Do not confuse three outcomes
Termination or surrender
Ask whether the contract ends, what value is payable, which components cease and which costs or adjustments apply. Total premiums paid do not define surrender value.
Conversion
A conversion may keep a reduced benefit without new premiums. Check remaining guarantees, maturity, beneficiaries, continuing costs and consequences of later requests.
Review and dispute
Approach the insurer first and obtain its calculation. FINMA describes a possible review of established values, but does not determine every cost issue or private-law dispute.
Before giving an instruction
Request comparable options at the same valuation date and examine consequences beyond the payable value.
Request a complete statement
Obtain surrender and conversion values, remaining benefits, costs, tax points to confirm and the calculation's validity date without terminating merely to get information.
Compare remaining protection
For each option record death, incapacity, premium waiver, beneficiaries, maturity and investment risks rather than comparing one number.
Clarify the complaint route
Obtain the insurer's written position, then separate FINMA's technical review, possible mediation and a private-law dispute.
Keep dated evidence
Archive the policy, conditions, insurer's written response and federal source consulted so the version underlying a later decision remains traceable.
Avoid an irreversible rush
- This page does not state that surrender is available, advantageous or tax-appropriate for your policy.
- Possible FINMA review is neither a prior estimate nor a decision on whether costs are fair.
- No value, deduction, term or consequence is extrapolated from one policy to another.
Verified Swiss federal sources
FINMA and FSIO guidance is linked in verified English. Fedlex is intentionally linked to the official French Insurance Contract Act because no authoritative English legal text is asserted here. Official texts, the policy and competent decisions prevail.
- FINMA — Individual life insuranceEnglish · Supervisory framework for individual life insurance, no general approval of rates and specific requirements for surrender values.↗
- FINMA — You have a problem with your insurance companyEnglish · First approaching the insurer, possible review of conversion or surrender values and limits of FINMA's role in private-law disputes.↗
- FINMA — FINMA examines life insurers' sample calculationsEnglish · Transparency of life-insurance scenarios, separation of projections from guarantees and the importance of costs and adverse outcomes.↗
- Fedlex — Loi fédérale sur le contrat d'assurance (official French text)French fallback · Official French consolidated text covering pre-contractual information, the contract, life-insurance beneficiaries and statutory rights or notices; no authoritative English text is asserted.↗