Supplementary hospital insurance

Supplementary hospital insurance, also known colloquially as hospital insurance, covers additional benefits in connection with a hospital stay. It supplements the benefits under compulsory health insurance and offers extended medical care as well as more options when choosing the hospital and doctor treating you.

Basic insurance only covers the costs of a stay in the general ward (multiple occupancy room) of a hospital on the hospital list of your canton of residence. With hospital insurance, you can also receive treatment in a hospital outside of your canton – and with hospita global, you can even receive treatment anywhere in the world. Depending on which option you choose, you will receive a twin or private room in the hospital and have a free choice of doctor – for example, if you would like to be treated by a specialist.

Compare the benefits of all supplementary hospital insurance policies >

Free choice of doctor and hospital means that you can decide for yourself which doctor and hospital you would like to be treated by. Good to know: with every hospita supplementary hospital insurance policy, you have a free choice of any recognised hospital in Switzerland, and with hospita global, you can even choose anywhere in the world. You are free to choose your doctor as long as you are treated in a private or semi-private ward in hospital.

A hospital usually offers the general ward, the semi-private ward and the private ward. The differences mainly lie in the comfort and additional benefits available to patients. Here are the main differences:

• General ward: the general ward is the standard ward in a hospital. Here, several patients share a room, usually in multiple occupancy rooms. The furnishings and comfort are basic and rather simple. Treatment is carried out by the hospital’s medical staff, who are responsible for all patients.
• Semi-private ward: in a semi-private ward, the patient usually has a twin room. In contrast to a multiple occupancy room, this allows for more privacy and comfort. The rooms are better equipped and may include additional amenities such as a private TV or Wi-Fi. Patients often have the option of choosing their attending physician from a special group of doctors who work in the semi-private ward.
• Private ward: the private ward offers the highest level of comfort and privacy in hospital. The patient has a private room with first-class facilities, similar to a hotel room. In addition to the amenities of a semi-private ward, patients in a private ward can often expect additional extras such as special meals or personal care from nursing staff. As a privately insured person, you usually have the widest selection of doctors and can decide which specialist you would like to consult prior to treatment.

Important: the costs of treatment in a semi-private or private ward are higher than in a general ward. Which costs are covered by hospital insurance and to what extent varies depending on the hospital and the option chosen. Compare the benefits of all hospita supplementary hospital insurance policies >

The benefits of hospita supplement the compulsory benefits of your compulsory basic insurance (according to the Federal Law on Sickness Insurance, KVG). hospita covers the maximum portion of the total costs above and beyond the tariff of mandatory insurance, such as the higher costs resulting from treatment in a semi-private or private ward.

Supplementary hospital insurance covers the costs of treatment in the event of illness, accident and maternity. Treatment that is not medically necessary and the respective cost contributions of basic and supplementary insurance are not insured.

You can find out which benefits are covered and how much in the Overview of benefits of supplementary hospital insurance >

Please note our reference to hospitals without collective agreements >

Your cost contribution depends on which hospita option you choose. As a rule, you pay a franchise, deductible and hospital contribution for benefits from basic insurance and, in the case of hospita flex, you pay a contribution towards the costs of treatment on the highest insured ward.

The amount of your cost contribution therefore depends on your chosen basic insurance franchise and the selected hospita flex option. You can view these in your policy and in your insurance overview on the mySympany customer portal.

By the way: in the customer portal and on every benefit statement, you can see how much you have already contributed towards the costs and how much is still outstanding.

In an emergency – for example if you suffer a heart attack – there's no time to plan. Just make sure you get to the hospital quickly! Everything else will fall into place. Of course, if you’re having elective treatment (if it’s not so urgent), things look a little different – your attending physician will discuss your stay in hospital with you and pass on all relevant documents to the hospital. The hospital will discuss treatment with you and may ask us to provide a commitment to cover the costs of your stay.

Please note our reference to hospitals without collective agreements >

In the case of supplementary insurance under the Federal Law on Insurance Contracts (VVG), the medical insurance risk is evaluated by means of a risk assessment in the event of new insurance or a change in cover. This assessment is carried out on the basis of the information provided in the health declaration, which is part of the insurance application. The insurer can reject applications in the interests of the insurance pool or exclude pre-existing illnesses from the insurance cover (exclusion).

As with basic insurance, you can also exclude accident cover from your supplementary hospital insurance. While accident insurance is compulsory in basic insurance or by the employer, it is optional in supplementary insurance.

However, if you exclude accident cover from your supplementary insurance, the costs following an accident will be borne exclusively by your accident insurance in accordance with the statutory benefits list. This usually means a general ward (multiple occupancy room) and treatment in hospitals on the cantonal hospital list. Exception: you have taken out supplementary accident insurance through your employer. However, we also advise against excluding accident cover in the supplementary insurance in this case:

1. If you change employers, you will need to remember to adjust your supplementary insurance (if your new employer does not offer supplementary accident insurance).
2. You will continue to benefit from the accident cover provided by your supplementary hospital insurance, even if you have already retired.
3. A new health declaration is required when you include accident cover in your supplementary hospital insurance.

Increase accident cover – with hospita private accident

If you do not wish to exclude your accident cover, but would even like to increase it even further, we recommend hospita private accident. This insurance is an inexpensive addition to other supplementary insurance policies offered by Sympany and allows you to obtain a private room in a private ward following an accident or for treatment of the consequences of an accident – with a free choice of doctor and hospital throughout Switzerland. More information about hospita private accident >