About SWICA: important key data on one of the most popular health insurances in Switzerland

Today, SWICA is one of the leading health insurers in Switzerland and is consistently ranked first in customer satisfaction surveys. The work in the interests of the insured has a long tradition: SWICA has existed since 1992. Here is a look at the most important data on the development of these health insurance companies:

• • 1992 Merger of Eastern Switzerland Health Insurance, Swiss Health and Accident Insurance, Swiss Company Health Insurance and Panorama Health Insurance to form the SWICA health organization
  • 1994 Establishment of our own health centers
  • 1996 Introduction of comprehensive business insurance for companies
  • 1998 Development of SWICA Care Management
  • 2000 Introduction of GLOBAL CARE as health insurance for Swiss people who live abroad permanently
  • 2005 For the first time, one million insured persons are registered
  • 2008 Introduction of sante24 as telephone advice on health issues
  • 2009 Expansion of health centers, conclusion of contracts for basic care
  • 2011 From now on, SWICA health centers will be run as independent companies under the name santémed Gesundheitszentren AG
  • 2013 PROVITA is included in the SWICA Group after many years of cooperation
  • 2015 Medbase (Migros subsidiary) takes over 70 percent of santémed
  • 2016 Introduction of the pharmacy model at SWICA to contain healthcare costs
  • 2019 santé24 is granted the practice license so that job references can be issued or medication can be prescribed

This development shows how SWICA always went one step further in order to be where it is today. Everything is geared towards economic success on the one hand and satisfying the needs of the insured on the other.

This is what SWICA offers the insured

It is not for nothing that SWICA is one of the leading accident and health insurers in Switzerland, because the benefits of this health insurance are extremely extensive. For example, comprehensive insurance cover for the treatment of sick people and accident victims is offered, and compensation for lost wages is also included in the benefits.

At SWICA, private customers choose their basic insurance with individual focus, for example, on complementary medicine or on the free choice of doctor and hospital. The legally defined standard model is of course also offered as well as various alternative insurance models and optional deductibles depending on your personal determination. The basic insurance can be adapted to the individual wishes of the insured with supplementary insurance that precisely matches the needs of the insured.
With hospital insurance, too, individuality is the key here. There are different variants for every situation in life and the coverage can also be determined personally.

SWICA is not only a good choice for private customers, but also for companies, as they can take out daily allowance and accident insurance here, with the individual solutions always delivering above-average service quality. Companies are also advised by experts from SWICA on the subject of workplace health promotion.

SWICA offers a bonus program with which the insured are to be rewarded. The contributions that are paid here for preventive measures can be up to CHF 800 per year. These contributions can be used individually and can be used, for example, for membership in the fitness center, for nutritional advice, for yoga courses or for membership in sports clubs. In addition, SWICA also offers the “Benevita” health platform, which is all about personal health care. Team or individual competitions can even be held there to encourage a healthy lifestyle.

Alternative insurance models complement SWICA's comprehensive insurance offering, so that, for example, different HMO, family doctor and list variants are available. At SWICA, conventional and complementary medicine are combined, and health insurance supports the use of alternative therapy methods.
The student insurance offered by SWICA Holding is also worth mentioning. This is intended for insured persons who are only staying in Switzerland temporarily and who are only there for training and further education. For example, if you are completing your degree in Switzerland or are in the country for your doctorate, you can take out suitable insurance that is only valid for a limited time.

An overview of the basic insurance offers from SWICA:

• • DEFAULT
    Associated with this is a free choice of doctor.
  • Favorite CASA
    The family doctor is always the first point of contact and coordinates all further procedures and treatments.
  • Favorite MEDICA
    The insured person can freely choose his doctor from a list of doctors. The list of doctors was drawn up by SWICA.
  • Favorite MEDPHARM
    There are SWICA partner pharmacies and santé24 to get an initial medical assessment and keep costs under control.
  • Favorite SANTE
    The SWICA partner practices are the first point of contact in the event of complaints or injuries.
  • Favorite TELMED
    An initial telemedical assessment is carried out by santé24, which is linked to an initial consultation with the insured person.

Important key figures for SWICA

SWICA publishes important key figures on its own pages, which come from the annual business report. The figures given here are taken from the 2019 annual report, as the current one for 2020 was not yet available at the time this article was written.

Here are the most important key figures for SWICA:

• • Total number of insured persons: 1'524'808
  • Total number of corporate customers: 26,828
  • Calls to santé24 in one year: 366,260
  • Calls outside of working hours: 37,258
  • Proportion of insurance premiums in administration costs: 4 % (An insurance is considered efficient if it spends less than 4.2 percent of the contributions on administration.)
  • Premium income: approx. 4.9 billion Swiss francs
  • Number of KVG policyholders: 818,403
  • Proportion of KVG policyholders with at least one additional insurance: 80 percent
  • SWICA employees: 1,929
  • Company result 2019: 123.4 million Swiss francs

A closer look at the advantages of SWICA

SWICA impresses with its numerous advantages, which are of different importance to the individual insured. Here is a look at all the advantages that SWICA offers:

