First home

The sum insured corresponds to the total value of your home contents. But can anybody tell you the value you of their home contents at the drop of a hat? This is why you shouldn't just blindly rely on the standard values given by the online calculator. Because the tool doesn't know that you have a valuable mountain bike, 2,000 books or an expensive sound system. 

But be careful. If you set the sum too low, you run the risk that the insurance will only cover part of the damage if worst comes to worst. If you are unsure, we recommend that you go through the apartment with a notepad and compile all the values or use our inventory data sheet to determine the sum insured.

Basically, there are no compulsory types of insurance for your first rented apartment. However, we recommend that you take out at least contents insurance and personal liability insurance.

• Contents insurance insures your belongings. For example, it pays for the damage if your home is burgled.

• Personal liability insurance pays for damage you accidentally cause to others. For example, if you scratch your neighbor's car with your bike.

Good to know: Landlords demand that tenants have personal liability insurance.

It is possible, with a shared apartment, to take out joint personal liability cover and household contents insurance. However, this is inadvisable for two reasons:

• Since roommates in a shared apartment often change, the insurance must be continuously adjusted with each change. In addition, those leaving the apartment lose their insurance coverage.
• In a joint insurance policy, all roommates have equal coverage. However, it is possible that not all roommates require the same insurance coverage. For example, if one of your roommates only has a little furniture or another owns an expensive musical instrument.

We therefore recommend that each roommate takes out their own personal liability and household contents insurance.

Good to know: damage caused by roommates to one another are usually not covered by personal liability insurance.

You could combine your household contents and personal liability insurance and save money. The Relax Assistance travel insurance can also be shared so that you benefit from a lower premium.

If your friends damage something while helping you to move, their liability will be limited as they were doing you a favor. In this case, your friends' liability insurance will likely only cover a portion of the damage.

If you make use of a removal company, you should look at their general terms and conditions (GT&Cs) before entering into an agreement. Take a look at the amount for which the removal company is liable, because they may limit their liability. Clarify whether there are certain damages they cannot be held liable for. In any case, it is worth taking out special transport insurance.

Good to know: With Zurich your household contents are protected during the move up to a value of CHF 2,000, provided you have taken out the supplementary insurance "Accidental damage to contents".

Moving always costs money. But there are also ways to save:

• Friends as removal helpers: Maybe you can motivate four or five friends to help you move with the offer of a tasty pizza. And your parents or siblings may also be willing to help. If you don't hire a removal company, you can save several hundred francs. But be careful: If your friends help you move, they are only liable to a limited extent if they break something during the move.
• Transport vehicle: See if your friends or acquaintances can help with a transport vehicle. You can certainly get this cheaper than from a removal company. However, make sure you are properly insured. Borrowed car insurance protects you in the event of an accident.
  Sell things: Instead of throwing things away, you can sell some of your furniture, clothes or books. Place a classified ad on the Internet or sell your things through social media channels.
• Sell things: Instead of throwing things away, you can sell some of your furniture, clothes or books. Place a classified ad on the Internet or sell your things through social media channels. 
• Buy used furniture: Can you take over a bed, a wardrobe or another piece of furniture from the previous tenant? This not only saves you money, but also the time needed to dismantle and reassemble the furniture.
• Used moving boxes: You don't necessarily have to buy new moving boxes. Used cardboard boxes that are in good condition can be used again. So keep an eye out among friends and acquaintances for used moving boxes.

Moving boxes play an important role when moving home. Because you transport your belongings from your old home to your new four walls in them. To ensure that your belongings arrive at their new destination undamaged, you should pay attention to the following properties when choosing a box:

• Handles or grips: Get boxes with handles or grips. Otherwise, the boxes may become difficult to handle during transport.
• Stability: Make sure the moving boxes are sturdy and stable. For heavy items, use boxes made of double-wall cardboard instead of single-wall, with a reinforced bottom.
• Size: Be careful not to use boxes that are too big. Because big boxes get very heavy very quickly. However, most adults can carry around 30 kilograms without any problems.
• Uniform shape: So that you can stack the boxes well, you should get as many moving boxes as possible in the same size.
• Labeling: To make it easy to keep an overview in the jungle of boxes, make sure you have ones that can be written on. You should therefore have boxes with text fields.

Tips for a "sustainable" move: You don't necessarily have to buy new moving boxes. Plastic rental boxes offer an environmentally friendly alternative to the ordinary cardboard box. You can rent such boxes for your move and then return them afterward. Used cardboard boxes that are in good condition can be used again. So keep an eye out among friends and acquaintances for used moving boxes, before buying new ones.

If you move home, you must report your new address to the following institutions and companies:

• Public authorities (residential community, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Office, etc.)
• Insurance company (health insurance, household contents insurance, etc.)
• Energy suppliers (electricity, water, gas, etc.)
• Telecommunications service provider (Internet, telephone, etc.)

Go through our change of address checklist. That way, no one will be forgotten!

Moving home can quickly become stressful. To ensure that everything runs smoothly and nothing important is forgotten, you can download a practical moving checklist as a PDF here.

For more tips on planning your move and information on which insurance will pay in the event of a claim, see our advice article