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The culture of complaints in Switzerland

The culture of complaints in Switzerland

In 2012, the Swiss Complaint Center was founded in Zurich, providing advice on all questions relating to complaints. The templates for complaints provided on the website have now been downloaded more than 130,000 times.

Independent complaints office: The Motz headquarters in Zurich

Colloquially, a complaint is often referred to as? Moaning? so it is not surprising that the complaints center based in Zurich is also called Motz headquarters. This contact point, which is actually intended to provide help to consumers, should be viewed with caution, because it offers a good target for companies with a rather dubious reputation. At the end of March 2018, Top AG Ltd. has already filed a criminal complaint for defamation because the company had moved up to first place in the 2018 complaint barometer.
Once the service of the complaint center consisted of a telephone consultation, letters of complaint were written and the complaint barometer could be published on the Internet. Today there are several of these complaint offices, but there is still one Motz headquarters, which has gained numerous findings from previous work.

One of these findings is that a forwarded complaint and the publication of reports from those affected may not be sufficient in every case. There is only success if the company concerned, to which the complaint relates, is working seriously anyway. They want their customers to be satisfied and, in turn, invests their money in professional complaints management. The really difficult cases are in companies that like to ignore complaints and want to avoid their duties. They use legal loopholes and rip off customers by using delaying tactics. Without legal assistance it is difficult to achieve success here.

Problems for the complaint center

The Swiss Complaints Center has already learned several times in the past how intimidating some companies are. But thanks to Dextra Rechtsschutz AG, the Motz head office was able to successfully defend itself against the intimidation attempts and has therefore learned that the greatest success for customers is only possible through legal assistance and a letter from a lawyer or a law firm. This is why the complaints center has entered into a cooperation with WILD Rechtsanwalt AG and can therefore support customers much better. You will now receive a complaint letter as well as initial legal clarifications on the legal facts of the respective case. If it is a question of a higher amount of damage or if all options have already been exhausted, the legal advisor can file a complaint and thereby assert the claims. Often, for example, claims due to flight delays and flight cancellations have to be processed here.

At the beginning of 2017 there was trouble for the complaints center Switzerland, which was put under pressure by two law firms from Zurich because blog posts and information about the business conduct of Top AG Ltd. should be deleted. This then filed a criminal complaint in 2018. Nevertheless: In spite of all attempts at intimidation, the complaints center publishes its research on the company every year and also provides the business model of Top AG Ltd. represent.

More and more customers are being deceived by Internet offers and are being blinded by supposedly great offers that are not that great at all. This trend has been evident since 2017 and continues year after year. Some companies are noticeable as frequent causes of complaints; these are shown at the top of the complaint barometer. It is now important to help affected customers and to inform other consumers about the business conduct of the companies, a task to which the complaints center Switzerland is fully committed.

Conclusion: Switzerland's complaint center as a savior in an emergency

The Swiss Complaints Center repeatedly proves itself to be the savior in times of need and ensures that customers get their rights by drafting complaints and providing legal support. Some companies turn out to be dubious or use every legal hiding place to protect themselves against complaints. These companies are shown in the annual complaint barometer, which is intended to warn other customers. Despite the intimidation attempts to which the Motz headquarters has already been exposed, it continues its work and is therefore a valuable support for consumers.

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Is the Generali disappearing from Switzerland?

Is the Generali disappearing from Switzerland?

The insurance company Generali from Italy is allegedly thinking about how useful it is to continue to be involved in the Swiss market. Concrete options are now being examined as to what the task of dedicated consultants is. A sale may also be an option.

Isn't Switzerland lucrative enough?

Allegedly, the reasons for thinking about the insurance company are that Switzerland does not offer a particularly promising market. So consultants are now sounding out whether a sale makes sense? completely or partially ? out. However, the discussions on this are still in a very early phase, so nothing definitive can be said yet.
Generali has around one million customers in Switzerland and has annual premium income of around two billion francs. The profit was also impressive and was around 194 million.
The speculation continues: If the life insurance portfolio were to be sold, it could generate up to two billion euros in the coffers. The reason: The life insurance business is considered to be extremely capital-intensive and other large corporations have already separated from this sector. The buyers are those companies that specialize in exactly this and handle such portfolios.

