Valuables insurance in Switzerland: jewellery and watches, properly covered
- CHF 20,000–35,000
- The cap for stolen jewellery outside a safe at seven household insurers, per their AVB. Often a lower limit applies.
- Not covered
- Losing and misplacing, in standard household insurance from AXA, Zurich, Mobiliar, Generali and Allianz.
- Per item
- That is how valuables policies calculate underinsurance. The value of every piece has to be right.
As of September 2026. Check your policy, your contract may differ.
Is your household insurance enough for your jewellery?
Enter the value of your jewellery and watches. The check shows the limit your insurer pays without a safe according to its AVB, and whether your valuables are above it.
- Limit per AVB: taken from the published general terms and conditions (AVB, Allgemeine Versicherungsbedingungen) of seven insurers, as of September 2026.
- Contents sum insured (Hausratsumme): at Zurich, Helvetia, Simpego and Generali the limit depends on it. You will find it in your policy.
- Nothing is stored: the check runs only in your browser.
A safe usually means a built-in wall safe or one that weighs over 100 kg.
CHF 20,000 to 35,000
The cap at seven insurers. With percentage limits (15 to 20% of the sum insured) and in AXA's BASIC product (CHF 2,000) it is often lower.
Enter the value of your jewellery and watches to see whether the limit is enough.
Loss is not covered. Standard household insurance does not cover losing or misplacing items (per the AVB of AXA, Zurich, Mobiliar, Generali and Allianz). For that you need valuables insurance or all-risk cover.
Watches: Mobiliar, Zurich and Generali count them as jewellery only from CHF 5,000 per item; AXA and Allianz count all watches.
Source: AVB of Allianz, AXA, Generali, Helvetia, Mobiliar, Simpego and Zurich, as of September 2026. Figures per AVB, without guarantee: check your policy.
What household insurance pays for jewellery and watches
Jewellery is covered as part of your household contents, but for theft only up to a limit. If it is kept in a safe, a higher limit usually applies. The limits per AVB, as of September 2026:
| Insurer | Limit without a safe | In a safe and exceptions |
|---|---|---|
| AllianzAB Kombi-Haushalt 06.2023, C 3.2 | CHF 20,000, unless a higher sum has been agreed | no limit in a safe of 100 kg or more, in a safe certified to EN 1143-1 (grade I or higher) or in a built-in wall safe |
| AXAAVB Haushalt 10.2021, D8 | CHF 30,000 in COMFORT and ALL RISK, CHF 2,000 in BASIC | up to CHF 100,000 in a built-in wall safe or a safe over 100 kg (COMFORT, ALL RISK) |
| GeneraliAVB Haushalt 2026, A2.1 c | 15% of the contents sum insured, up to CHF 35,000 | no limit for burglary from a safe over 100 kg or a built-in wall safe |
| HelvetiaAVB Hausrat 09.2025, A5 | 20% of the contents sum insured, up to CHF 30,000 | up to CHF 100,000 from a safe over 100 kg or a built-in wall safe |
| MobiliarAVB Haushalt 04.2025, Hausrat | CHF 30,000 per event, within the contents sum insured | no limit in a wall safe, a safe over 100 kg or a safe certified to EN 1143-1, and also while you wear the jewellery or personally keep an eye on it |
| SimpegoAVB Home 09.2026, B11 | 20% of the contents sum insured, up to CHF 30,000, also for individually listed valuables | no limit in a safe over 100 kg or a built-in wall safe, and also while you wear the jewellery or keep an eye on it |
| ZurichAVB Haushalt 05/2026, Art. 113.2.1 | 20% of the contents sum insured, up to CHF 30,000 (CLASSIC and ALL RISK) | no limit in a safe (Kassenschrank) over 100 kg or a built-in wall safe |
As of September 2026. The limits apply to theft of jewellery outside a safe. For robbery at home, Zurich and Allianz apply no jewellery limit. A safe usually means a built-in wall safe or one weighing over 100 kg; Mobiliar and Allianz also accept safes certified to EN 1143-1. Mobiliar, Zurich and Generali count watches as jewellery only from CHF 5,000 per item, AXA and Allianz count all watches. Helvetia also offers an add-on for special valuables whose limits differ between product versions, so it is not listed here. Sources: the insurers' AVB linked in the table (in German). Check your policy, your contract may differ.
