Credit Card Insurance Benefits in Switzerland

In addition to credit card rewards programs, many Swiss credit cards also include a range of insurance coverages that cardholders receive on a complimentary basis. As with rewards, the general rule is: the cheaper the credit card, the fewer insurance coverages are included. But there are also a number of credit cards with no annual fee which include useful insurance benefits.

The interactive Swiss credit card comparison on moneyland.ch makes it easy to sort credit cards based on carefully analyzed ratings of their various insurance benefits.

How do credit card insurance benefits work?

With the vast majority of Swiss credit cards, you only get insurance coverage if you pay for shopping, travel, car rentals, or flights with your credit card. Depending on the credit card, you have to pay between 50 and 100 percent of the purchase with your credit card for the insurance to apply. Only a handful of Swiss credit cards entitle you to insurance coverage whether or not you use the card to pay.

If a covered incident occurs, you need to contact your credit card issuer as soon as possible. Certain incidents (like car accidents or luggage theft) must be reported to the police as well. If you fail to properly report an incident, then you may not be able to claim the insurance benefit.

Which Swiss credit cards include complimentary insurance benefits?

Not all credit cards have insurance benefits. Of those that do, the kinds of insurance and the amount of coverage vary between cards. Comparing credit cards is important. The rule of thumb: Platinum credit cards have the highest insurance coverage, followed by gold credit cards and then standard credit cards. With a few exceptions, Swiss prepaid cards do not include insurance benefits.

Some credit cards come with the option of adding various optional insurance benefits at an extra cost. If you add this insurance, you pay a markup on top of your credit card’s annual fee.

These are the insurance benefits which may be included on Swiss credit cards:

1. Shopping

• Price protection

Price protection helps you when you buy something, and then find the identical product being offered by a different merchant at a lower price. The insurance reimburses the difference in price, up to a limit of either 1000 or 2000 francs per incident and per year, depending on the credit card. Some Swiss platinum credit cards reimburse up to 4000 francs.

• Purchase protection and shipping insurance

This insurance covers purchases during shipping and for a certain length of time after you take possession of them (typically between 30 and 90 days). Depending on the insurance, you can claim between as much as 750 and 5000 francs of reimbursement if your purchases are stolen, burglarized, or damaged. Some purchase protection insurances have a deductible.

Tip: If your credit card gives you complimentary purchase protection when you use it to pay, then you generally do not need the shipping insurance that online stores offer at an extra cost.

• Guaranteed returns

Guaranteed return insurance lets you return unwanted purchases to the insurance company and get reimbursed if the merchant that you bought the product from does not accept a return.

Guaranteed return coverage varies between the Swiss credit cards that have this benefit. Some insurance agreements differentiate between online shopping and other purchases. Compensation for returns is limited to a maximum amount per incident. Depending on the credit card, this limit can be as low as 500 francs and as high as 3000 francs.

• Extended warranty

Extended warranty insurance benefits with 12-month or 24-month warranty terms are also included on some Swiss credit cards. This extended warranty benefit adds an additional warranty term to products you buy, on top of the guarantee period you get from the store or manufacturer. The value of this extended warranty is limited to a maximum benefit ranging between 1000 and 7000 francs, depending on the credit card.

Tip: If your credit card gives you an extended warranty, you may not need the extended warranties which merchants offer at an extra cost.

2. Travel

• Trip cancellations and trip interruptions

Trip cancellation insurance and trip interruption insurance reimburse the costs of airplane tickets and other travel bookings which you are prevented from using due to certain covered risks (illness, for example). With some credit cards, a deductible applies to this insurance. The sum insured ranges between 4000 francs and 60,000 francs, depending on the credit card.

Tip: If your credit card provides sufficient insurance to cover your bookings, then you do not need to buy the insurance that airlines offer for an extra fee.

• Travel delays

This insurance reimburses unexpected costs for food and lodging which arise due to the delay or cancelation of a flight or other trip on which you are booked. The limit on the reimbursement you can claim ranges between 150 and 5000 francs, depending on the credit card.