The same applies to Generali: Corona is the biggest problem

The largest insurer in Italy, Generali, is struggling with the consequences of the corona crisis. In the first quarter of 2020, the drop in profits was particularly pronounced: only 113 million euros were received. In comparison: in the previous year it was around 744 million euros in the same period. The securities in particular were the problem, because they lost massively in value. As a result, operating profit also fell massively, although it is still not possible to estimate how far the crisis will really have an impact and how deeply profit can fall. The group is now trying to counter the crisis with extensive savings. Nevertheless, the group expects massive problems from Corona, although the crisis will continue into 2021 and there will hardly be any increases in profits or at least adjustments to profits. The crisis puts the insurer in a mess as well as others, because the damage is much higher, plus the loss of dividends and a lack of rental income. Victims of the pandemic and representatives, however, must be compensated; they are entitled to the promised aid payments. And what is the management of the insurance group doing? She responds with savings, designs cost-cutting programs and lets agents travel less. In conjunction with so-called natural reductions (for example, no more new hires if employees are lost due to termination or retirement), the necessary funds should be made available.

Conclusion: Generali life insurances in crisis

Like other insurance companies, Generali's life insurance suffers. The insurance group is expected to try to raise the necessary funds through a sale of the insurance division? Life insurance? and is even considering withdrawing from the Swiss market entirely. Commissioned consultants are currently examining whether this plan will actually be implemented or not. A final decision is still pending.

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These are the mistakes you should avoid in making your dream of owning your own home a reality

These are the mistakes you should avoid in making your dream of owning your own home a reality

Do you want your dream of your own house to come true? Then there are a lot of stumbling blocks waiting for the builders. There are some mistakes that are made all too often and that can be very expensive, but which can easily be avoided with the necessary prior knowledge.

Requirements for future property owners

Obviously, anyone who wants to build a house or buy a condominium needs money. In addition, sufficient equity must be available, whereby around 20 percent of the purchase price can be assumed. This is exactly where the first problem lies, because the bank's valuation does not have to correspond to the purchase price of the property. That means: the demand for real estate is high, the interest level is low. The price has risen enormously recently, with many sellers wanting to sell their buildings at exorbitant prices. The bank, however, sees the matter in the long term and would like to secure the mortgage loan for a long time. She will evaluate the object separately and sometimes comes to different values than the seller. The resulting differences between the purchase price and the determined lending value of the bank must be secured by the buyer's own funds. However, these are often not taken into account in the planning.

An example: The property is to cost CHF 800,000 and equity of CHF 200,000 is available. In order to calculate the affordability of the property, the purchase price, equity and income play an important role. Affordability is calculated using imputed interest rates that are significantly higher than the normal mortgage rate. They are located at around five percent, although the individual banks differ slightly on this point. The reason for this high value is very simple: if interest rates rise again, the financing is still secured because it was calculated from the outset on the basis of the less favorable interest rate. The bank now finances a maximum of 80 percent of the purchase price and divides the amount between two mortgages. The first amounts to more than 66 percent of the total, the second to a maximum of 14 percent. The second mortgage has to be repaid within 15 years, whereby the latest date of entry into retirement age is shown.

In addition, the ancillary costs and the costs incurred for maintaining the property must be included. The bank will assume around one percent of the purchase price.
It is now assumed that the monthly burden of interest, amortization and ancillary costs should not exceed a third of the gross income of the borrower. In the above example, this would have to earn around 10,700 francs a month in order to be able to make all payments if the imputed interest rate of five percent is calculated. This shows that a mistake made by many willing borrowers is to underestimate the monthly burden. The demands on borrowers are high!

Avoid typical mistakes

For some people, a house or condo is just a way to live. Such a property is usually associated with emotions and quite a few people literally fall in love with a house that they then absolutely have to buy. But one of the worst mistakes is to give in to that infatuation and buy a house that you can't afford. The threat of over-indebtedness quickly kills love!

Another mistake is not to make provisions. A mortgage is taken out for a very long period of time and it is almost certain that interest rates will go up at some point. Anyone who has received the loan should therefore always make sure to set up regular provisions in order to be able to absorb any increases in interest rates. So you can look more calmly into the future!

