Gym membership What’s covered by your health insurance

Cardio, crossfit, or weight training: An active lifestyle can have a positive impact on your health and wellbeing. Many supplementary health insurance policies support this by contributing to the cost of gym memberships. That’s why you should check the cost contribution from your health insurer before you take out a membership.

Gym membership What does health insurance (basic insurance) pay?

Mandatory basic insurance does not contribute to the cost of a gym membership. However, since health insurers want to promote the sports activities of their insureds, the costs are covered by voluntary supplementary insurance.

Depending on the product, supplementary insurance covers part of the costs of gyms, fitness classes, and general health promotion such as aerobics, pregnancy gymnastics, or prevention classes.

Gym membership: Is it worthwhile to take out supplementary insurance?

Yes, supplementary insurance can definitely be worthwhile if you regularly go to the gym or are active in a sports club. Although there is no specific supplementary insurance in Switzerland only for gym memberships, many health insurers offer a cost contribution as part of their supplementary insurance.

The costs of supplementary insurance and the amount of the cost contribution vary depending on the health insurer and the insurance chosen.

Which gyms are recognized?

As a rule, gyms that have a seal of approval are recognized. Common labels in Switzerland include Qualitop, Qualicert, and Fitness-Guide.

Most health insurers have a list of all recognized gyms. To this end, we have created a practical gym search for our AXA customers that allows them to find recognized centers in their area.

Do I have to provide proof?

Yes, insurance requires proof of membership in a gym. Depending on the supplementary insurance, a confirmation of membership, the receipt, and/or a copy of the contract must be submitted.

How do I get the cost contribution for gym membership?

Cost contributions for supplementary insurance benefits are generally paid out by transfer to your bank account. If you have both supplementary health insurance from AXA and the SmartFlex pension plan (Pillar 3a), we offer you the pension savings service. This gives you the option of paying the reimbursement directly into your Pillar 3a account.

You can usually submit the receipt and training certificate for your gym membership to an online portal of your health insurer. For us, this is the myAXA portal. Once the invoice has been processed, the payment will then be made in accordance with the contractual conditions.

For which sports activities does supplementary insurance still contribute?

In addition to the cost of a gym membership, insurers may pay for additional benefits for sports activities as part of supplementary outpatient insurance. Here, too, the cost of the insurance and the amount of the cost contribution depend on the respective health insurer.

Participation in group and exercise courses

If you prefer to train in groups rather than in the gym, many insurers cover the costs of a variety of offers. These include, for example, aerobics, yoga, aquafitness, gymnastics, Pilates, personal training, but also dance classes.

These courses must also be offered by providers recognized by the insurance. Common labels include Qualitop, Qualicert, or Fitness-Guide as well as aQuality or Swiss Aquatics for swimming schools.

Participation in memberships in sports clubs

More than 20,000 sports clubs provide a wide range of sports in Switzerland, making an important contribution to health promotion. For this reason, most supplementary insurance policies also cover the costs of membership in a sports club.

This is generally linked to conditions such as active membership in a sports club for sports practiced at the Olympic Games, floorball, or orienteering, and annual swimming and climbing memberships.