Hi Everyone!

I live in a shared apartment with two other roommates and we need new insurance since the old insurance was under the name of the old roommate I replaced. We want to do our research and get one that meets our needs better and that is hopefully cheaper than our old one. And besides the three of us all being non-swiss have no idea how it all works anyway and want to get a handle on it.

complicating matters is that I lost my key a couple weeks ago. Though I have a spare for now which is fine, I obviously have to replace the lost one at some point and I'm told it is really expensive...someone said like 800francs??? is that true?? in that case is a lost key covered under your average apartment insurance? i mean i'm sure i'm not the only one who's bad with keys, that seems absurd to pay so much every time...

Thanks!

A friend of mine paid CHF500 for a lost key a month ago...

but is this to replace a lock or to cut a new key?

This was to replace a lost key - not locks. The amount was deducted from the returned deposit on moving out. It is not quite so easy as cutting a key at Mr Minute, Kaba style keys cannot be cut without a certificate of ownership...

Sorry, I don't know if they are covered by insurance but I just have a regular key to my apartment that I have lost twice already and I only paid around CHF 70 each time to have it replaced.

This question was never really answered - in the case of theft, are the replacement costs for keys covered on household insurance? Anybody know?

I suggest you invest in a key-tag from http://www.keyfinder.ch/

They issue you with a keytag with a return address. Our two older children take the keys regularly to school with them, or we have guests, and over 4 years they have dropped their keys twice - once it was returned via the local school as it was in my son's wallet and a school child turned it in to the school office. The other time, it was returned via keyfinder.

Cost is 30chf for 5 years. If your keys are lost, all someone has to do is to put them into a letter box and they will be forwarded to keyfinder, who will look at the serial number on the keytag, and phone or email you to let you know they have your keys - the one time ours were lost, they contact me within 24 hours, and were posted back to my house (registered post) for 14chf.

If I was subletting, I'd have it written into the contract that the keyfinder tag must be attached to the keys at all times!

Thanks. Doesn't really answer my question though

It think it's worth checking with your insurer. Thing is, it probably wouldn't be high enough on your average 'excess' - our household insurance has an excess of maybe 500chf, so we'd probably pay out-of-pocket anyway.

Our landlord changed the barrels on our locks a week after we moved in and swapped all the keys over, so that they were not the same as what the previous tenant had. It wasn't a drama to do it - he obviously knew what he was doing, whereas calling out a locksmith is going to cost you a lot more.

I guess insurance ( Hausratversicherung ) covers only when they are stolen, not merely lost. The article also states that the Haftpflichtversicherung can also be invoked.

http://www.immoscout24.ch/IS24Web/Co...=1&cmsaid=2281

http://www.hev-zuerich.ch/der_zuerch...-201201_10.htm

Prevention is better considering the costs involved, with the keyfinder as suggested by Swisspea being one possible solution.

Well, I lost a key back in August and we notified the landlord and got a "we'll see what to do" response and left it at that. Now that I'm moving away next month I'll go into our agency office this week and ask them exactly what is going to happen. I'll report back on the cost at least.

Unfortunately, the key I lost was to the front door, of an apartment complex with some 10 families, 4 keys each, locks for all, mailbox .... I guess the next logical question would be, what is the procedure for bankruptcy in Switzerland?

Thanks guys - it isn't a rental, its owned so maybe slightly different

Of course, insurance will know - just bracing myself

If it's your place and you need another key, providing you have the original key documentation, you can get another cut. Hopefully your insurance will pay some of this cost...

Yeah....but as it was nicked, I don't want to risk a duplicate key being out there able to get into the house, the garage etc

For the communal garage I ordered a spare security key (Swiss, serial numbered, zig-zag style), via the landlord, and in Bern the cost price was only CHF 53,--

There is a difference between losing your key and having a key stolen.

If it was lost in Spain on holiday, any finder will not be able to connect it to your apartment or house, and you will just need to order the extra key using the lock certificate held by the landlord, your cost about CHF 60 to 70,--

If it was stolen the thief could follow you home and use it to gain access to the stairs, the cellars, and your apartment. In this case you would report the theft to the police, and your liabilty insurance would pay for the locks to be changed (Minus the first CHF 200,-- of the claim which is your franchise).

Liability Insurance comparison, http://en.comparis.ch/hausrat-versicherung/default.aspx
.

For a normal household policy, they would need to be stolen from the house after a break in. For loss anywhere you need an 'all risks' insurance probably 5 to 10 times the premium for the same sum assured.

That sounds really odd to me. So if someone nicks your keys at the train station it is not covered, but if they break into your house and steal them it is??

We had ours covered as part of the household insurance..

The cost of replacing "certain sets of locks" was 1000 CHF for our apt complex. The insurance ended up paying for the amount post the deductible ( in our case it was 200 CHF).

It need not necessarily be a break in for the cost of the keys to be recovered.
This was very recent about 3-4 months back...

My household insurance with Zurich Connect covers the cost of replacing keys and locks except in the case of simple theft outside the home.

Simple theft outside is covered by adding supplementary insurance to the basic household cover. From Zurich Connect's general conditions of insurance:

In the event of the theft of keys or codes, magnetic cards and the like, the costs of changing locks shall be deemed insured as part of the sum insured for loss or damage resulting from theft outside the home, up to 50% of the agreed sum insured, subject to a maximum of CHF 5,000.

Fortunately, I haven't had to find out what the above means exactly.

You can file this under the Absurd Swiss Prices thread after the bill arrives.