In order to get the necessary equity, another mistake is often made: Money is withdrawn from the pension fund, which consequently offers less performance. Not really a problem, but sooner or later it must be possible to close the gaps that have arisen. Otherwise, the money would be invested in the dream home now, but the money would be missing later when you draw your pension. And then maybe the sale of your home is threatened because it has simply become unaffordable.

Conclusion: The biggest mistakes are in the financing

The worst mistakes a builder or homebuyer can make are planning their financing. This is usually approached too tightly, so that the equity capital actually required is not available. Or the credit burden of a maximum of one third of the gross income does not fit, more money is needed for the mortgage. This in turn leads to frustration and, in the worst case, to insolvency for all other payment obligations.

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Household contents insurance: Up to 60 percent difference between the providers

Household contents insurance: Up to 60 percent difference between the providers

Household contents insurance is certainly one of the most important types of insurance. But the costs for this differ enormously depending on the provider. A comparison of the providers shows a difference of up to 60 percent.

Don't be blinded by great offers

As always, a lot is promised in advertising. What to think of this is a completely different matter. For example, there is often talk of a combined discount, which offers benefits for taking out combined household and personal liability insurance. Nevertheless, a comparison shows that the premiums for these combination offers are sometimes up to 60 percent higher than for individual insurance policies. However, the insurance benefits are equivalent.

An example: With Smile Direct, home insurance costs 167 francs for a single who wants to insure a value of 80,000 francs. Mobiliar's private liability insurance costs 116 francs. If these insurances are combined, they cost CHF 283. However, if you take out the combined package with Zurich Insurance, you pay a premium of 431 francs, which is significantly more expensive. Even the combination packages that are offered by a very affordable insurance company are more expensive than individual insurance policies in-house.

It's worth taking a closer look

Some insurers advertise with particularly low combined offers and offer, for example, a discount of 10 percent. But this means that the insurance as a combination variant is still significantly more expensive than when the insured person looks for another provider. Even with the same provider, can individual insurance be cheaper than a combination of the two? admittedly necessary? Insurance. Even with shared apartments, the insurance combinations are not cheaper; even with offers for families, these are cheaper to take out individually.
Experts therefore recommend carefully checking the offers in any case and just not necessarily concluding them where discounts are attractive. Even if these seem to be lucrative at first glance and seem to push the premium far down, it is the individual insurance policies that are better to take out and where the most money can be saved.

Tip: The big insurers do not act any differently here and try to dazzle with bait offers. It is certainly easier to run the insurance with one provider and not have to deal with several insurance contracts. In the long run, however, you can save a few francs if you invest in individual insurance instead of combined packages.

Conclusion: It is worth taking a closer look

If you want to save money on insurance, you should definitely take a closer look. Because: The offers are often only intended for advertising purposes and are not really aimed at saving the insured person money. A closer comparison shows in some cases differences of up to 60 percent, which make combination insurance more expensive than individual products. It is undisputed, however, that both household contents and private liability insurance are among the most important types of insurance and must be available in any case. Therefore: it is better to invest a little more time and effort in the comparison before taking out the insurance and save a lot of money for it!

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Pet boom in Switzerland?

Pet boom in Switzerland?

Never before have so many pets been sold as now during the pandemic. Breeders even say that there are around 100 interested parties for every five puppies. The demand for pets is also increasing enormously in animal shelters and in pet shops.

Corona puts people on dogs (and cats)

Dogs and cats in particular are in greater demand than ever before, which is mainly thanks to the lockdown caused by the corona pandemic. Pets are now seen as social partners, bringing employment and distraction. In addition, for example, the master can go outside with his dog, even if a curfew has been imposed. On various Internet platforms, inquiries about animals that are wanted to buy are increasing and the people who sit at home in the home office sometimes want nothing more than a cuddly fur partner who accompanies them through the lonely time.

