20% discount for founders on many SME insurance products
Setting up a new business brings a lot of opportunities, but also risks. At the beginning in particular, financial, legal or health challenges can quickly become a burden. Consequently, individual, early and reliable protection is crucial. AXA accompanies you during the foundation phase and offers long-term, individual insurance solutions for your business. Whether you're starting out on your own or are already building a team, our Insurance Check will help you find out which insurance is really relevant for your start-up.
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Which types of insurance are compulsory for start-ups?
For start-ups in Switzerland, there are also clear requirements regarding social insurance. These types of insurance serve as financial protection, either in retirement, disability, illness, pregnancy or death. The contributions you have to make depend specifically on the chosen legal form of your company.
Please note: the responsible compensation office - in many cases Suva - determines whether you as a founder are classified as self-employed for social security purposes.
The following types of social security insurance are relevant and normally compulsory for start-ups:
- Federal old-age and survivors’ insurance (OASI): OASI and disability insurance (DI) together form Pillar 1 of social security in Switzerland. It is compulsory for all those gainfully employed, which also means the self-employed. It secures the recipient's basic livelihood in retirement and provides cover in the event of death. Unbroken contribution payments are crucial, as OASI is often the sole source of income in retirement.
- Disability insurance (DI): This is also part of Pillar 1 and compulsory for everyone who lives or works in Switzerland. DI provides support with reintegration measures and financial benefits in the event of disability following illness or accident.
- Loss of earnings compensation (LEC): LEC covers absence following military service, civilian service, civil defense or pregnancy. All those gainfully employed, including start-up founders, are required to make contributions.
- Family allowances (FA): start-ups with self-employed founders have also been required to make contributions since January 1, 2013 under the Swiss Federal Family Allowance Act (FAA). They must therefore register with a family allowance fund in the canton where their business is based.
I’d like to use money from my pension fund and Pillar 3a account as start-up capital. Is that an option?
If you structure your start-up as a sole proprietorship, general or limited partnership and are registered as self-employed with the compensation office, you can withdraw your assets from the pension fund (Pillar 2) and Pillar 3a early, e.g. to fund your business. It's important that you apply to do so within one year of becoming self-employed.
However, if you set up your business as an AG or GmbH, you are classified as an employee of your own start-up, in which case it is not possible for you to make early withdrawals from Pillars 2 or 3.
How high is the cost of start-up insurance?
The cost of insurance depends heavily on the type of start-up, the chosen legal form, sector, number of employees and required coverage. It's therefore practically impossible to give a blanket figure.
Basic insurance such as liability insurance for start-ups can already offer a great deal of protection for low premiums, depending on the individual risk.
The rule of thumb is that the more individual your insurance cover is tailored to your business model, the better insured you are in the worst case scenario, without unnecessary additional costs. Use the AXA Insurance Check to find out quickly which type of insurance is really relevant for your start-up and which costs you have to cover.