Could Swiss insurers cancel policies, as is happening in California?

In California, where fire warnings now affect 13 million people, wildfires have become a constant threat, exacerbated by climate change. Over the past five years, nearly three million fire insurance policies have been cancelled as insurers deem the risks too frequent and severe. In Switzerland, such a scenario is impossible. Policies covering natural damage are legally required to include fire coverage, and insurers cannot cancel them even if they wish to. “An insurance company cannot withdraw, even if it wants to,” says Eduard Held, director of the Natural Damage Pool at the Swiss Insurance Association, in an interview with Newswire. While damage claims in Switzerland have risen, Held attributes this mainly to increased insured values, noting that “the effects of climate change are not yet clearly visible in the statistics”. Switzerland’s complex insurance system Switzerland’s insurance system varies by canton but can be summarised as follows: for tenants, household insurance – ...