Best car insurance deals in Switzerland in 2024
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- Replacement car loan in the case of total damage
- Optional vehicle legal protection
- Customisable cover
In Switzerland, car insurance offers different levels of protection: third-party liability, partial and comprehensive. Which is the best car insurance in Switzerland?
In this hellosafe.ch article, we explain everything there is to know about car insurance in Switzerland: the price of car insurance in Switzerland, car insurance cover, cancelling car insurance, car insurance comparison, and much more.
What does car insurance cover in Switzerland?
There are different levels of cover for your car insurance in Switzerland, one of which is compulsory to drive a vehicle: Third-Party Liability.
Third-Party Liability (TPL) car insurance
Compulsory car insurance in Switzerland must cover at least Third-Party Liability (TPL). This is the basic coverage that protects you in the event of an accident, and covers up to CHF 100 million. This RC car insurance covers any damage you may cause to others with your car. Third-Party Liability Insurance in Switzerland only covers damage to property and bodily injury caused by your vehicle to another vehicle.
Please note: Swiss third-party liability insurance generally does not cover you if you cause an accident due to a traffic offence, drink-driving, etc.
Good to know
All insurance companies in Switzerland offer virtually the same third-party liability insurance.
You can add comprehensive coverage to this third-party liability insurance: partial, collision and comprehensive coverage, with different levels of cover.
Partial insurance
Partial cover insurance protects you more than just Third Party Liability, as it also covers damage to your vehicle caused by a third party.
It may differ from one insurer to another, but it generally covers the following types of damage:
- Damage caused by vandalism, such as scratches from keys or a punctured tire
- Damage caused by collisions with animals
- Damage to windows, such as broken glass caused by a stone thrown at them
- Damage caused by natural disasters such as storms or hailstorms
- Damage caused by fire, lightning or explosion
- Vehicle theft or damage resulting from attempted theft.
Good to know
Partial cover insurance is not compulsory for driving a vehicle in Switzerland.
Collision damage waiver
The collision damage waver goes even further than partial coverage, covering any damage you may have caused to your vehicle yourself. Collision insurance also covers damage that a driver of your vehicle (other than you) may have caused to your vehicle.
Good to know
If you want to take out collision coverage, you must also take out partial coverage;
Please note: collision damage waiver is not compulsory to drive a vehicle in Switzerland.
Comprehensive insurance
Full comprehensive insurance combines both partial comprehensive and collision insurance. It provides optimum coverage for your car. Comprehensive insurance is highly recommended if you want to insure a new car;
Depending on the insurer, it may also include the following coverages:
- Bonus protection
- Coverage of rescue, transport and towing costs
- Payment of parking and security fees.
Please note: comprehensive insurance is compulsory only if you are leasing a car.
Here is a summary table of the different coverages according to the level of car insurance:
| Third-party liability | Partial cover | Collision damage waiver | Comprehensive insurance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Property damage and bodily injury to others caused by your car | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Damage to your vehicle caused by a third party | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Material damage to your vehicle caused by you | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Vandalism | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Collision with animals | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Ice breakage | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Natural disasters | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Fire | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Flight | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Accident where you are at fault | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Supplementary cover for car insurance in Switzerland
Here are a few examples of useful options you can add to your car insurance in Switzerland:
| Supplementary insurance | Description |
|---|---|
| Breakdown assistance insurance | Covers vehicle towing in the event of breakdown, including recovery, repatriation and immobilization costs. May also include additional transportation costs, as well as accommodation and meals in certain cases. |
| Market value insurance | Reimburses the value of your vehicle as taken into account by the insurer in the event of total damage exceeding the vehicle's value. Market value is assessed on the basis of the vehicle's year of registration, mileage and estimated market price. |
| Bonus protection insurance | Allows you to preserve your insurance bonus after a claim, thus avoiding an increase in your premiums. |
| Legal expenses insurance | Covers the costs associated with a dispute resulting from an accident involving your car, such as legal advice, administrative and legal assistance, as well as trial and legal fees. |
What’s the cheapest car insurance?
The cheapest car insurance in Switzerland represents car insurance with the minimum coverage: car insurance covering third-party liability only. Liability car insurance is therefore the cheapest car insurance you can find in Switzerland.
