Third-party liability insurance must be taken out before a vehicle can be registered in Switzerland.
Obligation to take out insurance
All vehicles registered with Swiss plates (including diplomatic 'CD' registration plates) must be insured for third-party liability. The vehicle's owner must take out this insurance with an insurance company based in Switzerland.
The insurance must make provision for at least CHF 5 million per incident to cover potential claims from third parties for personal injury or property damage. Swiss private insurers can offer this amount of cover in order to meet this requirement.
Insurance certificate
A vehicle is only authorised to be driven if a certificate of insurance has been submitted by the insurer to the cantonal authority responsible for vehicle registration (see links for Geneva - OCV and Vaud - SAN below).
Suspending or terminating insurance
Any delay in the payment of insurance premiums may result in the suspension or termination of cover by the insurer, which will notify the authority concerned. The vehicle licence will then be withdrawn immediately and a fee will be charged to the vehicle owner. The owner will receive a letter giving them a final deadline to submit a certificate of third-party liability insurance or return the plates, after which the case will be reported to the public prosecutor's office (if neither action is taken). The police will then be instructed to seize the vehicle’s licence and plates. The vehicle may also be halted when crossing the border.
