Health insurance
Health insurance is compulsory for everyone living/working in Switzerland (find more information here). Since the hospital and doctor costs in Switzerland are very high, it is important that you are sufficiently insured.
We recommend taking out insurance from Swisscare:
For short internships (< 3 months) you could ask your insurance at home to fill in a Swiss government form confirming that you are sufficiently covered for your stay in Switzerland. Based on our experience however, foreign insurances will rarely do so and most often their coverage is not sufficient to cover the high costs of Swiss health services.
Furthermore, the EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) is not accepted any more in Switzerland for students working (paid internships).
We therefore highly advise to apply for coverage with a Swiss insurer.
Please note: neither IAESTE nor your employer can be held liable for costs arising from insufficient insurance coverage. Furthermore, dentist costs are not covered by health insurance in Switzerland. If you have to go to the dentist, we recommend asking for a quotation first and have a checkup before you leave to Switzerland.
The information provided above is relevant only to interns who are completing a paid placement. Health insurance obligations and conditions are different if you are only studying in Switzerland without earning an income.
Social security
Social security and accident insurance as well as tax are deducted directly from the intern’s salary.
– AHV: Old-age and survivors’ insurance
– IV: Disability insurance
– UVG: Accident insurance
Employees whose weekly working time exceeds 8 hours are insured against occupational accidents, occupational diseases and non-occupational accidents by their employer.
The payments for the AHV social security scheme may be reclaimed after the internship. However, the effort and costs to do so are higher than the amounts of these contributions. This also applies to one-year-internships.
Personal liability insurance
If you’re a Swiss resident, you should know that while basic health insurance is compulsory, other insurances such as private liability, household insurance, legal protection, etc. are not necessarily, but are highly recommended.
For example, personal liability insurance is mandatory if you own a car or a dog. And if you’re renting an apartment, your landlord might ask for proof of personal liability insurance, or even home insurance.
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In case you have questions, you can contact our insurance broker Howden Schweiz AG:
Howden Schweiz AG, Zweigniederlassung Bern
Mingerstrasse 12
Postfach
3000 Bern 22
E-Mail: chbern.info@howdengroup.com
Homepage: https://www.howdengroup.com/ch-de