• Rental cars

Many Swiss credit cards include rental car collision damage waiver insurance. Depending on the insurance and credit card, the deductible is covered up to as much as 120,000 francs. However, most of the credit cards with this benefit have much lower limits on coverage – typically between 1000 and 10,000 francs.

Tip: If your credit card has a rental car collision damage waiver that is sufficient to cover a rental car’s insurance deductible, then you do not need the collision damage waiver that rental car companies offer at an extra cost.

• Luggage theft and luggage delays

Baggage delay insurance reimburses the cost of purchasing necessary items (like clothing and toiletries) if an airline or other transport company fails to deliver your baggage on time. The luggage insurance that comes with some Swiss credit cards can give you as much as 15,000 francs of coverage, depending on the credit card. Some insurers only cover luggage delays that exceed a certain amount of time. For example, you may only be able to claim reimbursement if your luggage ends up arriving more than 6 hours late.

• Travel medical emergencies

Some Swiss credit cards include travel emergency medical insurance. This insurance covers the cost of medical care outside of Switzerland in addition to the coverage provided by your existing health and accident insurance policies. Some credit cards include up to 3 million Swiss francs of medical emergency insurance coverage, but in most cases, the sum insured is notably lower than that.

• Search and rescue

Emergency medical evacuation and transportation insurance covers the costs of search, rescue, ambulance transportation, and repatriation, up to a predefined sum insured. This applies to emergencies which occur during trips paid for with the relevant credit card. Many Swiss credit cards with this benefit cover up to 60,000 francs of expenses.

• Legal problems

Swiss credit cards may include legal insurance for shopping and/or travel legal insurance. The highest coverage currently included in travel legal insurance from a Swiss credit card is 350,000 francs, but most credit cards have much lower coverage than that. Only a handful of Swiss credit cards include legal insurance for shopping as a complimentary benefit.

• Death and disability

Travel accident insurance pays out a benefit if you die or become disabled due to a plane crash or other common carrier accident. The requirement is generally that the trip was paid for using your credit card which has this benefit.

The coverage which you get from this insurance with Swiss credit cards ranges between 50,000 and 1 million francs, with Platinum credit cards providing the highest benefits. This insurance benefit is commonly included in Swiss credit cards, but luckily, the chances of having to claim on it are very small.

3. Other credit card insurance benefits

• Bicycle theft and accidental damage

A few Swiss credit cards include bicycle insurance as a complimentary benefit for cardholders. Some credit cards only cover your bicycle against theft, while others also include coverage for accidental damage to your bicycle.

• Credit card loan defaults

Many Swiss credit card issuers offer loan insurance. This insurance covers the cost of repaying your outstanding credit card balance when certain events occur. The exact events which are covered vary between credit card issuers. Typically, your credit card debt is covered if you lose your job, or if you become disabled. This credit card balance insurance is relatively expensive, with a premium equal to around 0.5 percent of your outstanding credit card balance.

Important: Carrying balances on your credit card is generally not recommended because credit card loans are expensive.

What should I consider when looking at credit card insurance benefits?

The following rules of thumb apply to all credit card insurance benefits:

• Do not choose a credit card solely because of the insurance benefits it has. You also need to consider other cardholder benefits, and most importantly, the total costs.
• The insurance coverages which you get with Swiss credit cards are often relatively low. If you need more comprehensive insurance coverage, then it can be worth it to pay for stand-alone insurance policies. This is particularly true for travel insurance coverages, but also applies to supplementary health insurance (travel medical emergencies) and legal insurance.
• You should always read the fine print of the insurance terms and conditions to find out what is actually covered.

Tip: If you are looking for specific insurance benefits, the interactive credit card comparison on moneyland.ch can point you in the right direction. The sort tool lets you view the credit cards on the results page based on the included insurance benefits and coverage.

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