Ask what actually ends when you leave
A last day at work, the end of your employment contract and the end of group sickness insurance are not necessarily the same date. Ask HR and the insurer to identify the last covered day and what happens to an existing claim. The first day of self-employment is a separate date. Your basic health insurance pays covered treatment costs and does not itself replace your earnings. A new business has no former employer to continue salary for it, so a short gap between policies can leave both living costs and business commitments exposed.
Separate statutory and contractual transfer routes
The FOPH distinguishes optional daily allowance insurance under the Health Insurance Act (KVG/LAMal) from private coverage under the Insurance Contract Act (VVG/LCA). Under LAMal, the FOPH describes a right to transfer from collective to individual insurance with the same benefits. Do not apply that rule unchanged to a private policy: ask about its terms and any applicable transfer provision. Groupe Mutuel, for example, publishes a 90-day notification period in its transfer FAQ; it is not a universal deadline and its FAQ does not confirm eligibility for a particular independent business. Request the written rule for your policy.
Compare the continuation offer with a new one
Ask whether your new occupation and legal form are covered, which income is insurable and how the insurer establishes it before you have a full year of accounts. Compare waiting period, benefit duration, exclusions, existing-condition treatment and coordination with accident or disability cover. A continuation offer might have a different premium from payroll deductions, because you now bear the cost. A new offer might require underwriting. Neither is automatically preferable. Obtain a binding decision and effective date before assuming a quote or application fills the gap.
Check what happens if you change direction
If you later take a new salaried job or stop the business, ask whether the individual policy continues and whether any overlapping group cover changes the calculation. Record the answers before cancelling either policy. In particular, distinguish treatment of an illness that began under the old contract from an illness that starts after the move. Your renewal decision should reflect both cases.
Put dates and cash on the same timeline
Suppose group cover ends on 31 March and a new policy is confirmed only from 15 April. Under those assumptions there is no new policy during the first 14 days of April, even if you sent an application in March. A waiting period for a covered claim is different from an uninsured gap. Put the final covered day, transfer deadline, new effective date and waiting period in writing, and ask who handles ongoing incapacity or a later relapse. Budget both business charges and household essentials across the transition. Keep the notices and confirmation with the insurance documents.
Sources & further reading
OFSP / FOPH — Daily allowance insurance