No. Personal liability insurance is not mandatory in Switzerland. However, in some situations it may be necessary, for instance, if you would like to rent an apartment. In such cases, it is generally necessary to present personal liability insurance to the landlord.

On the other hand, personal liability insurance is compulsory for dog owners in most cantons.

Personal liability insurance is recommended in any case in order to protect oneself against financial consequences in critical situations.

Personal liability insurance protects you against costs that arise if damage to third parties or their property is accidentally caused by you, your children, members of your household or pets. This means you can protect your assets against claims for losses.

Personal liability insurance covers, among others, the following types of damage:

• Your child accidentally crashes their bicycle into a neighbour’s car. Personal liability insurance covers the damage caused.
• As a tenant, you accidentally damage the basin in the bathroom.
• Your cat enters a neighbour’s living room and damages the sofa.

These types of damage fall under V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a’s basic cover. With basic cover, you can choose a guaranteed sum of CHF 5,000,000 or CHF 10,000,000.

You need to take out additional cover for certain types of loss, for example, if you practise equestrian sports or would also like to cover damage caused to a third-party vehicle as the driver of that vehicle.

If you would like an overview of all the benefits of V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a personal liability insurance, please refer to our brochure overview of benefits for household contents and buildings insurance.

Some types of claims are not covered by basic cover under V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a’s personal liability insurance.

These include, amongst others, damage caused to third-party vehicles used or third-party horses. However, you can take out additional cover that also insures you for these insured events.

You can find a full overview of all benefits under our personal liability insurance in our overview of benefits.

In addition, V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a will not reduce insurance payouts as a result of gross negligence. We only reduce the benefit if the insured person caused the incident under the influence of alcohol, drugs or medication.

Losses arising within the policyholder’s own home as a result of theft, fire, natural hazard events or water are not covered. In these cases, you need household contents insurance.

The costs of personal liability insurance depend on various factors, such as for instance the insured group, ownership arrangements, the amount of cover and any additional cover.

Here are some indicative examples of personal liability insurance at V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a:

• Single person living in rented accommodation with a guaranteed sum of CHF 5,000,000: CHF 79 per year (CHF 6.60 per month) for personal liability insurance
• Multi-person household living in an owner-occupied property with a guaranteed sum of CHF 10,000,000: CHF 105 per year (CHF 8.75 per month) for personal liability insurance

Other costs are also applicable for additional cover.

The best approach is to calculate your individual premium with reference to your individual situation: calculate premium.

“Liability” and “personal liability” are often used as synonyms. However, this is not strictly speaking correct. Liability is an umbrella term for different types of liability. For example, there is personal liability insurance, business liability insurance and motor vehicle liability insurance (car insurance).

Personal liability insurance protects your assets against costs arising because you have injured a third party or damaged their property.

In Switzerland it makes sense to take out both household contents insurance as well as personal liability insurance since both types of insurance ideally complement each other and cover high financial losses despite negligible annual premiums.

Personal liability insurance is applicable if you unintentionally cause harm to another person or damage that person’s property.

Household contents insurance covers your personal property such as furniture, clothes, electrical devices and sports equipment. It applies, for instance, in the event of damage caused by fire, water, theft following forcible entry or natural events such as storms or hail.

Home owners can take out buildings insurance to ensure comprehensive protection.

If you do not regularly drive third-party cars, this type of damage can be insured under the top-up insurance “Driving of third-party motor vehicles”. Note: The insurance does not cover, in particular, damage caused to leased or hired motor vehicles or an employer’s vehicle; in addition, it does not cover people living in the same household.

Children remain covered under their parents’ policy until they leave home, as long as they are still in education or training or completing an apprenticeship.

Students are still insured along with their parents, even if they work during the holidays. Wages from apprenticeships and income from part-time incidental jobs do not qualify as income from gainful employment.

On the other hand, in order to be included in the parents’ policy, young adults performing gainful employment who are still living at home need to be indicated as additional persons, subject to the payment of a small additional premium.

Once the children move out and have their own home address, they need to take out their own personal liability insurance.

V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a will not reduce insurance payouts as a result of gross negligence, unless the insured person caused the incident under the influence of alcohol, drugs or medication.