Around 8,500 dogs have been reported since the beginning of the pandemic, compared to only around 5,300 in recent years. Breeders are increasingly being written to or called, a litter of puppies has already been sold before it is even born. It is also interesting that people are now increasingly interested in breeding and keeping themselves. Purebred dogs and cats are in demand to become breeders themselves. However, some breeders are already complaining: In some cases, the request will ask whether the dog can be returned later. Dogs are seen as a fashion accessory, are suddenly modern and just have to be there. However, the fact that the animals can live to be 15 years or older is often not considered.

Frequent spontaneous purchases thanks to the Internet

The animal rights activists are now very worried because the dubious puppy trade by breeders in particular has skyrocketed. Many people who have had no luck with a breeder or in an animal shelter turn to a multiplier from the Internet who supposedly sells healthy animals, sometimes at ridiculous prices. There is no trace of the four-figure sums that the serious breeder demands for his puppies, which are raised with expertise and love for animals. The internet is anonymous, there is no question why there is a desire for an animal and where the dog or cat is going. Everyone who buys here supports the dubious trade that lives from factory farming under the worst conditions. The good breeder is concerned about the welfare of his animals and therefore asks so many questions. These are perceived by many inquirers as presumptuous, but the breeder just wants his little darlings to be fine later.
Spontaneous purchases have increased and animal shelters will soon be overcrowded again, fear the animal rights activists. Because when the days of home office and remote work are over, the dogs and cats will be given up again because there is no more time for them. Some will show behavior problems because they did not have to learn to be alone. That alone will be a reason for many new pet owners to part with their furry friends.

Important questions before buying a dog

If you are thinking of buying a dog, you should ask yourself the following questions:

    • Can I even keep the dog in my house?
    • Will I still have enough time for the dog after Corona?
    • Can I keep a dog from a health point of view?
    • Do I want to take care of the dog for the next 10 to 15 years?
    • Do my leisure activities suit the animal?
    • Can I look after the dog on vacation or put it somewhere?
    • Do I have enough experience or can I get the help I need?
    • Are my financial resources sufficient to cover the animal's illness?

Conclusion: Please do not rush to buy pets out of loneliness

The Corona crisis demands a lot from many people and, above all, severely restricts socially. A pet can be the solution, but only if the new owner is ready to look after the animal even after the crisis and can provide optimal care. Otherwise a dog or a cat should be avoided. An animal is not a consolation!

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Fitness centers are the losers of the corona easing

Fitness centers are the losers of the corona easing

The Federal Council has decided to gradually lift the corona restrictions. The losers here, however, are all those companies that operate in closed rooms. The same goes for the fitness studios, but the operators now want to defend themselves because the prolonged closure means the death knell for many.

Gyms get no mercy

The Federal Council remained firm in its latest decisions and rejected all requests to be allowed to resume operations in closed rooms. This not only affected restaurants, but also fitness centers, which are now supposed to remain closed until April. It should only be relaxed at shops, museums and zoos. Interiors where people stay longer are considered to be the drivers of the pandemic and places where the greatest risk of infection threatens. For fitness centers, this means that the struggle for survival will continue. Customers have stayed away long enough, because they have long since gotten tired of having to pay for a service that they do not receive. Just out of sympathy, hardly anyone has enough money left to extend their membership in the fitness center.

Fitness center operators are disappointed

Understandably, the operators of the fitness center are disappointed, because after all, sport in closed rooms should only be possible again from April 1st. This means that the time with the highest sales for the studios is over, because they generate the highest sales between January and April. The reason is the good resolutions that many Swiss make at the end of the old year and that they implement in January. One of these resolutions usually concerns the amount of physical activity that should be significantly increased, and a healthy lifestyle in general should also be pursued. But now the fitness centers are closed and in spring and summer most people prefer to do sports outside. In this respect, the loosening from April is no longer of much use, it is little more than a drop in the ocean. The President of the Swiss Fitness and Health Association, Claude Ammann, recently said that the decisions of the Federal Council would mean a black day for the SMEs in the fitness industry, because the extension of the closure is the death knell for many.

Actually, there had been a very lively exchange of ideas about the policy to be pursued and yet no agreement had been reached. The small and medium-sized studios are dependent on the members coming to training, they do not have large financial reserves like the big representatives of the industry and consequently can no longer exist. Running costs still have to be managed, even if there has been no more money in the coffers for months.

