I am currently working in Lausanne, Vaud and am staying temporarily in an AirBnB room for a month until my accommodation is sorted out (am renting through the place I am working in). I have received the form (in French) for the mandatory fire insurance as I registered the AirBnB address on arrival in Lausanne. I emailed ECA to tell them this is a temporary address and I will update them/fill out the form once I get my proper rental, but they called me today and told me I have to insure my belongings anyway.
I'm fine with that - it's just that the form is defeating me... Can I just refuse to put down the value of the furniture etc and write "C'est un AirBnB"? The host tells me his apartment etc is already insured with ECA so I shouldn't need to do that form. Unfortunately, he is also currently in Brazil for 2 weeks and I don't really want to interrupt his holiday to ask him how to fill out this thing!
Something is wrong here - there is no Law forcing you to insure your belongings- only property you own.
Big questions- who is the owner of the property? Or is the rentor actually renting and sub-renting via B&B (illegally, without the owner's permission?).
Just send your host a Mail, as airBnB host he should either check this regularly and should expect questions, or he should have somebody doing these things for him. Part of the deal to me.
Really? That is not what the ECA woman told me! The owner of the property is the guy who rented the AirBnB to me... He told me that his apartment is definitely already insured!
I rent and pay ECA. Both they and my insurance broker told me i needed it ?! Indeed I only insure the contents, my stuff, not the building. It's under 100 / year and covers me for around 250k
Well, I currently only own what I brought with me in 3 suitcases... Which accounts for less than CHF3000 (including my laptop and camera) to my estimation, so this sounds kind of stupid. How did you avoid paying for the apartment and its contents? The form seems to force you to estimate how much the furniture etc costs...
I mean I just landed in Switzerland on 23 Oct!!! How much can I bring on my back? Sheesh
ECA is required in Vaud for catastrophic events, both for renters and owners. Normal insurance cuts these out and they are thus covered by ECA. How to sort it out with the owner/renter versus the airbnb guest is the question. I think you would need to ask the guy in Brazil for his ECA account and or proof of coverage and present to ECA indicating you are only temporary guest or subletter.
Agreed. In my reply to ECA I would include the ref. n° to the owner's ECA insurance, as well as mention that you are renting an already furnished apartment. Any toing and frowing between you and ECA will easily go beyond your 4 weeks stay before moving into your new dwelling!
ECA just got back to me in FRENCH even though I asked them politely to correspond in English so I don't misunderstand them. Apparently I have to insure my personal belongings regardless. I give up. Am just gonna write "C'est une chambre dans un AirBnB" on the furniture section and just write down the value of the stuff I own. Please don't tell me I have to do this again when I move!
Each time you move and register your address with the authorities in the commune that you live in, ECA will be informed of your address and will follow up with you regarding this insurance.
Official correspondence will be sent to you in French. Gather your papers together and find a helpful colleague/friend/general nice person and ask them to call the ECA for you and clarify your situation.
Je demeure les 3 prochaines semaines dans une chambre AirBnB. Cette chambre est louée meublé et l’assurance feu pour ceci appartient au propriétaire de la maison, qui, en occurrence, est en vacances à l’étranger à l’instant.
I will be living in an AirBnB room for the next 3 weeks. This room has been rented furnished and the fire insurance for it is with the owner of the house, who, by the way, is currently out of the country on vacation.
(no idea why the font changed here... )
If you wish to tell them your personal belongings are worthless (clothes and shirt on your back), then you can explain it like this:
Comme effets personnels pour l'instant je n'ai que quelques vêtements et 3 valises. Pour le reste j'attends que je serais aménagé dans mon nouveau appartement en 3 semaines.
As for personal belongings at the moment, Ionly have some clothes and 3 suitcases. As for the rest, I am waiting till I move in to my new apartment in 3 weeks time.
It is a cantonal thing. In Vaud and Nidwalden there is a such a law and it is mandatory to insure your belongings.
On the other hand in some cantons (Geneva, Ticino, and Valais) a real estate insurance is non-mandatory.
If you are registred resident in the canton of Vaud you will have to pay. Regardless if temporary, furnished, or whatever. The yearly fee is as los as CHF 20.
CHF 3000 apperently. That is what you have to insure. The rest, all the furniture etc., is the apartements owners problem.
The ECA in Vaud is a cantonally run insurance and insures both buildings and goods against fire and other natural disasters.
As a property owner, I have two policies with ECA, one for the building itself, the other for contents.
In most of Switzerland, these risks are included in normal household insurance, but in VD and I think NE, they are run by the ECA and are obligatory. In general the premiums are fairly cheap and my regular insurance agent admitted that the normal insurance companies probably couldn't offer cover at such rates. In the cantons concerned, household insurance premiums are reduced because they don't include cover for fire.
I don't have an awful lot of sympathy with them not responding in English. It's not an official language in Switzerland. As others have said, find a neighbour, friend, colleague or if all else fails, post here.
Thanks! I wrote something close to that on the form. That is incredibly useful
Well. I did ask my colleagues and they were also mystified as to why I had to fill out the form. So was my AirBnB host. All of them having been living in Lausanne for over 10 years and have not had to use an AirBnB as a stopgap measure. This is why I asked them to clarify in English. Because I wanted to make sure that this wasn't lost in translation some where.
Je réside pour l’instant dans un appartement loué meublé dans le cadre d’une location AirBnB. Le propriétaire, actuellement à l’étranger, a déjà payé une assurance ECA pour le logement.
À l’heure actuelle je n’ai que quelques effets personnels, essentiellement des vêtements. Je me procurerai le reste dans trois semaines quand j’emménagerai dans mon logement définitif.