• • Contributions to the promotion of sport
    SWICA is all about the health of the insured and is accordingly dedicated to health promotion. In return, it contributes up to 95 percent of the costs that an insured person has to pay to the STV gymnastics club, thereby relieving them of the membership fees. After all, it is in the interests of health insurance if the members stay healthy and are active in sports.
  • Premium discounts
    SWICA has entered into a partnership with the STV and can now offer insurance members the aforementioned premium discounts. These also apply to the supplementary insurance, whereby an age limit of 65 years has been set. If you choose alternative insurance models such as TELMED, MEDPHARM or CASA SANTE, you can get further premium discounts. These discounts can be up to several hundred euros per year.
  • First-class treatment by selected medical professionals
    The individual insurance solutions are specially adapted to the needs of the insured and offer quick and preferential access to the medical services in the country. Cutting-edge medicine in particular is highlighted here by SWICA, which is represented by a broad network of specialists and is thus intended to optimally support the recovery of the insured. The offer? BestMed? SWICA guarantees a free choice of doctor all over the world and also a free choice of hospitals. At the same time, the waiting times should be significantly shorter than usual.
  • Worldwide customer service
    Regardless of where the customers are calling from: SWICA can be reached 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Here, personal advice is offered, whereby the telemedical advice usually already provides an initial indication of the further course of action in individual cases. Anyone who has questions about their own insurance coverage can call SWICA and receive comprehensive advice. By the way, santé24 is responsible for Swiss telemedicine, where experienced doctors and medically trained specialists provide advice. All topics can be addressed and there are questions about disease prevention as well as accidents, maternity or accompanying sick people. The service can be used worldwide.
  • Personal support
    In the event of illness or an accident, good advice is often expensive and desperately sought after. With SWICA's professional Care Management, insured persons receive personal support from trained and proven care managers. They advise and support you in choosing the right treatment as well as relieve you of administrative tasks. More than 85 care managers work for SWICA within Switzerland.
    During the stay in the hospital or during a cure, the personal care service is of particular importance, as it ensures that the child or household is looked after. Support is provided by the? Home Nanny? and? Home Attendant ?.
  • No changed termination rates
    Unlike many other health insurers, SWICA does not adjust the retirement tariff, so it remains the same. The insurance wants to reward the loyalty of the insured and takes into account the duration of the insurance period when calculating the premiums due. Of course, the insurance coverage remains the same.
  • Lower cost sharing
    Only SWICA and PROVITA count the cost sharing through the basic insurance against the SWICA supplementary insurance. The maximum annual cost sharing is thus significantly reduced. Other health insurers do not do this, which has a negative impact on the costs of the insured.
  • Conventional and complementary medicine are on an equal footing
    Conventional and complementary medicine are treated equally at SWICA, and alternative therapy methods are supported here, as is conventional medicine. This means that acupuncture, Shiatsu, biodynamics, Feldenkrais, aromatherapy and many other treatment methods are also supported.
  • Benevita offers additional discount
    The bonus program? Benevita? is intended to encourage insured persons to organize their everyday life in a healthy way and to keep fit. The app used gives a discount of up to 15 percent on certain additional insurance policies. Specifically, these insurances are HOSPITA and COMPLETA TOP. In addition, the insured receive regular updates and news from the health sector.
  • Benecura with SymptomCheck
    Many people have complaints that cannot be properly assigned. With the SymptomCheck of the Benecura app, an individual recommendation for action can be given. Santé24 stands behind it with its range of telemedical services and advises insured persons around the clock. The documents can be stored using the integrated health dossier; if necessary, this can be sent to the treating doctor in accordance with the data protection regulations.
  • Digital handling of all insurance matters
    SWICA has the customer portal? MySWICA? and enables the insured to transmit all invoices digitally. In addition, insured persons receive an overview of the current insurance coverage and the tariffs that have been taken out at any time. Communication with customer service is possible via computer or smartphone, and individual adjustments and changes can also be easily made.

Who enjoys which advantages at SWICA?

Above all, sporty and health-conscious people are in good hands at SWICA. The insurance company offers numerous discounts and premium shares for membership in sports clubs and contributes to the costs of prevention. Here, of course, the focus is on your own benefit, because healthy insured persons incur fewer costs than sick people or people who are injured due to a lack of training.
At SWICA, all those insured who can warm up to the possibilities of complementary medicine and who would like to take advantage of the offers are also particularly advantageous. The costs for the additional tariff for complementary medicine are low, but all offers for alternative treatments can be used.

The advantages of SWICA are also of interest to those insured who want the most comprehensive insurance coverage possible, which they can adjust again and again and who also attach great importance to ensuring that customer service is digital and accessible worldwide. Those who do not want to go to the doctor directly benefit from telemedical advice. At the same time, of course, everyone who goes straight to the doctor in the classic way when they experience an illness has the best possible insurance cover.
In this respect, SWICA is ideal for all insured persons who want all-round coverage and who attach great importance to ensuring that premiums do not rise too sharply. Because this is another point where SWICA knows how to convince: even if the premiums rise annually as usual, this increase is still moderate (contributions on average in 2018 at 524 CHF and in 2019 at 538 CHF).