Losing and misplacing
Not covered by standard household insurance: AXA, Zurich, Mobiliar, Generali and Allianz exclude it in their AVB. Zurich Hausrat ALL RISK covers lost jewellery, but only within the jewellery limit.
Theft away from home
Simple theft away from home, such as pickpocketing, is usually an add-on. AXA lets you add it. At Zurich it is covered only with the add-on "einfacher Diebstahl auswärts" (simple theft away from home) or "Superdiebstahl". Mobiliar automatically doubles the sum for it on trips of 3 nights or more.
Theft from the car
AXA treats breaking into a vehicle as burglary. At Zurich and Allianz, theft from a locked car counts as simple theft: away from home you need the add-on for simple theft away from home.
When a separate valuables policy is worth it
Household insurance is designed for burglary, fire and water damage. Valuables insurance covers individual pieces at their value, usually also against loss and worldwide.
Household insurance
- A limit for jewellery stolen outside a safe: CHF 2,000 to 35,000, depending on the insurer
- Losing and misplacing not covered
- Simple theft away from home often only with an add-on
- Damage, for example from a fall, only with all-risk cover
Valuables insurance
- Every piece listed separately with its value
- Theft, robbery, damage, and with most insurers also loss (sometimes as an option)
- Worldwide: at Zurich on trips and stays of up to 2 years, at Mobiliar and Generali for up to 24 months
- New purchases covered for a while, at Mobiliar up to CHF 50,000 for at most one year
A separate policy is worth it if …
… the total value is above the limit
Example: CHF 40,000 of jewellery with a limit of CHF 30,000. After a burglary you are CHF 10,000 short, even if your contents sum insured is correct.
… you wear your pieces and travel
Loss and theft on the move are the typical claims. These are exactly what household insurance does not cover, or covers only with an add-on.
… single pieces are worth a lot
Helvetia recommends its valuables insurance from CHF 5,000 per item. Watches, rings, instruments and art are insured one by one at the agreed value.
What does it cost? Of the insurers listed here, only two publish premium examples. Zurich: CHF 165.40 a year for a watch worth CHF 15,000, CHF 189.90 for a camera worth CHF 8,000 (non-binding, including 5% stamp duty). AXA: CHF 100 a year for a watch worth CHF 5,000, because of its minimum premium. If your jewellery is below the limit and mostly stays at home, you often do not need a separate policy. Then a correct contents sum insured matters more.
Which insurers offer valuables insurance
The products differ mainly on loss, where you are covered and the deductible. Most do not publish premiums. Product names are the insurers' own (in German). Details per product pages and AVB, as of September 2026.
| Insurer and product | Cover | Loss | Where covered | Deductible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AXAWertsachenversicherung: Schmuck- & Uhrenversicherung, Instrumenten- & Kunstversicherungvaluables insurance: jewellery and watches, instruments and art | Theft, robbery, loss, destruction, damage. Available without AXA household insurance. Art and instruments at market value. | included | worldwide | not published |
| AllianzGegenstands- & Wertsachenversicherung; Art Privatitem and valuables insurance; Art Privat for art | Theft and damage, items from CHF 500, at the cost of buying new. Art Privat from a total sum insured of CHF 50,000, with fixed agreed values. | optional (jewellery, watches, instruments, hearing aids) | worldwide | not published |
| GeneraliWertsachenversicherungvaluables module of the household policy | Theft, robbery, losing, going missing, destruction, damage, at the replacement price. | included | Jewellery, watches, instruments, photo and video worldwide for up to 24 months; pictures and art at the listed locations in Switzerland | 10% of the payout, at least CHF 200 |
| HelvetiaWertsachenversicherungvaluables insurance | Modules for fire, natural hazards, theft, liquids and gas; optional simple theft away from home and All Risks. No electronics, photo or sports equipment. | in the All Risks module (not: leaving items behind) | Watches, jewellery, instruments, bags, furs worldwide on trips of up to 1 year; art only at the insured location or in a bank safe in Switzerland | set in the policy |
| MobiliarWertsachenversicherungvaluables module of the household or building policy | Damage, destruction, burglary, robbery, simple theft. Each object listed separately at the cost of buying new, including bicycles, cameras and glasses. | optional (e.g. jewellery, watches, instruments, cameras) | worldwide for up to 24 months | agreed in the contract, no amount published |
| VaudoiseWertsachen in Privatbesitzprivately owned valuables | Theft, robbery, losing, going missing, destruction, damage, at the replacement price. | included | worldwide | 10%, at least CHF 200 for theft, robbery and loss |
| ZurichZurich WertsachenversicherungZurich valuables insurance | All risk: loss, damage, destruction. At the cost of buying new, without sentimental value. Smartphones and laptops usually do not count as valuables. | included | worldwide, on trips and stays of up to 2 years | 10%, at least CHF 200 (per product page) |
Sources: the insurers' product pages; AVB Zurich Wertsachenversicherung 10/2021, Helvetia Wertsachen 03.2025, Mobiliar 04.2025, Generali Haushalt 2026, Vaudoise general conditions 2015 (as linked from its product page). Simpego has no separate product: you can list valuables in its household policy, but the jewellery limit applies to them as well. Baloise's valuables pages now redirect to Helvetia.
