Life insurance is a type of insurance in Switzerland that functions like a safety net. In its simplest form, life insurance will pay out a fixed sum in the event of your death or if you become unable to work. However, many policies also combine this risk insurance with long-term savings, making life insurance an essential part of the third pillar of the Swiss pension system.
The following companies all offer expat-friendly life insurance policies in Switzerland:
In Switzerland, rather than just paying out in the event of your death, life insurance is designed to protect you in a range of different circumstances:
Life insurance is therefore particularly popular in Switzerland because it allows you to combine security insurance with long-term savings, all while benefiting from tax deductions.
Broadly speaking, there are two main types of life insurance in Switzerland, which are often combined into a single policy:
Sometimes also known as risk life insurance, term life insurance is what most people would consider “classic” life insurance: you pay into the policy each month, and should a so-called “claim event” occur - for instance, if you die or become unable to work due to illness or an accident - a predetermined lump sum will be paid out.
The pension benefits paid out by the Swiss OASI and BVG systems (pillars one and two of the Swiss pension system) aren’t always enough to maintain a person’s standard of living in retirement. For this reason, many people choose to contribute to a private pension (pillar three).
Endowment life insurance, sometimes also called savings life insurance or combined life insurance, lets you combine a risk life insurance policy with a long-term savings strategy. With endowment life insurance, you set aside money for retirement, while protecting your dependents from risk in the meantime.
Your contributions are either saved to earn interest, or invested on the stock market to generate returns, or (most commonly) a mixture of the two. Depending on the management of your investment, this kind of insurance can generate a higher return than simply saving the money, for instance in a bank account.
With endowment life insurance, the policy is either paid out when a claim event occurs, or when the policy expires, if the insured person is still alive.
In Switzerland, life insurance policies are normally based on one of two categories of retirement savings:
It’s important to know which pillar your chosen life insurance policy falls under, as this can have ramifications for your tax bill, your choice of beneficiary, and the circumstances under which you can opt for a payout of your policy.
Below are some key features of the two types, but it’s important to discuss the exact details of your plan with your chosen insurance provider, as many offer both 3a and 3b versions of the same policy. Which one is right for you will depend on your personal circumstances and reasons for taking out life insurance.
Pillar 3a is also known as restricted pension provision. This is because, in many ways, 3a policies are more restrictive, but they do offer significant tax-saving opportunities.
The Swiss government wants to financially support people making private pension provisions, and so contributions to 3a plans are fully tax-deductible, allowing you to save money on your annual tax return. As of 2025, contributions are capped at 7.258 Swiss francs per year for employed people, and 20 percent of net income for self-employed people, up to a maximum of 36.288 Swiss francs per year.
The flip side to these tax advantages is that there is a greater number of restrictions on 3a plans:
Pillar 3b plans are not supported by the state - as such, they benefit from fewer tax advantages but have the plus of being more flexible. For this reason, they are generally known as free or unrestricted pension plans:
Having life insurance is not compulsory in Switzerland, but you may wish to take out a policy for peace of mind and to maintain your current standard of living once you retire. Life insurance is especially worth considering if:
Taking out a life insurance policy in Switzerland is usually as simple as approaching an insurer and asking for advice or a quote. You can also use a comparison site to compare offers. Since life insurance is so flexible in Switzerland, it’s worth having a consultation with an expert to discuss what kind of product would best meet your needs.
To compare offers, you’ll need to decide what value of payout you would like to receive in the event of your death, an illness or an accident, or at the end of the contract term. To calculate this, you’ll need to consider a few factors, including:
You’ll also need to specify the policy term. If you’re not planning on remaining in Switzerland for a long time, you could opt for a short life insurance contract term of just a few years. Otherwise, you should consider factors like:
If you are opting for a combined life insurance policy, you’ll also want to think about the kind of saving strategy you want to adopt: do you want to simply opt for traditional savings, or attempt to increase the value of your contributions through investments? If you are going to invest, how much risk are you willing to take?
You will also need to decide if you want to add any additional options to your policy. For instance, some companies allow you to opt for a premium waiver. This essentially means that the insurance company will grant you an exemption from the obligation to pay premiums, keeping your policy active if you lose your earning capacity due to an illness or accident.
Life insurance is usually paid via an annual premium, although some policies are purchased through a one-time payment. As with any type of insurance, the cost of life insurance depends on the scope of your policy: a higher lump sum payout will result in higher monthly premiums.
You can also count on paying higher premiums if you are considered “risky” to insure. Factors such as your height, weight, occupation and health history play a role in determining this.