Building insurance
Protection for your home against fire, natural hazards and water damage to the building.
Why this matters
For most people, their house is the largest asset of their lives – and at the same time unprotected against forces nobody controls: a lightning strike, a hailstorm or a flood can cause damage in minutes that costs years of savings to repair. Water damage from the pipe network is particularly insidious: if a pipe bursts in the wall in winter, floors, walls and ceilings are affected – and precisely such damage often falls outside the basic cantonal cover and needs private supplementary insurance.
The framework is regulated at cantonal level: in most cantons, fire and natural hazard cover is compulsory and runs through the cantonal buildings insurer; in a few cantons, private companies take on this role. The subject matters for all owners – from the detached house and the holiday home to condominium ownership, where responsibilities overlap between the community and individual parties. Anyone converting, extending or carrying out an energy retrofit also changes the building’s value and must adjust the cover so that no gap opens up when it counts.
What you get out of it
Your home is protected against fire, natural hazards and water.
Cantonal obligations and voluntary top-ups clearly separated.
In the event of a claim, we take care of expert reports and settlement.
What we take care of for you
- Review of the cantonal building insurance and supplementary cover
- Building water, glass and earthquake cover as needed
- Adjustments after conversions and extensions
- Coordination with household contents and construction insurance
The advice is free for you — we are remunerated by the insurance companies through brokerage commissions and will disclose these on request.
Tips from our consultations
What we tell our clients time and again – free of charge, even before the first meeting.
A new kitchen, a converted attic or a photovoltaic system increases the value of your building. If the insurer is not told, you are underinsured in the event of a claim. Make the notification a fixed final step of every building project.
Pipe bursts and ingressing water cause more everyday damage to Swiss buildings than fire – and are often not included in the basic cantonal cover. Private building water damage insurance closes this gap. First check what your cantonal cover actually includes.
The owners’ association policy covers the building, but not necessarily your personal interior fittings. If you have fitted out to a high standard, clarify the interface between the communal cover and your own policy. Otherwise gaps appear exactly where things get expensive.
Earthquake damage is hardly ever covered automatically in Switzerland, although the risk is real. Voluntary earthquake insurance for the building is available and, depending on the region, worth considering. Make this decision consciously rather than out of ignorance.