The association is defending itself

Now the fitness association is standing on its back legs and is planning a claim for damages against the federal government. It is not just that in many cantons the promised aid money is not paid or is only paid to a limited extent, there is also no equal treatment in the cantons. So there are fitness centers that still have a chance and others that are now running out of breath. The association has already asked for fitness centers to be classified as systemically relevant, but this request had not yet been heard.
The planned lawsuit cannot easily be implemented either, because the hurdles are high. The money for this is now to be collected via crowdfunding. The beginning was made through the many small payments made by employees and members of the gyms.

Conclusion: fitness studios lose in a crisis

Fitness studios have a problem: According to the Federal Council, they will remain closed, at least until April. They do not really benefit from the fact that the Berlin study assesses the risk of infection indoors as particularly high and even certifies fitness centers with a factor of 3.4 when they are half occupied. Like restaurants and secondary schools, they are supposed to be a haven for contagion, which is supposed to be far more dangerous than shops.

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Consumption is growing despite the corona crisis

Consumption is growing despite the corona crisis

Meanwhile, one in five Swiss believes that their situation will worsen economically in the coming months, which is a significant increase compared to the survey values from previous years. Nevertheless, consumer spending seems to have returned and the Swiss are again investing more money in various goods.

There is a new desire to consume

Even though more Swiss people than ever believe that their economic situation will deteriorate rather than improve in the coming year, consumer spending continues to rise. However, only about one in four Swiss believes that the financial situation will improve in the coming year, compared to a third in 2020. 18 percent even assume that the financial situation will get worse or significantly worse, which more people are than in the past four years.

Despite all the concerns, the propensity to consume seems to have returned, which experts would hardly have thought possible in view of the high corona numbers and the financial outlook. In the spring of last year many people still wanted? almost half ? refrain from making a major purchase. New furniture and vehicles were not bought. The share fell to 36 percent by the end of the year, many were tired of the savings and now approached such investments with the view that they could not go on vacation. Then why not treat yourself to something at least at home?
So at the beginning of the crisis, people wanted to consume less and focus more on saving. Many people now even state that their consumer behavior will not change, even if Corona would continue for a while. Around two percent of those questioned in the study even want to take out a loan, whereas last spring this figure had shrunk to one percent.

Drop in sales and problems at work

When asked about the reasons for the expected worsening financial situation, most Swiss responded that they were worried about their jobs. Some were already having problems in the workplace and it was to be expected that savings by companies would lead to layoffs. Many people were already on short-time work and accordingly earned less money, others had already lost their jobs or their partner was affected by unemployment. The self-employed had to struggle with a drop in sales and were therefore less able to pay attention to consumption, but were forced to save.

The values were significantly different at the end of 2019, because at that time only a small proportion of less than 15 percent stated that savings were due to problems at the workplace. Others referred to rising health insurance premiums, but a certain lack of prospects was not noticeable at the time. It will be different in 2021, because the ongoing Corona crisis has Switzerland and the world under control and ensures that hardly anyone knows what will happen next. Nobody knows whether the financial bottleneck will be surmountable in the near future or whether it cannot get much worse because the numbers are not falling permanently. Until the success of the corona vaccination is clear and the world can return to normal, consumption will therefore certainly remain limited.

Conclusion: increasing consumer confidence vs. fear of the future

The Swiss are currently divided and, on the one hand, are clearly more willing to consume than last year. On the other hand, however, they have to accept savings, save themselves and do without, because they are forced to do so by short-time working or job loss, for example. Experts assume that debt could rise significantly, because people want to do something good for themselves through purchases that they cannot achieve otherwise. The only thing left here is to hope that the pandemic will end soon.

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Free trade agreements are profitable for SMEs

Free trade agreements are profitable for SMEs

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs has published a study on how companies in Switzerland use the free trade agreement. You can save customs duties, which amounts to several billion francs a year. It is mainly SMEs that benefit from the regulations and not only the large corporations, as was once feared.

