We hope to buy a holiday property in Valais soon and have already been asked by the selling agent whether we want to take over the existing insurance against fire and water (with no avalanche, landslides or earthquakes cover, just rather basic). It is an old wooden house, ground floor but still the asking price of 600-800 strikes us as high to say the least. Friends with normal houses in Kantons Zürich and Aargau tell us their yearly premiums are somewhere betwee 300-400. Can anyone shed any light on why the Valais house should be double the price please?

It is possible if it is Cantonal building-insurance that it is the same throughout the canton and based on square or cubic metres and there is nothing else more competitive. Car insurance was like that in Switzerland until a few year ago...