An arranged insurance extension prolongs the cover for non-occupational accidents under compulsory accident insurance as per AIA. It can prolong such cover for up to six months.

The advantages over the accident cover provided by compulsory health insurance are that there is no deductible or retention fee and, alongside medical costs, cash benefits (such as pensions and daily allowance in particular) are also included.

An arranged insurance extension covers the same benefits as compulsory accident insurance as per AIA:

• Medical costs: physicians’ fees and hospital costs in a general ward
• Daily allowance from the 3rd day onwards: 80% of the insured salary or equal to the unemployment benefit
• Invalidity pension and survivor’s pension

You need an arranged insurance extension when an employment relationship in which you were working more than eight hours a week ends. The extension prolongs your existing accident cover as per AIA by up to six months. It is ideal if you are taking a break, are between jobs or are temporarily out of work.

If you have registered with the regional employment centre (RAV) as unemployed since your last employment relationship, you are already insured with Suva against the risk of accidents, so you have no need for an arranged insurance extension.

You cannot arrange an insurance extension if you were not covered for non-occupational accidents during your last employment relationship. You must include accident cover in your basic insurance.

An insurance extension must always be arranged with the same insurance company with which the employer took out accident insurance as per AIA. With V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a, extensions can simply be arranged online.

Please note that the insurance extension must be arranged and paid for before the end of the cover-extension period, i.e. within 31 days. Otherwise, the insurance will not cover any costs in the event of an accident.

The arranged insurance extension begins immediately after expiry of the 31-day cover-extension period, i.e. on the 32nd day after your last day of work – as long as it has been arranged and paid for on time.

The arranged insurance extension ends no later than six months after it begins. If you take up a new job before then and are once again covered as per AIA at your new place of work, the cover ends earlier. If, after six months, you have not started a new job or are working less than eight hours a week on average, you must include accident cover in your basic insurance.

The insurance extension can be arranged on a one-off basis or prolonged on multiple occasions, for a maximum of six consecutive months.

If you are not yet sure whether you need the arranged insurance extension for the full six months, we recommend that you arrange it only for the months in which you are certain to need it (at least one month) and prolong it as required until you reach the maximum duration, because it cannot be cancelled and the premium is therefore non-refundable.

Important: Any prolongation(s) must be arranged and paid for while the most recent arranged insurance extension is still in force.

The arranged insurance extension costs CHF 45 per month. The full amount is also payable for any partial month. Pro-rata payment is not possible.

An arranged insurance extension offers much better protection than the accident cover provided by compulsory health insurance. There is no deductible and no retention fee. In addition to medical costs, financial benefits are also included, such as daily allowance from the 3rd day onwards, invalidity pensions and survivor’s pensions – benefits that basic insurance does not cover.

Employers must ensure that any employees leaving the company are informed in writing about the option of arranging an insurance extension. Ideally, this information should be provided at the time of departure or with the final salary statement.

You can arrange an insurance extension if you work more than eight hours a week on average for a single employer. This is also possible if you have a second job on the side. However, the insurance extension is always arranged via the accident insurer of the employer for whom you were working more than eight hours a week.

Hours worked for different employers cannot be added together though. For example, if you were working six hours a week for one employer and four hours a week for another, you do not meet the requirements.