Two figures do not tell the whole story
A quote may show a 30-day waiting period and 730 days without explaining how they interact. A clause can count waiting days towards the benefit duration. Another structure can state payable days separately. One Groupe Mutuel group policy illustrates the first rule and counts partial incapacity days as full days for the waiting period. That is a contract example, not a universal rule for self-employed people.
Two readings of the same quote
Imagine continuous total incapacity and a fictional policy with 730 total days including 30 waiting days, without exclusions or interruptions. On that reading, at most 700 days are payable after the wait. If another contract expressly provides 730 payable days in addition to 30 waiting days, the timeline differs. These numbers do not describe a real product. They help you ask whether a quote states total duration, the maximum number of paid days or an observation window.
What if you work reduced hours?
Ask what degree of incapacity starts the count, whether partial days count in full and how days when you do not usually work are handled. Confirm the payment formula separately from the counting formula: a half benefit need not consume half a day. Check what happens after a relapse, a different cause of absence or a benefit from another insurer. Do not assume statutory health insurance and private contract terms work the same way.
Turn the duration into a budget
Mark the recognised start, end of the wait, first possible payment date and maximum end date on a calendar. Add business overheads, household expenses and other confirmed income. Claim processing can make the first receipt later than the first payable day. Ask for a written illustration for a long absence, then estimate the cash needed at both ends of the coverage period.
Include fixed business costs in the cash plan
Assume workshop rent of CHF 1,200 a month and CHF 400 in contracts you cannot pause. That is CHF 1,600 in business costs during a month without benefits, separate from your household expenses. Even if income replacement starts the next month, get a written explanation of what it covers. The fact that your business bills continue does not make the income policy a business overhead policy.
Ask for three timelines you can compare
Request calculations for a full return before the waiting period expires, an absence that runs ten days beyond it and an absence that reaches the maximum benefit duration. Ask how the answer would change with a partial return, or a relapse if applicable. Comparing quotes on the same dates and work assumptions makes it easier to see whether different wording would change your cash position.
Sources & further reading
OFSP / FOPH — Assurance facultative d’indemnités journalières