Understanding the dual nature of your Concordia contract
At Concordia, as with every Swiss insurer, your cover consists of two legally distinct blocks. Basic insurance falls under the LAMal: its benefits are identical regardless of the insurer, and only the premium varies. Supplementary cover falls under the LCA: dental care, complementary medicine, private room or free choice of hospital. These two worlds follow different cancellation rules, something you absolutely must grasp before acting.
This distinction shapes everything that follows in your process. You can perfectly well cancel the Concordia basic plan while keeping a supplementary policy, or the reverse. Confusing the two risks sending a single letter for two contracts with diverging deadlines, leaving you bound against your will. First identify, on your policy, which products fall under the LAMal and which under the LCA before setting your switching strategy.
The practical case: cancelling basic cover by 30 November
Let us take a concrete situation. You want to leave Concordia basic insurance effective 1 January. The law sets a single deadline: your cancellation letter must reach Concordia by 30 November at the latest. The legal notice period is one month, and what counts is the date of receipt, never the postmark. Sending a registered letter proves the date and secures your process.
In practice, post your letter early enough in November to absorb delivery times. State your surname, first name, address, insured number and the desired effective date of 1 January. If you have already chosen your new fund, continuity is automatic: admission to basic insurance is mandatory, and no insurer may refuse a new applicant for LAMal cover, with no reservation and no health questionnaire.
LCA supplementary cover: a deadline that may differ
Concordia supplementary policies do not necessarily follow the rhythm of basic cover. Governed by the LCA, they carry their own general conditions, their own contract term and their own notice period, often three months to the end of the calendar year, sometimes longer. Read your policy carefully: a wrongly cancelled supplementary policy renews tacitly for a new period, leaving you committed when you thought everything was settled.
Another essential point: switching supplementary cover is never guaranteed. The new insurer may require a health questionnaire, impose reservations or refuse altogether. The prudent reflex is to first obtain written acceptance from the new supplementary insurer, and only then cancel the Concordia one. This way you avoid being left without LCA cover, whereas basic cover always remains secured by legal obligation.
Check the renewal date
Locate in your Concordia general conditions the exact expiry date of each supplementary policy and the applicable notice period. Dental cover and hospital insurance may have different deadlines within the same household. Note these dates in a calendar so you miss no deadline and avoid an unwanted tacit renewal.
Ensuring continuous cover from 1 January
Continuity is the number one point of attention. For basic insurance the mechanism is protective: as long as you remain insured somewhere, you suffer no interruption. Your new fund takes over on 1 January exactly where Concordia stops on 31 December. No waiting period, no day without cover, provided the cancellation and the new affiliation carry the same effective date.
To ensure a flawless transition, ideally wait for written confirmation from your new insurer before treating the cancellation as settled. Keep the registered-letter receipt and all correspondence. If Concordia is slow to confirm, follow up before the end of November. This documentary rigour protects you in the event of a dispute and guarantees that your health cover suffers no gap at the turn of the year.
The extraordinary right of cancellation upon a premium increase
An additional route exists if Concordia notifies you of a premium increase for the following year. The increase opens an extraordinary right to cancel basic insurance: you may leave effective 1 January even if you had chosen an annual deductible or an alternative model, subject to meeting the one-month notice period. This legal mechanism protects your freedom to switch in the face of any pricing change.
To benefit from it, act as soon as you receive the autumn pricing notice. The window stays tight, since your cancellation must still reach Concordia before 30 November. Weigh whether to also adjust your deductible or move to a coordinated-care model, often paired with a reduction expressed as a percentage compared to the standard model, while keeping identical LAMal benefits.
Frequently asked questions
Can I cancel Concordia basic cover and keep my supplementary policies?
Yes, this is perfectly possible. The LAMal basic plan and the LCA supplementary policies are legally separate contracts. You can leave Concordia basic insurance effective 1 January while keeping your supplementary cover, provided you explicitly cancel only the LAMal part in your letter.
What is the deadline to cancel my Concordia basic cover?
Your letter must reach Concordia by 30 November at the latest for an effective date of 1 January. The legal notice period is one month and the date of receipt is what counts. Favour a registered letter early in the month to prove you met the deadline.
Can Concordia refuse my supplementary cancellation?
Concordia cannot prevent you from leaving if you respect the notice period set out in your LCA general conditions. The new insurer, however, may refuse to accept you or impose reservations. Secure acceptance elsewhere first before cancelling.