Legal protection for residential purposes

What is legal protection insurance?

Legal protection insurance covers the costs associated with legal disputes. These costs start with advice, include legal counsel and extend to court and attorney fees.

Legal protection insurance is voluntary. Private legal insurance insures all residential matters (in contrast to motorist legal protection insurance).

The offerings from various insurers differ in terms of benefits, insured sums and premiums, so the policies and their details should be compared carefully.

In which situations might I need legal protection insurance?

Whether you are an owner, a landlord or a tenant, conflicts arise time and again in connection with residential matters and these conflicts can escalate, making legal counsel helpful. Because attorney costs can quickly exceed the annual premium of legal protection insurance, the latter is certainly worth considering.

The following examples show typical cases of disputes and legal conflicts you might find yourself in (even through no fault of your own).

• You like to grill in the summer, but your neighbour is bothered by the smoke and the smell.
• Your neighbour’s plants extend past the property line. You want to trim the plants, but your neighbour refuses.
• Your parking space is regularly occupied by a neighbour whose behaviour does not change even after several warnings from you.
• A visitor damages your garage door and will not pay for the repairs.
• Your landlord will not reduce your rent even though you are entitled to a reduction.
• When you hand over the apartment after you move out there is a dispute with the landlord regarding the liability for damage.
• You’ve handed over the apartment, but your former landlord won’t return the security deposit, saying you never provided one.
• You’re a landlord yourself. Your tenant won’t move out of your apartment even though notice of termination has been duly provided and the deadline has already past.
• During the building of your house there is a construction problem and the general contractor refuses to accept responsibility for it. In addition to construction insurance and building owner’s liability insurance, it is advisable to be protected with legal protection insurance during the construction of your house.

Legal protection insurance for owners

This isn’t only an issue during the construction of a house. As the owner of a finished house or apartment, you’re largely responsible for everything that happens in or on the property. The problem is that while you’re responsible and therefore in many cases liable, you often have no influence over many things. Accidents or disputes that you can’t prevent may occur.

For this reason, you would often be well advised as a home owner to have legal protection insurance. The following sub-areas of legal protection insurance are especially important for home owners and should ideally be included in the insurance:

Neighbour law

For all disputes with neighbours.

Property law

For disputes related to property, the limits of property or usage rights (sometimes also entered in the property register).

Tenant law

For disputes with tenants and leaseholders.

Contract law

For disputes in connection with an order or service agreement for your own property.

Tort law

For damage to property or if the liability insurance of the person who is at fault will not pay.

Criminal law

For criminal matters.

Employment law

For disputes with employees who are responsible for the maintenance or management of your property.

Insurance law

For disputes involving other insurance e.g. building insurance or liability insurance that may occur after damage has been caused.

Our tip: These areas aren’t always included in the basic version of legal protection insurance, or they may be limited to a certain insured sum. Home owners shouldn’t skimp here and they should make sure they’re well covered. Many insurers offer supplemental real estate legal protection insurance if these special areas aren’t already included in the standard private legal protection insurance.

Legal protection for landlords

Conflicts and disputes between rental parties are not rare, unfortunately. If you are a landlord yourself, legal protection insurance may therefore be a good idea. Check with various providers and compare offers.

In addition, the home owners’ association is a good contact point for owners and landlords in the event of questions or conflicts. For an annual fee you’ll also receive initial legal information by telephone; this may be subject to phone charges.

Legal protection insurance for tenants

You don’t own a property but rent instead? You aren’t safe from legal disputes in this case either. For example, the handover of the apartment can quickly result in differences of opinion with the landlord. Or the apartment may have defects and you want a reduction of the rent, but your landlord refuses to give you one. Who is in the right? In such situations legal advice may help. Because the hourly fees of a lawyer often exceed the premium of insurance, it might be a good idea to consider private legal protection insurance. If this isn’t possible for you, you can benefit from free legal advice as a member of the tenants’ association. The membership fee includes legal protection insurance for rent disputes (as long as you’ve been a member for at least two months when the conflict occurs).

How much does private legal protection insurance cost?

There are a lot of insurers on the market who offer different products and services. It’s a good idea to compare so you can select the best product for your individual needs. In general, the annual premium for legal protection insurance is between CHF 150 and 400 for adults.

Our tips for concluding legal protection insurance

Tip 1: Compare policies

If you decide to conclude legal protection insurance you should carefully compare various providers and products. Not all insurance covers the most important cases. The insured sums are often limited as well. Make sure that you’re well covered for the cases that are relevant for you.

Tip 2: Check that you are able to choose your own attorney

Make sure that the insurance allows you to choose your own attorney, or that the insurance company provides you with one. With some providers, you can propose an attorney that the insurer must approve or reject. If the attorney is rejected, you can propose three other attorneys from three different law offices and the insurer must choose one.

Tip 3: Minimum contractual term of one year

We recommend that you conclude the insurance initially for only 12 months and then review whether you really need it, and if so whether you’d like to renew it or possibly find a new insurer.

Tip 4: Note waiting periods

Consider concluding legal protection insurance before a legal dispute is imminent, because most insurance policies have a waiting period of up to three months. This means that the insurance can only be utilised after this period (following the conclusion of the policy) has passed. In this way, providers protect themselves against customers who only conclude legal protection insurance after a legal dispute has commenced.

Learn more about the following types of insurance as well:

Building insurance
Construction insurance
Owner’s insurance
Household insurance
Privat liability insurance
Life insurance