Homeowners in Baselland: 2 million francs repayment after printing!

Homeowners in Baselland: 2 million francs repayment after printing!

In the canton of Baselland, homeowners can look forward to financial relief in 2025. The Basellandschaftliche Building Insurance (BGV) is returning two million francs to its insured persons due to a surplus of 15 million francs. This repayment results in a 60 percent reduction in the mandatory building insurance premium.

However, the repayment is not a voluntary gesture by the insurance company, but is the result of an intervention by the price monitor. Since 2019, there has been a refund mechanism agreed with the BGV to prevent excessive premiums.

Background of price monitoring

In the canton of Baselland, homeowners are required by law to be insured with the BGV. Insurance is therefore of great importance for the citizens of the canton, as it occupies a monopoly-like position. The government highlights that this structure results in lower premiums and comprehensive insurance coverage, while premium rates have remained unchanged for over 20 years.

However, there are also challenges. The price monitor had to intervene several times, especially after a significant increase in property insurance by 60 percent in 2018, which generated additional income of 1.6 million francs for the BGV. This increase was necessary because income no longer covered expenses, as the former CEO of BGV explained at the time.

Interventions and responses

The increase in premiums caused great discontent among homeowners. Many of them complained and protested to the price watchdog, which led to further review of the situation. The price watchdog demanded that the increase should not be more than half. This shows how sensitive the issue of building insurance premiums is, especially in an environment where premiums have remained stable for many years.

Sven Catellan, the CEO of BGV, emphasizes that the increase was inevitable after 16 years of stable premiums in order to meet legal requirements to cover damages and administrative costs. However, the compromise between the BGV and the price monitor is still outstanding and will continue to be monitored.

Last year's income, which led to the surplus, resulted from capital investments and a moderate level of damage, as no serious natural events occurred. This gives hope that the financial scope will continue to offer opportunities for repayment to homeowners.

There are therefore turbulent times ahead for Basellandschaftliche building insurance, both in terms of repayment to the insured as well as in terms of future premium structure and legal requirements.

Further information can be found in the reports from bzbasel.ch and srf.ch.