Quick check
Do you need valuables insurance?
Which best describes your jewellery and watches?
Check your sum insured and the limit
If the total value is below the jewellery limit of your household insurance, theft at home is covered. Check that your contents sum insured is right, and think about the add-on for simple theft away from home.
Household cover plus separate cover for pieces you wear
In a built-in safe or one over 100 kg, the AVB usually set a higher limit or none. As soon as you wear the pieces or take them with you, the normal limit applies again. For those pieces, valuables insurance is worth it.
Standard household insurance does not cover losing or misplacing items. Valuables insurance covers each piece separately, worldwide, and with most insurers also against loss.
With high single values every piece counts: valuables policies calculate underinsurance per item. A recent valuation and the certificate are part of it.
Whether your current policy still applies in Switzerland is not settled by one rule. Clarify it in writing and let your Swiss cover start on the day you move in. The list of household effects for customs is a good start.
Where insurers don't pay for valuables
Most disputes are not about the limit but about duties and exclusions. These are the most common ones, per the insurers' AVB.
Underinsurance per item
Valuables policies calculate underinsurance for each item separately, even for partial damage (Zurich, Helvetia, Mobiliar, Vaudoise). Example: a watch is insured for CHF 8,000 but is worth CHF 10,000. For CHF 2,000 of damage you receive CHF 1,600. Have your pieces valued regularly.
Jewellery in the car
Generali and Vaudoise exclude jewellery theft from vehicles, even when they are locked. Helvetia pays at most CHF 10,000 from locked vehicles, Mobiliar at most CHF 30,000. At Zurich, leaving valuables in a locked car usually breaches your duty of care.
Hotel rooms
Jewellery and watches you are not wearing belong in the hotel safe. AXA, Zurich, Mobiliar and Allianz say so explicitly. If they are left out in the room, you risk your payout.
Missing proof
The sum insured proves nothing: you have to show that the item existed and what it was worth. At Simpego, listed valuables worth CHF 1,000 or more are not covered without a receipt or valuation.
Wear and sentimental value
Wear, ageing and gradual damage are excluded, and at Mobiliar also broken watch movements. No insurer pays sentimental value, for example for an heirloom.
Loose stones and third parties
Helvetia treats unset stones and pearls as cash assets (Geldwerte), not as jewellery. Also often excluded: damage while someone else cleans, repairs or transports an item, and theft by people living in the same household (for example at Mobiliar, Helvetia and Generali).
Which documents to keep
If you make a claim, you have to prove that the item existed and what it was worth. This list covers what insurers ask for.
- Purchase receipt or invoice with dealer, date, price and description
- Certificates, such as a diamond certificate or watch papers
- A recent valuation from a specialist dealer, especially for inherited jewellery
- Photos, and for watches the reference and serial number
- A list of all pieces with their value, kept separately from the jewellery, for example digitally
- Update it after every purchase and tell your insurer. New purchases are covered automatically only for a while: at Mobiliar up to CHF 50,000 for at most one year, at Zurich (add-on) and Helvetia (option, up to CHF 50,000) for 30 days.
- Helvetia Receipts and valuations from a specialist dealer, no more than 10 years old when you take out the policy, showing the dealer, signature, purchase date, value and an exact description. For documents in other languages, Helvetia can ask for a translation into a Swiss national language or English at your cost.
- Simpego Without a receipt or valuation, listed valuables worth CHF 1,000 or more are not covered.
- Zurich, Generali Invoices, receipts and valuations on request.
- Allianz Proof of value through purchase receipts, photos or expert valuations.
- Police Report a theft straight away, and at Zurich also a loss.