10 reasons why you should switch to SWICA

There are many reasons to switch to SWICA. The following 10 are particularly convincing:

1. 1. Excellent customer satisfaction
      SWICA is able to convince in almost every survey and proves to be a health insurance with which the insured are particularly satisfied. Every year, different comparison portals and consumer organizations carry out corresponding surveys according to different aspects? SWICA is always at the forefront.
   2. Available around the clock
      SWICA can be reached all day and every day of the week, including on public holidays and weekends. This also applies to telemedical advice, which is offered as a special service with this health insurance.
   3. Conventional and complementary medicine are on an equal footing
      Many health insurances only grant their benefits if conventional medicine is used. Naturopathic treatments, yoga or Feldenkrais are also tried and tested means and methods to achieve good results in the treatment of illnesses or after accidents. SWICA grants its benefits for both conventional and complementary medicine and makes no distinction here.
   4. The same subscription rate for life
      Many health insurances raise the tariffs so that the reserves in old age are high enough to cover higher expenses. SWICA, however, is not increasing the final tariff, which is an enormous relief for the mostly tight old-age budget.
   5. Grants and discounts for health promotion
      SWICA wants its policyholders to stay as healthy as possible. Of course, this is in your own interest, because the healthier the insured, the lower the expenses for any treatment. The subsidies and discounts for prevention and health promotion are very high, especially since a cooperation with the STV gymnastics club has been entered into. Members are reimbursed up to 95 percent of their fees here.
   6. Personal support
      In the event of illness or accident, personal support is worth its weight in gold. This is exactly what SWICA grants. From advice over the phone to specific suggestions for treatments and recommendations for doctors and hospitals, personal support is something that not many health insurers have in their program. This aspect alone is an important reason to switch to SWICA.
   7. Ideal medical care
      Depending on the tariff, the insured can enjoy a free choice of doctor and hospital anywhere in the world or within Switzerland. You also benefit from the combination of conventional and complementary medicine as well as the possibility of individual selection of supplementary insurance. Telemedical advice is ensured by TELMED, the health insurance is available around the clock via santé24 and can give tips and recommendations on medical questions.
   8. Low cost sharing
      The franchise is freely chosen and is generally rather low. In general, it is important for SWICA that the insured have the most comprehensive possible benefits covered by the regular contributions and only have to pay a low cost contribution.
   9. Handle insurance matters digitally
      In a world in which almost everything is digital, it must also be possible to regulate matters relating to health insurance digitally. SWICA is a pioneer and with? MySWICA? the possibility of handling all insurance matters and adapting your own health insurance digitally.
   10. Digital symptom check
       Suddenly symptoms of illness appear that cannot be classified? Then the time has come for BENECURA! The digital health advice offers a SymptomCheck, after which a recommendation for action is given. The insured feels reassured and supported and knows which step should be the next. Stored data and documents can be transmitted to the treating doctor while maintaining data protection.

Overviews of customer satisfaction and bonus examples

SWICA likes to boast that it is the best and most popular health insurance in Switzerland. But is it really like that? The question can be answered very easily: Mostly it really is! Because in customer surveys, SWICA actually does as well as the latest comparisons in 2020 have shown. Here are some examples:

• • Comparison at comparis.ch
    The top score of 5.4 was achieved here, which puts SWICA in first place out of 23 health insurers in Switzerland. Above all, the service was praised here, with the competence and commitment of the SWICA employees being emphasized. In addition, the accounts are rated as particularly clear and payouts are processed quickly.
  • Survey at K-Tipp
    Here too, SWICA was able to position itself at the top. 76.2 percent of those surveyed stated that they were satisfied with SWICA and here, too, it was the customer service that was decisive for the praise. The employees were rated as very committed personally.
  • Survey by AmPuls
    In the survey by AmPuls, SWICA achieved top marks or even as the health insurance company that achieved the best result here. Customer service and company image were highlighted, whereby according to SWICA the praise should be taken as an incentive to continue to deliver the best service quality.

Finally two bonus examples:

Insured example 1

• • Data on the insured person
    Woman, residing in Zurich, 41 years old, employed
  • desired insurance
    Basic insurance plus additional? Free choice of doctor and hospital?
  • basic health insurance
    Favorite SANTE
    CHF 353.55
    Model: partner practice
  • franchise
    CHF 1,000
  • accident coverage
    No
  • supplementary
    Hospital semi-private
    CHF 110.90
  • Savings
    15 percent for additional insurance
  • Monthly charges
    CHF 394.78

Insured example 2

• • Data on the insured person
    Man, living in Zurich, 41 years old, employed
  • desired insurance
    Basic insurance plus supplement? Complementary medicine? and? glasses and contact lenses?
  • basic health insurance
    Favorite SANTE
    CHF 353.55
    Model: partner practice
  • franchise
    CHF 1,000
  • accident coverage
    No
  • supplementary
    Completa top
    CHF 29.90
  • Monthly charges
    CHF 383.45