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Hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes in the severe earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Now a model calculation shows that in Switzerland, too, earthquakes can damage buildings alone up to CHF 44 billion over a 100-year period. How do we insure against such damage?
Building insurance is mandatory in Switzerland. However, earthquake damage is excluded and must be insured separately.
This is possible, for example, with the Zurich Insurance. “We have received further investigations since the severe earthquake in Turkey and Syria,” a spokesperson said. Building insurance Bern (GVB) is also seeing increased sensitivity. Mobiliar and Generali insurance company, on the other hand, did not feel any change in demand.
In general, the earth in this country shakes 10 to 20 times a year – that is. From a power of 2.5 or more. In contrast, the probability of a major earthquake is one percent. On average, there is a single magnitude 6 earthquake every 50 to 150 years. For comparison: The two earthquakes in Turkey and Syria were 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude.
You should consider these aspects
The question is whether earthquake insurance is valuable in this country. “Insurance can seem expensive compared to frequency,” earthquake researcher Stefan Wiemer (54) tells Blick. He is the director of the Swiss Seismological Service at ETH Zurich.
Whether you decide for or against insurance depends on how you deal with the risk. On the other hand, there are other important decision-making bases, according to Wiemer:
- How often does it vibrate in the area?
- On what ground was the house built?
- How solid is the building?
- How am I positioned financially?
Insurance is much more expensive in Basel because there is a greater risk of earthquakes. With the GVB you pay a premium of more than 900 francs per year for a detached house worth 500,000 francs in Basel-Stadt. You can insure the same house in Zurich for only 165 francs.
With the Zurich Versicherung, the cost of insurance in Basel is CHF 245.50, and in Zurich at CHF 131.50 almost double. Besides Basel, most earthquakes occur in Valais, Graubünden, and St. Gallen in the Rhine Valley.
Not all old buildings are earthquake resistant
Insurance also depends on when the house was built. Buildings have to be earthquake resistant since 1998. This means that all new buildings must be able to withstand severe earthquakes and therefore need less insurance. “The situation is not so clear in older buildings,” Wiemer says. In general, it is not known whether the majority of buildings are earthquake resistant.
Switzerland still has the so-called earthquake pool in which 18 cantons participate. In the event of an earthquake, members receive two billion Swiss Francs as compensation.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
