Insurance for home furnishings — is it worth taking out a low premium?
Clearly, contents insurance premiums for a cheaply furnished apartment are going to be lower than for a luxuriously furnished one. However, if you do not accurately declare your contents to your insurer, you may pay the price later on.
iStock / KatarzynaBialasiewicz
If your home is luxuriously furnished, you will pay more for your contents insurance. The reason for this is that the insurance has to pay more when luxurious furnishings are damaged.
How do I define the value of my home contents?
Hardly anybody knows the exact total value of their household contents. To help you with this, the premiums comparison at Comparis offers you three categories for assessment: "simple", "average" or "luxurious". Based on this and further information, such as the number of rooms and persons, an insurance sum is proposed. With our contents calculator you can calculate this amount even more accurately.
Fake a "simple" furnishing standard?
Does it pay off to declare a "simple" standard of furnishings to your insurance or to make the sum insured as small as possible to save on premiums?
No, it's not worth it. If you are underinsured and you suffer damage, the insurance company can reduce your benefits proportionally. Likewise, avoid overinsuring your items: the maximum benefit that will be paid is the items' replacement value. If you overinsure your items, you will pay higher premiums without receiving a higher benefit.
Here's an example. A couple lives in a 3.5-room rental apartment and owns some expensive designer furniture. In total, the couple estimates the value of their household contents at around 130,000 francs. One of the cheapest providers offers contents insurance for this sum at a premium of around 280 francs.
If the couple declares an insured sum of only 70,000 francs instead of the actual total value of 130,000 francs, they only pay around 160 francs for the same insurance product. However, if damage occurs, the insurer is entitled to proportionally reduce the amount of compensation. In this case, the compensation for a burglary, for example, could be reduced from 50,000 francs to around 27,000 francs. If the damage is significant, the loss is out of proportion with the saving on premiums of 110 francs per year.
I am a tenant. Do I have to pay less for contents insurance?
Tenants generally pay the same premiums for contents insurance as property owners. However, tenants do not need certain additional coverage, e.g. for sinks or building glass, as these belong to the landlord. In return, personal liability insurance, which is often taken out in combination with contents insurance, is usually somewhat more expensive for tenants. This is because the insurance also covers any damage to the rented apartment for which the tenant is liable.
Are cash and jewellery insurable?
If you keep large sums of money and highly valuable jewellery at home, you should be very careful. Insurance coverage for these things is limited. Most insurance companies pay no more than 10,000 to 30,000 francs for stolen jewellery. In the case of cash money, insurance covers between 3,000 and 5,000 francs, depending on the provider. Review your insurance conditions carefully. In the event of a "simple theft", monetary assets (cash, tickets, season tickets etc.) are not covered.
"Simple theft" means anything that is not robbery (theft by use or threat of violence) or burglary (forcibly breaking into buildings, rooms or containers). An example of a simple theft would be if someone was able to enter your apartment through an open window.
How can I save on contents insurance premiums?
Regularly compare deals to save on premiums. You should also check whether your current insurance coverage still meets your wishes. Also check regularly whether the actual value of your houseshold contents and your living situation still correspond to the specifications in your policy.
The premiums vary considerably, as we can see in our example of a 35-year-old person who lives with a partner in a 3.5-room flat of 75 square metres in Zurich and specifies an insurance sum of 70,000 francs. The annual premiums for contents insurance range from roughly 140 francs to 250 francs — which is a difference of almost 80 percent — depending on the insurance coverage and provider. It is also important to have a close look at the benefits — they sometimes differ considerably.