Swiss Full-Casco Car Insurance Guide

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

Partial-casco car insurance only covers damages caused by natural hazards, theft, and vandalism. Full-casco car insurance covers those things too, but it also covers damages to your car caused by car accidents that you are responsible for.

What is covered by collision insurance?

Collision insurance covers both accidents in which other cars are involved, and accidents in which no other cars are involved such as overturning and colliding with stationary objects.

Which repairs does full-casco insurance pay for?

The collision coverage of your full-casco car insurance pays for the costs of repairing your car if it is damaged in an accident that you are responsible for.

The coverage for natural hazards and vandalism provided by the partial-casco coverage is explained in the guide to Swiss partial-casco car insurance.

Parked car damages insurance covers the cost of repairing dents and other damages inflicted on your parked car by unknown vehicles. It also covers the cost of repairing scratches inflicted by unknown third parties, as the vandalism coverage from partial-casco insurance does not cover scratching.

Does full-casco car insurance help me if my car is totaled?

If your car is totaled (damaged beyond repair), the insurance company will pay out a lump sum of money as compensation instead. Your insurer can also offer to pay out this lump sum if the cost of repairing your car would be very high in relation to the car’s actual cash value.

You can find a detailed overview of the standard and optional compensation models used for Swiss full-casco car insurance in Table 3 in the moneyland.ch guide to partial-casco car insurance.

Is full-casco car insurance mandatory?

No. Unlike third-party liability car insurance, which is mandatory in Switzerland, it is up to you to decide whether you want to get casco insurance for your own car. An exception to this rule is if you lease your car. Swiss car leasing companies generally require you to get full-casco car insurance for the leased vehicle.

How much does full-casco car insurance cost?

How much you pay for full-casco car insurance depends on which car you have and which insurance provider you use. Where you live, your expected annual mileage, your age, how long you have had your driver’s license, your nationality, and other factors also play a role.

You can use the interactive car insurance comparison to find the cheapest full-casco car insurance for your specific needs.

How can I lower the cost of full-casco car insurance?

In addition to comparing offers and getting the cheapest insurance that matches your needs, there are several other ways to lower your insurance premiums:

• Compare offers: There are big differences between the premiums charged by different insurance providers for the same car, so comparing offers can save you up to several hundred francs per year. You can compare car insurance offers here.
• Choose the right deductible: Swiss insurers typically require a minimum insurance deductible of 500 francs for collision insurance coverage. For the partial-casco and parked car coverages, you can choose deductible as low as zero francs. It is important to consider how much different repairs are likely to cost.
• Limit repairs to partner workshops: Many Swiss car insurance providers give you the option of letting them act as a gatekeeper for repairs. You agree to always contact the insurance company and let them organize repairs at workshops of their choice. In exchange, you pay a lower insurance premium. Unless you have a preferred mechanic, choosing this option is a simple way to lower the cost of full-casco insurance.
• Remove unnecessary coverage for add-ons: Most insurers assume that your car has extras worth an additional 10 percent on top of the car’s catalog price. This results in your paying higher premiums. If your car does not have any extras, make sure to specify this when applying for insurance.
• Remove unnecessary coverage for personal property and passengers: Insurance for personal items that you carry in the car with you is included in many offers by default. Unless you frequently carry valuable items in your car, the benefits of this insurance are marginal. Passenger insurance is also often unnecessary because residents of Switzerland have mandatory accident insurance. Unless you are sure you can benefit from these coverages, removing them can substantially lower your car insurance premium.
• Consider mileage-based premiums: Some Swiss insurers offer car insurance with premiums based on mileage. If you drive very few kilometers, on average, per month, then mileage-based car insurance can work out cheaper than standard annual insurance. 

You can find more useful tips in the moneyland.ch guide to saving on car insurance.

Is it worth getting a gross-negligence waiver?

Your insurer is allowed to reduce the amount it pays out if it is found that the damages resulted from you not fulfilling your due diligence requirements. However, all Swiss car insurance providers offer an optional gross-negligence waiver that you can add to your policy. This insurance rider waives the insurer's right to reduce benefits in the case of gross negligence. Typically, this rider adds around 50 to 100 francs to your annual premium.

Collision insurance benefits you when you are responsible for an accident. Because the chance of accidents being caused by gross negligence is reasonably high, adding this rider is generally beneficial.

What is bonus-malus?

Bonus-malus is a system used by many Swiss insurers for collision car insurance, which is an essential part of full-casco insurance. Every year in which you do not make any claims, you are moved to a better discount tier, and pay a lower insurance premium the next year. But if you do make a claim, your premiums are raised so you pay more. If you want to lock in your bonus-malus discount, you have to add an accident forgiveness rider for an additional fee (typically around 50 to 100 francs per year).

Important: Even if you get a very large discount on the base premium, it is still worth comparing the price with offers from insurance providers that do not use bonus-malus systems (like Postfinance and Zurich Insurance). Depending on the car you own and your personal profile, the standard premiums without bonus-malus can be cheaper in some cases.

Is full-casco car insurance worth the price?

As a general rule, insuring brand-new cars is beneficial during their first few years on the road because the cost of replacing the car would be very high. Because new cars lose value very quickly in the first few years of use, it can be beneficial to use a more favorable compensation model during those years. You can find an overview of compensation models from Swiss car insurance providers in Table 3 in the moneyland.ch guide to partial-casco car insurance.

If you have an older car, there are several factors to consider:

• How much would it cost to repair your car? Depending on how bad an accident is, repairing your vehicle can be very costly. The same applies to parked car damages. If you are dependent on your car and could not afford to pay for repairs yourself, then getting full-casco car insurance can make sense, even if you have an older car. However, over the long term, saving money to cover these risks is preferable to paying for expensive full-casco car insurance.
• How much do you drive? The more you drive your car, the higher the chance of being involved in an accident is, and the more likely you are to benefit from the collision coverage of full-casco car insurance.
• Where do you park your car? Having full-casco car insurance is generally a prerequisite for getting parked car damages insurance. If your car is frequently parked in locations where scratching or damages by other vehicles are likely to occur, then getting full-casco insurance may be beneficial. This is particularly true if your car’s aesthetics are important to you.
• How much would it cost to replace your car? Even the more favorable optional agreed value compensation models for totaled cars generally only pay out just slightly more than the actual cash value for cars that have been in use for eight years or more. The older your car is, the less you will get from the insurance company if it is totaled.

In many cases, having partial-casco car insurance is sufficient for older vehicles. If you have an old car with very little value and you could easily afford to replace it, then simply getting the cheapest mandatory third-party liability car insurance without casco insurance can make financial sense.

More on this topic:
Click here to compare car insurance
Swiss partial-casco car insurance guide
Points to consider when choosing car insurance
Underinsured motorist insurance explained
Car leasing in Switzerland: Key tips