Household and private liability insurance
Household insurance protects your belongings; private liability protects you when you cause damage to someone. The two are often combined in a single contract.
Updated on 23.09.2026 · Official sources cited
Household contents insurance
It covers your furniture, clothes, appliances and belongings against fire, natural events, theft and water damage. Glass breakage and simple theft away from home are often optional. In some cantons, fire insurance for contents is compulsory.
Watch out for underinsurance
If the sum insured is lower than the real value of your belongings, the insurer can reduce the payout proportionally. Example: belongings worth 80'000 CHF insured for 40'000 CHF; a 10'000 CHF claim may be paid only 5'000 CHF.
Private liability
It pays for damage that you, your family or your pet cause to others: water damage at the neighbour's, something broken at friends', a bike accident. For tenants, it also covers damage to the rented home, excluding normal wear. Many landlords require it.
When to review your contract
- Moving or changing floor area
- Major purchase (furniture, electronics, jewellery)
- Marriage, birth, a child leaving home
By canton
- Household and private liability insurance in the canton of Vaud
- Household and private liability insurance in the canton of Geneva
- Household and private liability insurance in the canton of Valais
- Household and private liability insurance in the canton of Fribourg
- Household and private liability insurance in the canton of Neuchâtel
- Household and private liability insurance in the canton of Jura