Advice: We don’t always swim in happiness

Although summer is finally trying to show its face, everyone has heard about the torrential rains that fell last Tuesday, causing damage in several Swiss cities. I run a store in a luxurious building where the water flow damaged all the equipment installed and stored in my premises. My damage amounts to more than one hundred thousand francs and I am already afraid of the insurance battle! Can’t I start by contacting the owner of the building to get compensation quickly?

O.

The recent floods in French-speaking Switzerland have caused considerable damage, particularly affecting traders whose establishments are located on the ground floor of buildings. These events raise complex questions concerning the management of damage which fall under insurance law, civil liability and contractual law.

In Switzerland, compensation for damage caused by natural disasters is mainly structured around insurance law and governed by specific laws as well as the current practices of insurance companies. Not all cantons provide for an insurance obligation for the building against fires and natural elements. If the canton of Vaud has set up the Insurance Establishment against fire and natural elements of the canton of Vaud (ECA), other cantons such as that of Geneva have not done so. In any case, traders can take out insurance covering their movable property, stocks and equipment. In addition, business interruption insurance is offered to compensate for loss of income resulting from business interruption and damage to these assets.

To activate your insurance, you must immediately report the damage to them and then document the damage with photographs and a detailed description, which are essential for the analysis of claims. In particular, it will be checked whether you have correctly assessed your stock, a point to which you must always remain attentive. As for knowing whether you can already ask your landlord to compensate you, that seems more delicate. Of course, if the floods reveal deficiencies in the construction or maintenance (for example, an inadequate drainage system), the owner of the building can be held liable for the resulting damage.

Indeed, Art. 58 of the Code of Obligations (CO) provides that the owner will be liable for construction defects and failures to maintain the building. However, the insurance covering the liability of the building owner does not in principle extend to personal property and the activity of the tenants. It is therefore much better to contact your private or state insurer and let them take action against the building owner if necessary. Despite these mishaps and the vagaries of the weather, we wish all our readers a radiant summer break!

Did you find an error? Please report it to us.

0 comments