A client wants to switch insurance providers – and for you as a broker or fiduciary, that sets off a process made up of many small steps: reviewing the existing policy, obtaining a power of attorney, submitting the cancellation on time, and keeping track of everything until the switch is complete. If this all plays out across email threads, WhatsApp messages and scattered notes, it's easy for something to slip through the cracks – especially when several clients are switching at once.
What documents you actually need for an insurance switch
Before you can approach the client's current insurer, you generally need three things from them:
- The current policy, including the contract number, expiry date and applicable cancellation terms.
- A power of attorney or broker mandate, so that you're actually authorised to act on the client's behalf with the current insurer and request documents.
- A copy of the client's ID for identification purposes, particularly when the switch needs to be documented in writing with the insurer.
Depending on the line of insurance, further documents may be needed – for example a vehicle registration document for motor insurance, or details of the client's claims history. What matters is that you communicate clearly from the outset what you need, rather than asking for one thing after another.
Don't leave the cancellation to chance
Most policies can't be cancelled at any time – cancellation is usually only possible at the main renewal date, often with three months' notice. Anyone who misses this date is stuck with the old contract for another year – frustrating for the client, and a loss of trust in you as their broker. We cover how to keep these deadlines systematically under control in more detail in Never miss an insurance cancellation deadline again. For the switch itself, the rule is: as soon as the power of attorney is in place, submit the cancellation to the current insurer in writing and with proof of submission – and keep an eye on the date until you receive confirmation.
Turning an email chain into an organised dossier
This is exactly where a client portal like finra.ch comes in. Instead of sending documents back and forth by email, you set up a dossier for the switch with a checklist of what's required: policy, power of attorney, ID copy – the client can see exactly what's still missing and uploads the documents directly in the portal. You see the live status at a glance: submitted, reviewed, approved. Digital approval in the portal replaces digging through your inbox for the last reply, and an access log records who viewed which document and when – useful if questions about the process come up later.
Combined with the contact and CRM module – with notes, tasks and a timeline for each client – you'll still know what was last discussed even weeks later, without searching through your inbox. You can find an overview of all the portal's features under Features.
Keeping track when several switches are running at once
For a single client, you can just about keep track of a switch in your head if need be. But once several dossiers are running in parallel, you need something that consolidates deadlines in one place instead of scattering them across spreadsheets and calendar entries. finra.ch's deadline radar shows cancellations, main renewal dates, dossier deadlines and open tasks in a single table sorted by urgency. It's worth knowing that this is an overview you check actively – there are no automatic email or push reminders. If you make a habit of checking the deadline radar regularly, you're less likely to miss a date, because all deadlines sit in one place instead of being spread across several systems.
Once the switch is complete, the new contract goes straight into the client's portfolio – including the line of insurance from the Swiss line-of-insurance catalogue, the premium, and a version history in case anything changes later.
One process, many people involved
Switching processes rarely involve just one person. Cover for absences, holidays, or a second pair of eyes checking the power of attorney are all part of everyday life in a broker or fiduciary office. With a dedicated subdomain for each broker – such as mueller.finra.ch – and separate roles for owners and staff, your team works on the same dossier without documents having to be emailed back and forth between colleagues. Because the policy, power of attorney and ID copy contain sensitive personal data, the portal runs on Swiss hosting, is encrypted, and keeps clean separation between clients.
If you'd like to handle your clients' insurance switches through a structured dossier instead of scattered emails from now on, try finra.ch free for 30 days with no credit card required – plans start at CHF 29 per month, and the portal runs directly in your browser with no installation needed. Register for free now and handle your next client switch digitally right away.