Is My Phone Covered by Swiss Household Insurance?

Many consumers are not aware that household insurance actually covers certain damages to phones and other mobile devices.

Which household insurance coverages are there?

There are generally three different levels of insurance for phones in household insurance.

1. Basic household insurance: This covers your phone against certain hazards at home, as well as robbery and burglary.
2. Simple theft away from home insurance: This insurance rider for household insurance covers your phone against simple theft outside of your home.
3. Comprehensive insurance: This insurance rider for household insurance covers accidental damage to your phone by you.

These three different levels of household insurance are explained in detail below.

How does basic household insurance cover my phone?

Basic Swiss household insurance generally covers these damages to your phone:

• Damages caused by fires
• Damages caused by flooding
• Damages caused by natural hazards
• Theft (burglary, robbery, and simple theft at home)

Your phone is insured against these hazards when it is at your home. It may also be insured while it is temporarily outside of your home (in your hotel room, for example), depending on the specific location and your household insurance offer. Robbery and burglary are exceptions: Your phone is insured against these hazards even when it is not in your home. Robbery is theft through the use or threat of force.

Certain damages which you yourself are responsible for are not covered by basic household insurance. Examples include damage caused by accidentally dropping your phone or spilling liquid on your device.

Is my phone insured against theft?

Household insurance only covers theft if your phone is stolen from your home, robbed with the use or threat of force, or stolen in a burglary. Simple theft outside of your home – including pickpocketing – is not covered by household insurance. Simple theft is theft which involves neither threat of force, nor breaking and entering. For example, if your phone is stolen from your handbag, that would count as simple theft and would not be covered if it happens outside of your home.

However, Swiss household insurance providers have an insurance rider that covers simple theft away from home and can be added to your household insurance. If you have this rider, the insurance will cover losses caused by simple theft as well, even if the theft occurs outside of your home, as per the address in your insurance policy.

In addition to covering your phone, the optional rider for simple theft away from home also covers most other items of personal property (bicycles, for example).

Most household insurance offers do not include the rider for simple theft away from home by default. Exceptions to this rule include certain offers from Allianz Suisse and CSS that always include this coverage.

Most insurance companies also do not include coverage for simple theft away from home in their comprehensive insurance riders. But here too, there are exceptions: The All Risk rider from Allianz Suisse and the All-round Protection rider from AXA cover both accidental damages and simple theft outside of your home. The Plus Level household insurance from Groupe Mutuel also covers both of these hazards.

Does household insurance compensate me if I lose my phone?

Basic household insurance does not insure you against the risk of losing your phone.

However, if your household insurance includes a comprehensive insurance rider, then you may be able to claim a benefit when you lose your phone. Whether or not losing your phone is covered by this rider depends on which insurance provider you use.

The comprehensive riders from Allianz Suisse, AXA, and Helvetia cover loss of phones. But those from Baloise, CSS, Generali, Groupe Mutuel, Mobiliar, Simpego, Sympany, Smile, Vaudoise, and Visana do not. With Zurich Insurance, whether or not losing your phone is covered depends on the specific insurance rider you have. The House Content All Risk Insurance rider for Zurich’s household insurance covers the loss of phones, but the Accidental Damage To Electrical Equipment rider and the Accidental Damage rider do not.

Can I claim on my insurance if I damage my phone myself?

Basic household insurance does not cover damages caused by your phone falling down or similar accidents. But many insurance providers include coverage for accidents in their comprehensive riders, which you can add to your household insurance at an additional cost. The most important difference between basic household insurance and comprehensive insurance is that the latter also covers some damages that are your own fault.

If your device breaks due to an unforeseeable, sudden event, then the damage will be covered by comprehensive insurance. For example, if you accidentally wreck your phone by spilling your cup of coffee over it, an eligible comprehensive insurance will cover the cost of repairing or replacing it. The comprehensive rider for household insurance does not only cover your phone. It also covers many other items of personal property, as per the list in the terms and conditions.

Which comprehensive insurance riders are offered with Swiss household insurance?

Each insurance company that offers comprehensive insurance has its own name for it. You can find all of them in this table:

There are also Swiss household insurance offers, like the one offered by Ikea, which do not have the option of adding a comprehensive insurance rider.

Comprehensive insurance is normally offered either as a fixed part of a household insurance offer, or as an optional supplement which can be added to basic household insurance. Of the 15 insurance companies that moneyland.ch inquired at, only Axa offers a stand-alone insurance that can be taken out without basic household insurance. Axa’s offer includes insurance against self-inflicted damages, insurance for all types of theft, and insurance against losing your property.

As with all insurance offers, you should pay careful attention to the fine print. The insurance company will only pay out benefits for damages which meet the criteria laid out in the policy’s terms and conditions. For example, damages might only be covered if they are caused by accident-like, sudden, unforeseeable, hazardous external forces. Damages that are deliberately inflicted – throwing your property on the floor, for example – are not covered.

Which damages are not insured?

Damages caused by wear and tear, damages caused by exposure to the elements, and deliberately inflicted damages are generally excluded from household insurance cover (including supplemental riders).

How much does household insurance cost?

Premiums for household insurance are calculated individually. The amount you have to pay for insurance depends on the sum you want to insure, your place of residence, and the size of your household.

Depending on the insurance offer, the sum insured, and scope of the coverage, basic household insurance with no complementary riders can cost less than one hundred francs per year, or as much as hundreds of francs. But it is important to understand that this insurance covers all your personal property, and not just your phone.

What does comprehensive insurance for personal property cost?

Your insurance premium is calculated individually based on your needs. Prices for comprehensive insurance riders start at around 50 francs per year, but they can be much more expensive than that, depending on the specific offer.

What does simple theft away from home insurance cost?

The premiums for simple theft away from home riders for household insurance start at around 30 francs per year. But depending on the insurance company and the amount of insurance you need, they can also be much higher than that.

How high is the deductible that I have to pay myself?

The insurance deductible is the portion of the cost that you have to cover yourself. Household insurance providers typically let you choose between several deductibles. The general rule is: The smaller the deductible is, the more you have to pay for the insurance.

A 200-franc deductible is common for household insurance.

What should I do if my phone is damaged?

Insurance companies have clear rules about how you must proceed if you want to claim insurance for covered damages. The best thing to do is to contact your insurance provider directly and ask.

In every case, you should make sure to perform your due diligence obligations. These include filing a report with the police if your phone is stolen, and having your mobile service provider block your PIN.

How is household insurance different to mobile phone insurance?

Many Swiss phone merchants give you the option of taking out phone insurance when you buy a phone from them. This mobile phone insurance only covers the one specific device that is registered in the policy. Household insurance, on the other hand, covers all of your personal property – including all of the phones in your household. Specialized phone insurance generally gives you much less value for your money, compared to household insurance.

Many mobile phone insurance offers also cover fewer different kinds of damages than household insurance does – at least when compared to household insurance with a comprehensive insurance rider. You can learn more in the guide to mobile phone insurance.

Conclusion

Adding a simple theft away from home or a comprehensive insurance rider to your household insurance just to insure one phone is not normally worth it. But if you also own other items that you want to insure – a bicycle or an expensive camera, for example – then adding these riders can make sense. Make sure to get informed about which items are covered by the insurance. Some insurance companies have different insurance riders for different kinds of personal property.

If you want to insure your phone, then getting household insurance – and relevant insurance riders if necessary – is normally a better choice than getting mobile phone insurance. Household insurance generally gives you more insurance coverage for less money, compared to mobile phone insurance.

More on this topic:
Swiss household insurance comparison
Mobile phone insurance in Switzerland explained
Compare Swiss mobile plans and prepaid offers now