As a homeowner, your insurance needs go beyond those of a tenant. Two contracts coexist and must be coordinated: building insurance, which covers the property itself, and household contents insurance, which covers what is inside. Understanding the boundary between them is the key to seamless, gap-free protection.
Building insurance: the structure
Building insurance covers the property itself: walls, roof, fixed installations, heating, fitted kitchen. It comes into play for fire, water or natural-hazard damage affecting the structure.
A Swiss specificity: in most cantons, building insurance against fire and natural hazards is mandatory and handled by a cantonal institution (such as the ECA in Vaud). In a handful of cantons — including Geneva — it goes through the private market instead. The rules therefore depend directly on where your property is located.
Household contents insurance: what's inside
Contents insurance covers your movable belongings: furniture, appliances, personal effects. As an owner, you take it out exactly as a tenant would — it is independent of the building cover.
Where the two meet
The dividing line is broadly: what would stay if you turned the house upside down belongs to the building; what would fall out belongs to the contents. A fitted kitchen is part of the building; the fridge you bought separately is contents. Misjudging this boundary is the main source of gaps and overlaps.
Don't forget building liability
As an owner, you can be held liable for damage caused by your property — a tile falling on a passer-by, an icy path. Building owner's liability covers this risk and complements your private liability.
Coordinate, don't accumulate
The real value of an independent broker lies here: making sure building insurance, contents insurance and the various liability covers fit together without gaps or duplication, while respecting your canton's rules. Helvate maps your contracts and gives you a single, coherent overview.
In short
For a homeowner, good protection rests on properly articulating building and contents cover, plus the right liability. The rules vary by canton, which makes tailored advice especially valuable. Helvate coordinates the whole picture so nothing falls through the cracks.
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