At a vote on December 14, the Swiss government approved a plan to ban cold calling by health insurance providers. The idea had originally been proposed by the Federal Council five years ago, but has now, finally, passed.
There is nothing more annoying than hearing your landline or mobile phone blaring at any time of day, only to find that the caller wasn’t family or a friend but a cold caller trying to sell you something. With health insurance costs rising in 2023, many in Switzerland have been contacted by random brokers trying to sell them cheap deals on basic and supplemental health insurance.
Now, by 114 votes to 57 in the National Council and 33 votes to 1 in the Council of States, authorities have voted to ban “cold calling” by health insurance providers and any companies that call on behalf of an insurance provider. It is important to mention that many providers voluntarily follow a convention restricting the use of cold calling, but the new law gives the government the power to crack down if any provider is found to cold call.
According to 20 minuten, the new law ends years of requests from consumer groups to reduce the number of cold-calling operations in Switzerland. Speaking to the newspaper, Federal Councillor Alain Berset explained that the law has been in limbo for half a decade. “After five years of debate, it is time to not leave this question open for years to come,” he concluded.
However, do bear in mind that the law only applies to health insurance companies and not any other businesses or private insurance providers in Switzerland. Supporters were also quick to mention that the new law does not prevent your current health insurance provider from calling you.