Insurance for Seasonal Rentals in Torgon: What to Check

This is the item owners put off the longest, and the one that costs the most when it is handled badly. Renting out your chalet or apartment in Torgon for a few weeks a year is no longer quite private use: strangers stay in your property, your furniture is used by other people, and an accident during a stay can engage your liability. Here are the points to review before your first booking.

In Valais, the framework is more open than elsewhere

Valais is one of the seven Swiss cantons known as "GUSTAVO" (Geneva, Uri, Schwyz, Ticino, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Valais and Obwalden), the only ones without a cantonal building insurance institution. In practice, there is no ECA in Valais: you are free to choose your own private insurer to cover your property against fire and natural events.

That freedom has an upside — you can negotiate all your contracts with a single insurer — and a downside: nothing automatically reminds you to be properly covered. In practice, if your property carries a mortgage, your bank will require fire and natural-event cover in any case. To know exactly which requirements apply to your situation, the best approach is to check directly with your insurer, and where relevant with the municipality of Vionnaz, to which Torgon belongs.

The costliest mistake: not telling your insurer

An insurance policy is priced on a risk described at the time of signing. Moving from a second home occupied a few weekends a year to a property rented to travellers several months a year changes that risk. Swiss law addresses this case directly: the Federal Insurance Contract Act (LCA) deals with the aggravation of risk during the term of a contract, and provides that the insurer may cease to be bound for the future where the policyholder causes an essential aggravation without declaring it.

In other words, an owner who rents out without informing their insurer is exposed to the worst possible scenario: discovering at the moment of a claim that the cover does not apply. A call or an email to your adviser, beforehand, settles the question. In most cases it simply means adapting the policy or adding an extension, at an extra cost that bears no comparison with the size of an uncovered claim.

The four covers to review

1. The building

This is the structure: walls, roof, fixed installations, fitted kitchen. It typically covers fire, water damage and natural events. Check that the insured value still reflects the reality of your property, particularly if you have renovated since the contract was signed.

2. Contents and furniture

In seasonal rental, furniture takes considerably heavier use than in private use. Make sure your contract covers the contents of the property in a rental context, and not only for personal use. Also think about higher-value equipment: appliances, television, sports gear, hot tub.

3. Liability

This is the most frequently overlooked part, and the most important. A standard private liability policy is designed for private life, not for a rental activity. If a guest is injured on your icy terrace or on a poorly lit staircase, it is a liability cover suited to renting out — often called building or property owner's liability — that must step in. It is not a legal requirement, but it is strongly recommended as soon as you welcome the public.

4. Loss of rental income

Some policies cover the loss of income when a claim makes the property uninhabitable for several weeks. In Torgon, where a large share of annual turnover is concentrated in the winter season, water damage in December can wipe out most of the year's income. This cover is optional with most insurers: at the very least it is worth getting a quote for it.

What the platforms cover, and what they do not

Airbnb and Booking promote free, automatic protection for hosts, which sometimes creates a false sense of security.

• Airbnb (AirCover for Hosts): included at no cost for all hosts, with host liability insurance in the region of one million dollars and damage protection of up to three million dollars.
• Booking (Partner Liability Insurance): liability cover of around one million dollars per reservation, at no additional cost. Note that it does not cover damage to the partner's own property, unlike Airbnb's damage protection.

These programmes are useful, but they are in no way a substitute for home insurance. They cover neither fire, nor structural water damage, nor major claims, and they apply only to stays booked through the platform in question. A direct booking, a family stay or a tradesperson working at your property fall entirely outside their scope. Terms and limits change regularly: read the conditions in force at the time you rent.

The specific case of co-ownership (PPE)

If your property is held in co-ownership, part of the cover sits with the condominium: the building insurance is in principle taken out collectively, while interior fittings and your personal liability remain your responsibility. Check exactly what the condominium policy covers, and make sure that seasonal rental does not conflict with the co-ownership rules. We cover this in detail in our article on seasonal rental in co-ownership properties in Torgon.

Where we come in

We are neither insurers nor brokers, and we cannot advise you on choosing a policy. What we do is support every owner in getting their property compliant before the first booking, and we know which questions to put to your insurer. To go further, see our guide to Airbnb regulations in Torgon, which places insurance within the full set of steps to complete. Details of our services and rates are on our services and pricing pages.