Jewellery, watches, art: does your cover fit?
Nicole Bohne checks your jewellery limit, your contents sum insured and whether valuables insurance is worth it for you. Independent and FINMA-registered, 45 minutes by video in English, German or French, free and without obligation.
Jewellery and watches when you move to Switzerland
If you have just arrived, you often still have a foreign policy and no Swiss household insurance yet. Here is how to avoid a gap.
- Clarify your current policy
There is no single rule on whether a foreign policy still applies in Switzerland. Ask your insurer in writing whether and until when your jewellery is covered.
- List your household effects
To import them duty-free, you present Form 18.44 and a list of your household effects. Household goods you have used for at least 6 months and will keep using are duty-free (Swiss customs, BAZG, in German). The list is a good start for your list of valuables.
- Carry your valuables yourself
Damage while someone else transports your pieces is often excluded in valuables policies. Mobiliar covers jewellery and watches during a move within Switzerland only if you carry them yourself.
- Swiss cover from the day you move in
Take out household insurance, and valuables insurance if you need it, so that it starts on the day you move in. Swiss valuables policies such as those of Zurich, Mobiliar and Helvetia end when you move abroad.
Frequently asked questions about valuables insurance
Is jewellery covered by household contents insurance?
Yes, against theft, but only up to a limit. Without a safe, the AVB of seven Swiss insurers cap it at CHF 20,000 to 35,000: 20% of the contents sum insured at Zurich, Helvetia and Simpego (up to CHF 30,000), 15% at Generali (up to CHF 35,000), CHF 30,000 at Mobiliar and AXA (COMFORT, ALL RISK), and CHF 20,000 at Allianz. In AXA's BASIC product it is CHF 2,000 (as of September 2026). Losing or misplacing jewellery is not covered by standard household insurance.
From what value is valuables insurance worth it?
There is no fixed threshold. Helvetia recommends its valuables insurance from a single-item value of CHF 5,000, and Allianz insures items from CHF 500. It makes sense if the total value of your jewellery is above the limit of your household insurance, or if you often wear valuable pieces and take them on trips. Then cover against loss matters most.
Is a lost ring covered?
Not by standard household insurance: AXA, Zurich, Mobiliar, Generali and Allianz exclude losing and misplacing in their AVB. Zurich Hausrat ALL RISK covers lost jewellery, but only within the jewellery limit. In valuables insurance, loss is included at AXA, Zurich, Generali and Vaudoise, optional at Mobiliar and Allianz, and part of the All Risks module at Helvetia.
Which safe counts for insurance?
Usually a built-in wall safe or a safe weighing over 100 kg. Mobiliar and Allianz also accept safes certified to EN 1143-1. You must carry the key or code with you or keep it carefully. The higher cover applies only to items that are in the safe when the theft happens.
How much does valuables insurance cost?
Most insurers do not publish premiums. Zurich gives non-binding examples of CHF 165.40 a year for a watch worth CHF 15,000 and CHF 189.90 for a camera worth CHF 8,000, each including 5% stamp duty. AXA quotes CHF 100 a year for a watch worth CHF 5,000, because of its minimum premium. Your premium depends on the item, its value and the cover.
Which documents do I need if I make a claim?
You have to prove that the item existed and what it was worth. Keep the purchase receipt, the certificate, a recent valuation and photos. At Simpego, listed valuables worth CHF 1,000 or more are not covered without a receipt or valuation. For its valuables insurance, Helvetia requires documents from a specialist dealer that are no more than 10 years old when you take out the policy.
I'm moving to Switzerland: does my current insurance still cover me?
There is no general answer. Ask your current insurer in writing whether and for how long it covers your jewellery in Switzerland. The other way round, Swiss valuables policies end when you move abroad, for example at Zurich, Mobiliar and Helvetia. The list of household effects you prepare for customs is a good start for your list of valuables.
Do I pay twice if I insure jewellery separately?
Not necessarily. AXA excludes items that are insured separately from its household cover. Zurich recommends taking separately insured valuables out of the contents sum insured to save premium. We are happy to check with you how your policy handles this.
Is your cover enough for your jewellery? Nicole checks it with you.
Nicole Bohne (10 years in insurance and pensions) goes through your jewellery limit, your contents sum insured and your valuables with you, and tells you honestly whether a separate policy is worth it. Independent and FINMA-registered, in English, German or French. 45 minutes by video, free and without obligation.