Risk Life Insurance in Switzerland: How Much Cover Do You Need?
What AHV and the pension fund pay to survivors and how to fill the rest with term cover.
5 min read · Insurance & Health
If others depend on your income, a sudden death can create financial hardship. Start with what the state already provides.
What survivors receive
- AHV: a widow's or widower's pension (for people with children or in some other cases) and orphan's pensions for children up to 18 or 25 in education.
- Pension fund: a partner's pension, typically 60 % of the disability pension, and child pensions.
- Accident insurance: survivors' benefits if the death is accident-related.
Unmarried partners often receive less or need to be named explicitly in the pension fund.
Example with default values. Open the calculator →
Calculating the gap
Add up the yearly income your family needs, subtract survivors' pensions, and multiply the shortfall by the years until the youngest child is independent. Deduct savings and assets.
Term cover first
Risk insurance (term life) pays a lump sum if you die within a fixed term. It is much cheaper than endowment policies that mix savings and cover. Choose a term that matches the mortgage and children's ages, and consider decreasing cover.
Check beneficiaries
Review beneficiaries in your policy, pillar 3a and pension fund after major life events.
Estimate your cover with the life insurance need calculator.