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Whether you are an outgoing tenant or looking for a rental property, it is recommended to insure your property in the event of theft or fire in particular. In Switzerland, home insurance includes private civil liability and household contents insurance. Explanations.
Household insurance or private civil liability?
To fully understand the principle of insurance for the holder of a rental contract, a distinction must be made between household insurance (which consists of insuring the tenant’s movable objects) and private civil liability (which consists of protecting against the consequences potential disasters). Clearly, for a complete insurance, it is advisable to choose these two types of guarantees even if it is not compulsory. Civil liability can be useful if you cause an accident, but it can also compensate the owner of the apartment if water damage deteriorates the parquet.
Why take household insurance?
Household contents insurance specifically covers all items that belong to the household. It can be clothes, books, musical instruments, furniture, household appliances… In short, everything that is not fixed to the ground. This insurance includes all the objects that appear in the apartment and the garage if it is mentioned in the rental contract. Naturally, integrated kitchens, convectors or built-in cupboards are excluded from household insurance. Thus, in the event of vandalism, burglary, climatic event, water damage or fire, an amount equal to the cost of your new goods will be paid to you.
How does household insurance work?
But how is this amount determined? It is up to the tenant to assess all the household goods. It is essential to estimate your objects correctly, because, in the event of an under-estimate, the premium will certainly be lower and the compensation will not be equal to the damage. Be careful, if you are alone and then someone moves in with you, this estimate will have to be reassessed to take into account the property of your roommate.
Note: if you want to find a new apartment, you have the option of breaking your rental contract before it expires, provided you find a replacement tenant. It is an obligation for the outgoing tenant which is simplified by using a platform such as SherlockHomes, a site specializing in real estate searches in Switzerland.
This article is not exhaustive and does not engage the responsibility of its author.
