Hi,

I am looking at life insurance options in Switzerland. Assuming the insurance has 2 components:

1) A lump sum payable upon death.
2) A pension in the event of disability as a result of illness or accident.

I have a B (EU) permit. Does anyone know what happens with the pension component if my B permit expires? e.g. Will the insurance company normally still pay the pension component if I leave the country?

I am trying to work out if it is worth taking out the pension component.

Thanks

As I understand it, the agreement is between you and the company offering the pension and they would pay wherever you live. But the company will be able to clarify this for you.

Does anyone know where to start to get quotes for life insurance? Do you need to go to an agent? I checked comparis.ch but although you can get other insurance quotes through that site, I didn't see life insurance as an option. Would appreciate any tips on this . . . thanks

I believe that all the big firms such as Zürich, Swiss Life and Winterthur offer this type of insurance. You can use an agent like AWD (Allgemeine Wirtschaftsdienst) or you can call the company directly and ask for "Beratung". I would probably start by calling the "Kundenberater" that you have for your BVG. If you don't have the name, ask your HR department, they will know.

BVG??

My husband is a contractor so doesn't have an HR department per se. So it sounds like the best thing is to find a local insurance agent? Is there such thing as an independent agent/broker that represents more than one company? Or do you have to go to several people to get quotes from several companies?

Many thanks for the answer and would appreciate any further clarification anyone can provide.

AWD is exactly that type of broker your looking for. I've heard both good and bad things about them. I used them myself but that was a very long time ago so I can't vouch for them now.

http://www.awd.ch/

We looked into Life Insurance a couple of months back as we are retiring and were looking for a place to invest our BVGs and nest egg. Life Insurance didn't seem worth it. We made the calculations and too many fees, deductions. We found more interesting options but of course with more risk...