If you're looking for the cheapest car insurance in Switzerland with more cover than just third-party liability, then you may want to consider partial cover. The latter offers you fairly extensive coverage for your car, while remaining affordable for small budgets.
How much does car insurance cost in Switzerland?
The price of car insurance depends on a number of criteria. We've put together a table with a number of price examples for different situations:
Car insurance rates in Switzerland for RENAULT Mégane 131 CV with manual gearbox :
| Insurer | Partial cover price | Comprehensive price (partial + collision) | Comprehensive PLUS price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich car insurance | from 500 CHF per year | from 990 CHF per year | from 1 400 CHF per year |
| AXA car insurance | from 430 CHF per year | from 800 CHF per year | from 1 200 CHF per year |
| Helvetia car insurance | from 690 CHF per year | from 880 CHF per year | from 1 000 CHF per year |
| TCS car insurance | from 440 CHF per year | from 780 CHF per year | from 1 200 CHF per year |
| Allianz car insurance | from 440 CHF per year | from 830 CHF per year | from 1 100 CHF per year |
| Baloise car insurance | from 440 CHF per year | from 780 CHF per year | from 1 200 CHF per year |
Price of different car insurances for RENAULT Clio IV 90 CV with manual gearbox :
| Insurer | Partial cover price | Comprehensive price (partial + collision) | Comprehensive PLUS price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich car insurance | from 380 CHF per year | from 530 CHF per year | from 920 CHF per year |
| AXA car insurance | from 400 CHF per year | from 660 CHF per year | from 1 000 CHF per year |
| Helvetia car insurance | from 600 CHF per year | from 750 CHF per year | from 870 CHF per year |
| TCS car insurance | from 400 CHF per year | from 700 CHF per year | from 1 000 CHF per year |
| Allianz car insurance | from 380 CHF per year | from 570 CHF per year | from 980 CHF per year |
| Baloise car insurance | from 400 CHF per year | from 700 CHF per year | from CHF 1,000 per year |
Prices of different car insurances for BMW X6 F16 306 CV with automatic gearbox :
| Insurer | Partial cover price | Comprehensive price (partial + collision) | Comprehensive PLUS price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich car insurance | from 720 CHF per year | from 1 000 CHF per year | from 1 700 CHF per year |
| AXA car insurance | from 640 CHF per year | from 800 CHF per year | from 1 300 CHF per year |
| Helvetia car insurance | from 1 000 CHF per year | from 1 660 CHF per year | from 1 900 CHF per year |
| TCS car insurance | from 650 CHF per year | from 1 200 CHF per year | from 1 800 CHF per year |
| Allianz car insurance | from 870 CHF per year | from 1 500 CHF per year | from 2 400 CHF per year |
| Baloise car insurance | from 650 CHF per year | from 1 200 CHF per year | from 1 800 CHF per year |
How can I get cheaper car insurance in Switzerland?
Here are 10 tips for paying less for your car insurance in Switzerland:
- If your situation allows, you can choose the cheapest type of car insurance in Switzerland: partial cover insurance.
- You can also accept and/or select certain options offered by your insurer to benefit from reduced premiums on your car insurance.
- When buying a car, privilege a model that's not too powerfuland without all the latest options. You can do a simulation on our comparator with the car model you want to buy to see how much you'll have to pay for car insurance on average.
- If you opt for an electric car,it benefits from significant discounts for its insurance with many Swiss insurers.
- If you are a young driver, chooseyour parents' car insurance to pay less.
- Drive carefully to avoid accidents and protect your bonus and premiums.
- Try parking your car in a garage or private parking space.
- Take driving improvement courses to benefit from premium reductions from your insurer.
- Try to lower the number of kilometers you drive with your vehicle each year, it can positively influence your insurance premium.
- Privilege your insurer's partner garages and services to benefit from reduced premiums when repairing your vehicle.
Calculating my car insurance: what coverage should I choose?
The car insurance cover you choose depends largely on the age of your vehicle and your budget.
If you own a new car or one that has been on the road for less than 5 years, we advise you to choose comprehensive insurance. Comprehensive insurance is still very attractive for new (or top-of-the-range) vehicles, if you can't afford to buy a new car in the event of damage to yours;
In addition, if you have leased a car, you are obliged to take out comprehensive insurance.
