[Private accident insurance in Switzerland with reference to liability insurance as a part of social security]

On the Swiss market there exist various different accident insurance schemes and systems. Private accident insurance which is offered by the private insurers, date back to the middle of the 19th century. Since 1912 accident insurance is compulsory for all employees working in particularly dangerous industries, since 1984 it covers all employees in the country. In Switzerland there exists no general compulsory accident insurance. To perform as insurance carriers are qualified: private insurance companies, the Swiss Accident Insurance Company, and a number of the social health (sickness) insurers. Depending on the insurance system there are different approaches to renumerate the health costs. In the various social insurance systems the patient is rather free to chose his doctor and hospital (among those who have a contract with the insurer); in private insurance he is completely free. Yet the billing systems and the applicable rates and tarifs differ considerably. There are trends to simplify these systems and bring them more into mutual accordance. Due to the important rise of the health costs in Switzerland, there exists the danger that possible simplifications will bring about more public influence yet less private initiative and less incentives to really control costs without lessening the patients' possibilities.