{"id":20819,"date":"2025-06-06T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/?p=20819"},"modified":"2025-06-05T08:57:21","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T06:57:21","slug":"payday-after-the-quake-switzerland-struggles-for-new-earthquake-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/payday-after-the-quake-switzerland-struggles-for-new-earthquake-insurance\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPayday after the quake?\u201d – Switzerland struggles for new earthquake insurance"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u2018Payday after the earthquake?\u2019 From left to right: Patricia von Falkenstein (LDP National Councillor), Michael Wieser (Director of VKG), Christian Keller (Editor of Prime News), Markus Meier (Director of HEV Switzerland), Urs Arbter (Director of SVV).<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Despite thousands of earthquakes and billions in risks, only one in five households is insured. Switzerland is now faced with a momentous decision. Should a new \u201ccontingency obligation\u201d make all homeowners liable in future – but only after<\/em> the earthquake? Last week’s Helvetia Forum 2025 showed a heated debate between freedom, responsibility and provision<\/strong>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, the Swiss Seismological Service registered over 2,300 earthquakes: a record since measurements began. The fact that Switzerland is an earthquake country comes as a surprise to some. However, the historic quake in Basel in 1356<\/a> or seismic activity with a magnitude of 3.6 or 3.5, such as the geothermal project in St. Gallen in 2013 and the deep heat mining project in Basel in 2006, are the latest examples of this: The danger is real, and it doesn’t just affect faraway countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEarthquakes are not an abstract threat – they are part of our reality,\u201d warned Helvetia Switzerland CEO Martin Jara at the Helvetia Forum 2025. And yet only around 22% of buildings in Switzerland are insured against earthquake damage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

\u201cEarthquakes are a constant reminder of how fragile our world is.<\/em>\u201d Martin Jara.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Contingent liability instead of compulsory insurance<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

In view of this gap, the Federal Council is proposing a new solution<\/a>: In the event of damage – i.e. after a severe earthquake – all building owners should pay a one-off levy. The amount is based on the insured value and amounts to a maximum of 0.7 percent. This will be secured by an entry in the land register. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not traditional insurance, but an innovative approach that focuses on solidarity in the event of an emergency,\u201d said LDP National Councillor Patricia von Falkenstein, a supporter. The idea: no premiums in advance, but fair cost sharing after the quake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cIf no one is insured, the taxpayer always pays in the end.<\/em>\u201d Patricia von Falkenstein.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
From left to right: Michael Wieser (Director VKG), Patricia v. Falkenstein (National Councillor LDP BS), Martin Jara (CEO Helvetia Switzerland), Michael Wieser (Director HEV), Urs Arbter (Director SIA).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Critics, on the other hand, speak of a \u201cstate-imposed compulsory levy\u201d and see the model as difficult to enforce – especially in the event of a real disaster. The director of the Swiss Homeowners Association, Makus Meier, warned: \u201cA bill after the quake – that’s not insurance cover, it’s crisis amplification.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responsibility – private, state or communal?<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

The debate at the forum was emotional, controversial – and fundamental. It’s not just about numbers, but about principles: How much personal responsibility can be demanded, how much state protection is justified? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe risk is certainly insurable – but we don’t see any obligation for the state to intervene here,\u201d said Urs Arbter from the Swiss Insurance Association (SIA). Penetration is increasing anyway, from 6.7 percent ten years ago to 22.1 percent today. He warned: \u201cIf the state takes over, the market will lose momentum.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cIt’s not insurance, it’s a bill from the state – at the worst possible moment.<\/em>\u201d Urs Arbter<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

But others see precisely this as the problem: the voluntary insurance obligation has not proved its worth. \u201cIf 80 percent are not insured, the state has to help anyway. So why not regulate it systematically?\u201d asked one participant from the audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basel, Bern and the risk in the ground<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

The risk is particularly high in northwestern Switzerland. Another quake like the one in 1356 could cause damage amounting to CHF 45 billion, plus infrastructural and indirect damage. For many, it is clear that Switzerland is not crisis-proof without comprehensive precautions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSuch an earthquake would not only cost us buildings, but entire livelihoods,\u201d warned Michael Wieser (Director of the Association of Cantonal Building Insurers VKG). \u201cWhat use is personal responsibility if our livelihoods are destroyed?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to decide: Personal responsibility or irresponsibility?<\/em>\u201d Participant from the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between innovation and illusion<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

The political discussion is now becoming concrete: a constitutional amendment is necessary and a referendum is likely. The question will be whether the population will support a contingent commitment or whether everything will remain the same in the end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One participant put it in a nutshell: \u201cThe only thing that is certain about earthquakes is that they will come. The only question is whether we will be prepared – or whether we will be surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Binci Heeb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also: SIA annual media conference: Over 90 percent of the population underestimated the earthquake<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite thousands of earthquakes and billions in risks, only one in five households is insured. Switzerland is now faced with a momentous decision. Should a new \u201ccontingency obligation\u201d make all homeowners liable in future – but only after the earthquake? Last week’s Helvetia Forum 2025 showed a heated debate between freedom, responsibility and provision. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5100,5134],"tags":[6104,6103,6105,6100,6098,6099,6080,6101,6102,5288],"class_list":["post-20819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nicht-kategorisiert","category-current","category-general","tag-compulsory-insurance","tag-compulsory-levy","tag-constitutional-amendment","tag-contingent-liability-en","tag-earthquake","tag-earthquake-insurance","tag-personal-responsibility","tag-reality-en","tag-single-charge","tag-switzerland-en"],"acf":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"\u2018Payday after the earthquake?\u2019 From left to right: Patricia von Falkenstein (LDP National Councillor), Michael Wieser (Director of VKG), Christian Keller (Editor of Prime News), Markus Meier (Director of HEV Switzerland), Urs Arbter (Director of SVV).","source_text":"","source_url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20819"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dev.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20960,"href":"https:\/\/dev.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20819\/revisions\/20960"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}