Obligation to take out a third party liability insurance in order to register a motor vehicle and obtain Swiss license plates
Obligation to be covered by insurance
All registered vehicles with Swiss license plates (including those with "CD" diplomatic plates) must have third party liability insurance. The owner of a vehicle must be covered by insurance with a company based in Switzerland so that the vehicle can be registered with Swiss plates.
Damages to third parties, including all bodily injuries and material damages, must be covered for a minimum of CHF 5 million for each occurrence. Private Swiss insurers are able to offer third party liability insurance that meets these requirements.
Insurance certificate
No vehicle will be admitted to road circulation until an insurance certificate has been submitted to the authority responsible for vehicle registration (Service des automobiles et de la navigation) (see details below).
Suspension or termination of insurance
The insurance company must inform the authority responsible for vehicle registration if third party liability insurance has been terminated or suspended, and must do so at the latest by the time the guarantee provided in the contract has expired.
If the insurance company takes the initiative in suspending or terminating the contract – in the case of unpaid premiums for example – it must warn the insured party of the consequences of notification to the authority responsible for vehicle registration.
If the insurance company notifies the authority responsible for vehicle registration in this sense, the authority will immediately cancel the permission to circulate and instruct the police to seize the circulation permit and the license plates.