If you own a car that's been on the road for more than 5 years, we advise you to opt for partial cover. It covers a large number of damages, so you can adapt the coverages as you go along, and it's still much cheaper than full comprehensive insurance. What's more, after your vehicle has been on the road for 8 years, comprehensive insurance only reimburses the replacement cost of your vehicle;
| Situations | Type of insurance |
|---|---|
| My car is less than 5 years old | Comprehensive |
| My car is over 5 years old | Partial cover |
| My car is over 8 years old | Third-Party Liability |
How do I cancel my car insurance?
To cancel your car insurance in Switzerland, you must consider 2 criteria:
- The end date of your contract or the conditions for cancelling your car insurance.
- The cancellation period for your car insurance.
You are only entitled to cancel a car insurance policy in Switzerland in certain cases:.
- If your car insurance contract is subject to a premium increase
- If you change your vehicle
- If you have suffered a loss
- At the end of the validity period of your car insurance contract.
To cancel a car insurance policy at the end of its term, you must respect a notice period which differs from one insurer to another. You must have sent your car insurance cancellation letter between 1 and 3 months (depending on the insurer) before the end of the cancellation period.
Good to know
The cancellation period for car insurance in Switzerland depends on the insurance company. To check this period, you can consult the general conditions on your car insurance contract.
Is car insurance compulsory in Switzerland?
In Switzerland, only third-party liability insurance is compulsory for owning and driving a vehicle. Partial, collision and comprehensive insurance are not compulsory.
In Switzerland, comprehensive insurance is compulsory in only one case: if you have leased your car;
6 steps to finding car insurance online
Here's how to find your car insurance online:
- Defining your car insurance budget: do you have the budget to pay for a new car in the event of damage to your current car? Ideally, what is the maximum budget you want to spend on car insurance?
- Choose which type of car insurance you want, depending on your vehicle: before you start your online car insurance search, define which cover you'd like to have for your car insurance: partial comprehensive or full comprehensive? You can make this choice according to the age of your vehicle and your budget.
- Gather all the information about your vehicle : in order to find the best car insurance online, you're going to need to enter information about your vehicle, your driving, your previous car insurance and personal information.
- Use our online car insurance comparator: we provide a Swiss car insurance comparator at the top of this page to find the best car insurance for you.
- Request quotes from the car insurers you like best: once you've made your selection of the few car insurers you like best, take the time to visit the insurers' websites, request quotes online using their premium calculator, etc. All you have to do is choose the one that suits you best!
What’s the best young driver car insurance in Switzerland?
The choice of the best car insurance for young drivers is not always easy to make. There is no one insurance better than another, because the cheapest insurance won't necessarily be the one that meets your expectations.
In Switzerland, young driver car insurance costs more than adults because of the figures revealed by various studies. These show that young drivers have more accidents than adults, mainly due to their lack of experience behind the wheel. This puts them in a higher risk category. Here's why young drivers pay a much higher insurance premium. To find the best young driver insurance in Switzerland, read our guide on the subject.
Car insurance in Swiss cities: which canton is the cheapest?
The cost of car insurance premiums in Switzerland can vary from canton to canton.
Cantons located near borders or with denser urban areas represent the most expensive cantons for car insurance. The higher the number of claims and accidents in these cantons, the greater the impact on premiums. The higher the claims risk, the higher the premiums;
The cantons where car insurance is cheapest are:
- Canton Obwalden
- the canton of Nidwalden
- the canton of Fribourg
- Canton of Bern
- the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden.
Why use a car insurance comparator?
A car insurance comparator allows you to find the best car insurance offer in Switzerland for you according to your criteria, your car, etc.
The Swiss car insurance comparison service takes care of everything for you: you enter your details directly and the car insurance comparison service finds the best car insurance in Switzerland for you. You don't need to be a car or insurance specialist to find the right car insurance for you.
Comparing car insurance in Switzerland will enable you to find, for example, the cheapest car insurance if you have a small budget, the optimum car insurance for your coverage needs, etc.
A car insurance comparison in Switzerland allows you to compare the advantages and disadvantages, as well as to get an overview of all existing car insurances in Switzerland.
