Premium hammer 2025 "Insurance companies must now make an effort to retain customers"

A new survey by Deloitte shows: More than half of the population is considering changing or adjusting their health insurance. What does this mean for the various health insurance companies? An assessment.

Health insurance premiums will rise by an average of six percent next year. As a result, many people now want to change their health insurance provider. They still have until November 30 to do so.

More than half of the population is considering a change or adjustment, according to a new survey by the consulting firm Deloitte. Specifically, 34 percent are thinking about switching to another insurer. A further 20 percent are considering optimizing their insurance model or franchise.

These are the intentions. However, not all of them will actually implement them. Nevertheless, Deloitte expects a switching rate of 8 to 12 percent. In figures, this means that 700,000 to 1.1 million people are likely to change their compulsory health insurance.

The single health insurance fund is becoming increasingly popular

According to the survey, 70 percent of Swiss people are also in favor of a system change and would agree to a single health insurance fund. This suggests that people are primarily hoping for low premiums from a single health insurance fund. These expectations are exaggerated, as the administrative costs of health insurance companies would amount to an average of five percent of premiums. According to the communiqué, even a very efficient single health insurance fund could only marginally reduce premiums.

Nevertheless, 75 percent of those surveyed said that they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their health insurance company.

KPT is only the price leader in Appenzell Ausserrhoden

People insured with Assura, Concordia and KPT change their insurer frequently. This could be due to the attractive premiums that these insurers have offered in recent years. Many price-conscious customers have been attracted by this, but are also prepared to switch again if they find a better offer elsewhere.

According to the survey, Concordia is one of the three cheapest providers in almost half of all premium regions. Helsana, Sanitas, Sympany and ÖKK could also benefit from the current situation.

This time, however, KPT is on the losing side. The health insurer is now only the price leader in Appenzell Ausserrhoden and has seen its position deteriorate in two thirds of the regions. Groupe Mutuel and CSS, the largest health insurer in Switzerland, could also lose market share.

Health insurers should intensify advertising and customer care

And what does this mean in concrete terms for health insurance companies? "They must now make a strong effort to retain customers," says Marcel Thom, head of the Deloitte study, in an interview with blue News.

There are various ways to do this: "For example, through advertising or by intensifying customer care so that policyholders realize that their insurance company is looking after them." However, this takes time and continuity. "How much money the various health insurance companies will spend on this is individual," says Thom.

But: "A health insurance company with insufficient solvency cannot grow much at all. It cannot build up that much money in the short term. "Insurers must therefore also be careful with growth," explains Thom.

Customer losses can have a positive financial impact

In addition, every change of insurance causes administrative work and costs. So if up to 1.1 million people want to change their insurer, it adds up to a large sum. "It is almost impossible to predict how high these costs will be," says Thom. This also varies from health insurance fund to health insurance fund.

Customer losses can even have a positive financial impact on health insurance companies in the short term. Thom explains it like this: "If, for example, a reserve of CHF 10 was originally built up for five people and now three people leave the health insurance company, the insurance company still has CHF 10. The reserves are not deducted." A customer departure strengthens the reserves of health insurance companies.

This can lead to health insurance companies having to increase their premiums from time to time in order to cover their costs and bring about a controlled loss of customers. The aim is to stabilize the financial situation in the long term. "It is often more difficult for a health insurance company if it grows strongly than if it loses some customers," explains