Collision car insurance is a type of car insurance or motorcycle insurance coverage which covers damages to your vehicle when you are at fault.
Self-inflicted damages are not covered by compulsory liability car insurance or semi-comprehensive car insurance. A severe accident for which you are at fault could, in the worst case, result in your car being written off. Collision car insurance covers these damages.
However, general damages to your car caused by gross neglect are only partially covered by your collision car insurance provider. In some cases, they are not covered at all. You can insure your car against damages resulting from gross negligence by adding this coverage as supplementary rider.
Getting collision car insurance can make sense if you buy a brand new car. If you lease your car, you will normally be obligated to take out collision car insurance. In Switzerland, the combination of collision car insurance and comprehensive car insurance is called fully-comprehensive insurance or full casco insurance (German: Vollkasko, French: Casco intégrale).
More on this topic:
Swiss car insurance compared
Comprehensive car insurance explained
Full casco car insurance explained
Liability car insurance explained