New Migros Insurance for Liability and Personal Property Reviewed

After a long hiatus, Swiss retail giant Migros is once again offering its own insurance products. You can now take out personal property insurance and personal liability insurance on the Migros website. Migros has collaborated with Vaudoise insurance to provide these insurance products.

Migros says that it is only a retail partner. The insurance products are branded as Migros insurance – but all policies are underwritten by Vaudoise. The online platform was developed by TONI Digital, which also participated in the development of the PostFinance car insurance offer.

Migros compares well in terms of pricing

Migros says that its insurance offers – which are available countrywide – are meant to be exceptional affordable. In its marketing, the retailer advertises that it is offering insurance at “the Migros price.” A moneyland.ch comparison reveals how Migros’ insurance compares in terms of price. Migros household and personal liability insurance is among the more affordable offers – but depending on the specific profile, there are more affordable offers from competitors.

moneyland.ch compared insurance premiums for three different user profiles. The first comparison is for a single adult who needs household insurance for personal property worth 75,000 Swiss francs, with no optional riders. They also need personal liability insurance, also without optional riders. The deductible is 200 francs.

The second comparison is for a family with one child who need only household insurance to insure personal property worth 100,000 francs. They also need the optional simple theft away from home rider with 2000 francs of coverage. They use a 200-franc deductible.

 The third user profile is for a couple who share a rented apartment and need personal liability insurance only. They also need the optional rider covering damages to borrowed vehicles up to 50,000 francs. They use a 500-franc deductible.

The comparisons are based on advertised prices as per May 25, 2021. Some Swiss insurers may not be included in some comparisons, depending on whether necessary data is available for the profile in question.

Pros and cons of the Migros personal liability insurance

The Migros personal liability insurance stands out in that it has a 10-million-franc sum insured as standard. Most other insurers have a 5-million-franc sum insured in their standard offers. A few give you the option of increasing the sum insured to 10 million in exchange for higher premiums. Migros personal liability insurance always comes with 10 million francs of coverage by default.  

Migros personal liability insurance does not have a zero-franc deductible option. The deductible options are 200 or 500 francs per incident. This is a disadvantage if you expect to make smaller claims on your insurance because you have to pay a minimum of 200 francs out of your own pocket each time. Some other insurance providers give you the option of paying a higher premium to have no deductible.

The liability coverages available with Migros personal liability insurance are pretty standard. If you need more specialized coverages – such as coverage for possible injuries to borrowed or rented horses – then you will need to use an insurer which offers more specialized riders.

An advantage for Migros customers is that you earn one Migros Cumulus reward point for every one franc you spend on your insurance premiums. You also earn bonus Cumulus points each year in which you do not make any insurance claims.

Pros and cons of the Migros household insurance?

The coverage provided by the personal property insurance from the Swiss retail giant is fairly average, as are the optional riders. The Migros offer lacks the more specialized options offered by some Swiss insurers, such as coverage for vandalism – which Vaudoise offers with its own household insurance.

As with the Migros personal liability insurance, the Migros household insurance lets you earn Cumulus points.

Offers only available online

Aside from the price, Migros also stresses that its insurance offers can be taken out quickly and conveniently online. That is not a unique selling point, as nearly all Swiss insurance providers give you the option of getting insurance online. However, moneyland.ch found the Migros insurance application process to be exceptionally intuitive.

The disadvantage of the simple application process is that it comes at the cost of personalization. For example, you cannot choose between different amounts of personal liability insurance coverage, and you cannot choose different deductibles for household and liability insurance. Unlike insurance offers from other insurance providers which are available through multiple channels, the Migros insurance is only available online.

Will Migros add other insurance offers to its lineup?

The new insurance offers mark a return to the insurance business by Migros after 20 years out of the market. Migros sold its insurance subsidiary Secura to Generali in 1999. The new Migros insurance offers are priced just a bit lower than comparable offers from Generali in most cases.  

Migros says that the household and personal liability insurance products are its first two insurance offers. Migros told moneyland.ch that it remains open to expanding its insurance product lineup. Which additional insurance products Migros might consider offering is as yet unknown. However, Migros does not plan to start its own insurance company again. Instead, it prefers to partner with established insurance providers.

Conclusion

The comparison by moneyland.ch shows that the new insurance offers from Migros are among the more affordable on the market. However, pricing can vary based on your specific needs.

Customization of the Migros insurance offers is also very limited. If you already have stipulations with regards to how much insurance you need and which coverages you want to add or exclude, you may find Migros insurance too limiting. The same is true if you have more complex insurance needs and are not well acquainted with insurance, as you have to take out the insurance online by yourself with no insurance consultation.

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