SMEs have above-average profits

It was once feared that SMEs would be the big losers of the free trade agreement and that it would be the large corporations who would benefit from the agreement. But far from it, as the study by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs has now shown. In reality, SMEs benefit most from the agreement and enjoy greater freedom of competition. The SMEs are effectively using the agreement to cut tariffs and are doing so in the billions. For comparison: SMEs saved around CHF 1,134 billion in 2019, while large companies with more than 250 employees were only able to save around CHF 728 million. Around 140,000 companies made use of the fact that import duties were lower in 2019. More than 55,000 companies even use the advantages for every transaction.

The greatest savings opportunities for SMEs have come from special products. Paper products and cheese as well as plastics should be mentioned here in particular. The greatest savings are made with imports from Germany, China, Austria, France and Italy, while the greatest savings on the export side are for watches, precious metals and machines. For experts, the data clearly shows that Swiss companies are in a position to make clever use of the advantages offered by the free trade agreement. However, imports from China and Germany show that there is still room for improvement.

The export economy is dependent on the free trade agreement

The export economy benefits to a large extent from the free trade agreement, which has become almost indispensable for the economy. As a result, new sales markets can be identified, and the movement of goods into and out of Switzerland is reduced. The agreement thus ensures better framework conditions with regard to the Swiss economy and also ensures that the competitiveness of Swiss SMEs is maintained and improved. As the Swiss economy operates globally and is strongly networked, this knowledge is of particular importance.
A free trade network is currently being used, which consists of 30 agreements with 40 partners. Its expansion is a central point of all action and the aim is to continuously develop the network. This will also remain important in the future, although the next step has already been taken with the ratification of the agreement with Indonesia on March 7, 2021.

In the future, the free trade agreements are also to be improved, which should be possible on the basis of a broader data base. This is intended to identify new measures with which products with high tariff savings potential are to be promoted. Against this background, the most important thing is the dismantling of industrial tariffs in Switzerland, so that companies can be relieved of administrative burden when importing.

Conclusion: Free trade agreements are a win for SMEs

So far it has always been assumed that SMEs are more likely to be losers than winners in relation to the free trade agreement. But far from it, because they achieve significantly greater savings than large corporations through the agreement. In the future, however, the aim now is to further strengthen the agreement and to achieve greater networking of the Swiss economy.

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This is how the Swiss will travel in 2021

This is how the Swiss will travel in 2021

There are currently no top lists with the most beautiful travel destinations. Travel is completely different these days and may never be the same again. The holiday trends, which were mostly communicated in January, did not exist in 2021, so far there are no real prospects for the travel season. Nevertheless, some directions can be seen.

Travel within Switzerland

Most people will stay in their own country this year and explore the regions that are still unknown or less popular. International travel is currently not on the agenda for very few people. It is interesting that in 2020 there were many first-time guests who, for example, took a vacation in the mountains for the first time in their life, after having always flown to the sea or an island.
The Swiss Travel Association, together with Allianz Partners Switzerland, has published a study that shows that around half of the Swiss will decide to take a holiday in their own country this year.

Spend the night in holiday homes

The comfort offered in the hotel is certainly more comfortable, but many Swiss will spend the night in holiday homes and holiday apartments in 2021. These are not only reserved by the Swiss themselves, but also by visitors from other countries who want to spend their holidays in Switzerland. The reason: In holiday homes, physical contacts are reduced to a minimum. There are no shared breakfast rooms, mostly there is even self-catering. However, you do not have to do without traveling, at the same time holiday homes can even be booked in very remote regions. Alpine huts and mountain pastures are also well booked, and holidaymakers also like to opt for holiday homes that are? Somewhere in the middle of nowhere? lie. Holidays in nature are being popular right now!

Remote work on vacation

The number of employees who work in the home office increased significantly in 2020. Now they might want to go on vacation and still be available. Or it is about combining vacation and work and working where you would normally go on vacation. This means that there is an increasing search for rental properties in which the Internet connection is very good. That's all it takes to work in the remote office, which at least brings a change of scenery in the dreary everyday office life at home.
Some hotels are particularly resourceful and offer overnight stays for three days, only two of which have to be paid for. If you have a long weekend, you can still add a day and work in the remote office. The hotel rooms can therefore also be used as a study and are accordingly well equipped.

