ok, so now that I havefound thi forum perhaps I can find someone to help me about this.

I have received a letter (actually a letter AND a reminder) stating that in the canton of Vaud itis obligatory to pay 'assurance obligatoire "Menagere" contre l'incendie et les elements naturels'

I have cover for my stuff from a british company (as far as I can remember. detail are back home) does this cover me? do I have to reply? what happen if I don't?

also it say on any property I 'own'. I don't own this room. I rent it from someone. I am registered as a resident here in Lausanne and don't have to pay residence tax because I receive a grant for the year thatI study here. nooone else in halls of residence has received this and the people I know who live in appartments haven't payed it...

help!

I'm not sure if there is a difference for halls or specific regulation in Vaud, but in Zürich if you rent a room or flat you need to have an insurance for the property you are renting. So i would asume that your british insurance will not cover this.

If you do not reply you will most likely receive another 1-2 reminders, they will start to contain information what happens if you don't get an insurance.

I would call your Landlord and ask

Many landlords pretend that you have to have insurance, so they can save money on theirs. In reality there is no law compelling tenants (at the very least in Zurich) to insure anything.

Speaking for myself I have absolutely no insurance covering anything except my health and minimum insurance on my car (both required by law).

I know what a crazy risk-taker I am...

Now in the case of the original poster, does this letter come from your landlord, or is it actually from the government of Vaud telling you that you must have this insurance.

If it's just your landlord telling you to buy insurance because "it's the law", ask him to provide you the exact reference to the law in question so that you can verify it for yourself. There's a very good chance he's telling you fibs (if Zurich and Vaud have anything in common that is).

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Hi Marion,

All residents of Canton Vaud are required to have insurance against fires and natural disasters, which in French is "l'incendie et les elements naturels". That's what this letter is about, and in short, you will have to pay.

You'll be surprised to learn that normal household contents insurance does not cover loss due to fire. Claims made under contents insurance tend to be relatively small: theft or damage of personal belongings, etc., amounting to no more than a few thousand dollars. However, in a fire or flood, often one loses everything they own, and the monetary value of the goods lost can be quite significant, and can easily reach tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The insurance companies are aware of this, and as such have two different types of insurance. You are not obligated to have contents insurance, but in Vaud everyone has to provide proof of fire insurance to the canton in a similar manner as proving one has health insurance.

The canton provides fire insurance at a quite competitive rate, and the advantage of getting it through them is that it saves the hassle of also having to prove to them that you are covered. You will have to fill out a form claiming the total value of all goods in your household, and then they will calculate a premium based on this amount. Do not be tempted to underestimate the value of what you own in order to get a lower premium. It is not expensive insurance anyway, and if anything happens, you want to make sure you have adequate coverage to make up for your loss.

I think one of the letters you have received will already have this form on the reverse side. Simply fill it out and send it in, and you'll receive a quote from them in a few days.

HeatherM

I received this bill called an ECA which I believe is the same thing. I was told to pay it as you have to have to by law. I was interested that Heather says that it is in Vaud as I thought it would be for the whole country.
Good news is that it is very cheap , I think I only paid about 38chfs

Yes you have to do it! It's the law.

I was a bit wary of it myself when I first came over here and convinced that it was a private company trying to get my business!

It doesn't cost much, round things up to the higher thousand to make sure that it would be covered though.

It's only compulsory in VD and NW. In all the other cantons you pay for the fire cover through your contents insurance.