Swiss Partial-Casco Car Insurance Guide

Many car owners simply get partial-casco car insurance as a matter of course, without really understanding what it covers. Here, moneyland.ch answers the most important questions about partial-casco car insurance in Switzerland.

What is partial-casco car insurance?

Partial-casco insurance covers damages to your car that are caused by natural hazards and vandalism.

Unlike third-party liability car insurance, partial-casco car insurance is not mandatory. You can get third-party liability car insurance without partial-casco insurance. However, you can only get partial-casco car insurance in combination with third-party liability car insurance from the same insurance provider.

What is the difference between partial-casco and full-casco car insurance?

Full-casco car insurance is a combination of partial-casco car insurance and collision car insurance. In addition to the hazards covered by partial-casco insurance, full-casco car insurance also covers damages to your car caused by accidents on the road when no other car is at fault.

You can get partial-casco car insurance without full-casco car insurance. Full-casco insurance, on the other hand, must always include partial-casco insurance from the same insurance provider.

Note: If you lease your car, the car leasing service provider may require you to get full-casco car insurance for the vehicle.

How much does partial-casco car insurance cost?

Partial-casco car insurance premiums for normal vehicles range between around 100 francs and around 400 francs per year. How much you have to pay depends on which vehicle you want to insure, your driver profile, the canton where your car is registered, where you park your car, and other factors.

How can I cut the cost of partial-casco car insurance?

• Compare offers: Premiums vary broadly between insurance providers, so comparing offers can save you up to several hundred francs per year. Because you can only get partial-casco car insurance in combination with third-party liability car insurance, it is important to compare the total premiums for both insurances combined. You can compare Swiss car insurance premiums for your vehicle on Bonus.ch, Comparis.ch, and Financescout24.ch.

• Choose the right deductible: You can lower your insurance premium by choosing a high insurance deductible. Swiss partial-casco insurance deductibles range between between zero and 2000 Swiss francs, but available options vary between insurers. The deductible is applied separately for each claim. The higher the deductible, the lower your insurance premiums will be, but the less money the insurance will pay out if a hazard occurs. If the risk of a hazard occurring is very small, and the cost of repairing or replacing your car would be very high, it can be worth choosing a higher deductible.

• Use managed repairs: Many Swiss insurance companies charge you a lower premium if you commit to only carry out insured repairs at their partner workshops.

• Remove unnecessary insurance for extras: By default, Swiss car insurance providers typically add another 10 percent to the sum insured on top of the car’s catalog price to cover extra peripherals and features that are not included in the catalog price. The amount you pay is based on the sum insured, so unless you actually have extras worth 10 percent, you can lower your premium by entering the actual value of extras when applying for insurance.

What exactly does partial-casco car insurance cover?

If your car is damaged by a covered hazard, the insurance company covers the cost of repairing the damages, minus the insurance deductible.

The hazards covered by partial-casco car insurance vary between insurance providers. It is important to get insurance that covers the hazards that you are likely to come up against.

Table 1: Comparison of covered hazards

Information as per the general insurance conditions published by insurance providers. moneyland.ch does not guarantee the accuracy of information. Date: March, 2024.

Coverage for vandalism varies between insurance providers. If you frequently park your car in locations where vandalism is a problem, it can be worth comparing this coverage specifically.

Table 2: Comparison of vandalism coverage

Information as per the general insurance conditions published by insurance providers. moneyland.ch does not guarantee the accuracy of information. Date: March, 2024.

Important: If the person who damaged your car is known, then they are liable to pay for the damages. Damages caused by children may be covered by their personal liability insurance in some cases.

Standard partial-casco coverage for glass components is limited to windows (including skylights). If you want to cover damages to other glass components, such as lights and mirrors, you generally have to add an optional insurance rider for additional glass components to your partial-casco insurance.

As Table 2 shows, scratching is not covered by any Swiss partial-casco car insurance offers. If you want to insure yourself against the cost of repairing scratches inflicted by unknown third parties, you have to get parked car damages insurance. That insurance is generally only available in combination with full-casco car insurance.

How much money will I get if my car is totaled?

If the cost of repairing your car would be higher than the cost of replacing it, the insurance company may give you the option of getting a lump-sum payment instead of having your car repaired. If your car is permanently stolen or if it is damaged beyond repair, then getting a lump-sum payment is the only option.

The amount of money you get in these cases depends on the terms and conditions of your insurance policy. The standard terms and conditions use the estimated actual cash value of your car just before the accident occurred to calculate how much money you will get. Checking how much identical cars with the same age and wear are currently selling for will give you an idea of the approximate actual cash value of your car.

Most insurers also give you the option of adding a supplemental agreed value rider that entitles you to higher compensation based on the age of your car. Some insurers let you choose between several different agreed value riders, with more favorable models costing more. Using an agreed value model is particularly beneficial for new cars, because their actual cash value falls drastically in their first few years in operation.

Table 3: Compensation models for write-offs compared

Information as per the general insurance conditions published by insurance providers. moneyland.ch does not guarantee the accuracy of information. Date: March, 2024.

Is partial-casco insurance necessary?

Unlike third-party liability car insurance, casco insurance is not mandatory. It is up to you to decide whether you need and want to insure your own car.

As a general rule, the less it would cost to replace your car with a similar car, the smaller the advantage of having partial-casco insurance is. If you own an old car that would cost very little to replace, then it may not be worth paying for partial-casco insurance. You can check how much cars of the same make, age, mileage, and condition as yours are currently selling for on car classified ads websites like Autolina and Autoscout24.

Whether or not you are likely to benefit from partial-casco insurance also depends on which risks your car is exposed to. If you primarily park your car in uncovered parking spaces that are open to the general public and to natural hazards, then you are more likely to benefit from the coverages that partial-casco car insurance provides.

More on this topic:
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