On the road again

Who needs maximum comfort all the time? Road trips are particularly popular in 2021 and take vacationers to places they have always wanted to visit, with the journey being the goal. The car was already one of the winners in terms of travel in 2020, as it was used more than ever to get from A to B on vacation. Short trips and camping trips are the means of choice for many Swiss people to relax and get away from everyday corona. Here everyone can travel as they please and at the same time you are only traveling with your own household. No physical contact with other people if they are not wanted! Experts assume that the trend that emerged in 2020 will continue in 2021 or could even be more clearly recognized. In any case, the campsites in Switzerland are already well booked and last year more mobile homes were registered than ever before.

 

Conclusion: Travel will change in 2021

The Swiss are currently slowing down a gear and it is no longer a question of visiting as many destinations as possible around the world. You concentrate on vacationing within your own limits and on having as few physical contacts as possible. Vacation homes, hotel rooms for a long weekend and campsites are in greater demand than ever in 2021.

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Use in an emergency: who pays the rescue helicopter?

Use in an emergency: who pays the rescue helicopter?

Alois H. passed out in his garden in January 2020. The call to the cantonal hospital resulted in a helicopter being sent to take Mr H. to the hospital. Now he has to pay the stake himself. Right?

Fall with consequences

Alois H. was seriously injured in his fall in the garden in January last year. The Schaffhausen hospital called was overloaded and sent the rescue helicopter that flew Alois H. to Zurich. Alois H.'s life partner canceled the emergency call because she thought her partner was in great danger. Only in the year after that he had suffered a stroke, now there were great fears that it would be another catastrophe.
For Alois H. the flight with the rescue helicopter goes directly to Zurich to the hospital, after it could only be stabilized on site. The Air Alpine Ambulance was quickly on the spot and flew to the University Hospital in Zurich. One day later, Mr. H. was allowed to return home. But despite all the relief, the disillusionment soon came: Three invoices arrived in a row, Mr. H. was now supposed to pay the ambulance service and the emergency doctor. The costs amounted to 2,000 francs, he was supposed to pay around 1,100 francs himself. Then there was the bill for the helicopter, which was supposed to cost 5,000 francs. Alois H.'s share was 3,000 francs. In total, this is 4,100 francs that Alois H. is now supposed to pay. Unfortunately, he doesn't know how to bear the costs and believes that his own rescue has ruined him.

That's what the law says

The described case has already been fatal for many people. You were brought to the hospital for an emergency and had to dig deep into your pockets afterwards. Depending on the region, transport by ambulance alone can cost up to CHF 2,000, and health insurance usually only covers half of that. Rescue by helicopter will be a lot more expensive.
If Rega organizes the rescue itself, the costs for the rescue operation can be reduced or eliminated entirely. However, if the Alpine Air Ambulance (AAA) arrives, the costs are passed on to the patient, even if there is a Rega patronage. This only covers the costs for Air Glacier and Air Zermatt operations. Thus the present invoices are indeed a financial catastrophe for Alois H., but they were justifiably issued. Such a burden can only be avoided with additional insurance offered by health insurance companies. Under certain circumstances, the entire transport costs are covered there.

However, if the transfer to another hospital has been ordered by the treating hospital, the costs will again be covered by the basic insurance. In the case of Alois H., this means that the costs would not have been incurred if the emergency doctors had brought Mr. H. to the cantonal hospital in Schaffhausen first and only then had the transfer by helicopter occurred due to the overload. Then only the rescue costs for the emergency doctor and the ambulance would have been due, but not for the flight with the AAA. But the Schaffhausen Hospital does not declare the flight to be relocated due to overload and so Alois H. remains at his expense. The reason given for this is that Mr. H. had neurological abnormalities that would have made a transport to the university clinic necessary due to his previous history.
In the meantime, Alois H. has paid the rescue and emergency doctor's costs and has begun paying off the costs of the helicopter. Unfortunately, in the meantime, a debt collection company has been called in, which in turn would like to claim default damages and interest.

Conclusion: Take out additional insurance as a useful addition to basic insurance

One of the most important supplementary insurances to the basic insurance includes the transport costs in an emergency. Otherwise, this can mean financial ruin and there is no legal remedy to protect yourself from legitimate claims in the event of a helicopter rescue.

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