. We offer our customers a host of other benefits and discounts. You’ll find all our money-saving tips here.

Tip 1: Alternative insurance model

All the basic insurance models offer the same benefits. The only difference between the alternative models is who you can contact when you need medical advice. Depending on the model you choose, you can benefit from a range of discounts on your premiums compared with the standard Basic insurance:

Network model Medbase MultiAccess: Discount of between 13% and 20%
HMO model NetMed: Discount of between 8% and 18%
Telemedicine model CallMed: Discout of between 9% and 13%
Family doctor model CareMed: Discount of between 7% and 10%
Telemedicine model Compact One: Discount of between 15% and 21%

Tip 2: Higher deductible, lower premium

Your deductible is the share you pay towards treatment costs. It always applies for a calendar year. If you increase your deductible for basic insurance, you can save up to CHF 1,540 a year. For example, with a deductible of CHF 1,000 you pay the first CHF 1,000 for medical treatment yourself. Important! Only increase your deductible if you rarely go the to doctor. Bear in mind that you have to cover the costs of any treatment up to the amount of your deductible plus a copayment of CHF 700.

Good to know: You can change the deductible yourself in the customer portal.

Customer portal

Tip 3: Save money with family insurance

Basic insurance

Families receive a discount on their children’s basic insurance premiums.

Sanitas: 77.5% discount on the adult premium

Compact: 77% discount on the adult premium

Supplementary insurance plans

With the Classic, Family and Hospital Standard Liberty supplementary insurance plans:

Premium exemption from the third child

Family supplementary insurance

Every child who has basic insurance plus Family supplementary insurance with Sanitas receives:

A loyalty bonus of CHF 50 per year with Sanitas

Tip 4: Exclude accident cover

Save 6.5% on your premium

When can you exclude accident cover? If you work eight hours or more for the same employer, you are automatically insured against occupational and non-occupational accidents through your employer.

Tip 5: Generics instead of original drugs

When you buy generics you usually have a copayment of just 10% . The copayment for original drugs is 20%.

What is a generic?

A generic contains the same active ingredients in the same dosage as the original drug. As the development costs for generics are low, these products are available more cheaply than original drugs. With a few exceptions for medical reasons, original drugs can be substituted for generics.

Find out whether there’s a lower-cost generic available for your drug:

Generic drug finder

Good to know: The generic drug finder is also available in the Sanitas Portal app. You can download the app free of charge:

Tip 6: Order medicines from a online pharmacy

Thanks to our partnership with the Zur Rose and MediService online pharmacies, you can take advantage of numerous benefits. You don’t have to worry about the billing, because the pharmacies settle invoices directly with Sanitas.

Your benefits:

No pharmacy charges (save CHF 4.30 on the medicine check for each prescribed medication and CHF 3.25 on the purchasing check)
Attractive discounts on specific products
Free delivery within two working days
Order repeat prescriptions quickly and easily with an online prescription account

To the online pharmacies

Tip 7: Earn rewards for exercise

The Sanitas Active app is a fun way to help you get more exercise. You can now earn virtual coins for running, swimming, cycling and taking part in fitness or yoga classes. These coins can be exchanged for vouchers from our partners which you can spend online.

To the Active app

Tip 8: Suspend your insurance

If you do military service, civil service or civil defence for more than 60 consecutive days, you can suspend your basic insurance. This means your insurance is paused for a specified period and you don’t pay a premium.

You have to do military service?

You can use this form to send in your marching orders or notification of civil service/civil defence. Important: remember to send us your application for suspension at least eight weeks before taking up your duties.

Suspend your insurance

Suspend supplementary insurance plans

You can also suspend your supplementary insurance plans and save 70% on your premium. You can also suspend supplementary insurance plans during longer stays abroad. Once you suspend your insurance, you’re no longer entitled to claim benefits.

Advice hotline

0844 150 150 – Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm

Tip 9: Pay early to cut costs

Premiums are usually paid monthly. However, you can also pay your premiums for a year or six months in advance. For paying a year in advance you receive a discount of 1% and for six months 0.5%.

Tip 10: Join a group insurance plan

Sanitas offers group insurance plans for companies, associations and clubs. Customers insured under group plans benefit from premium discounts on our supplementary insurance plans. Ask your employer, association or sports club if they have a partnership with Sanitas. If they do, you and your family are entitled to group health insurance with a discount on your premiums.