Building Insurance Ordinance (GVV) - Participation of State Institutions and Municipalities (GVV)

1. Municipalities are obligated to ensure that all buildings within their territory are insured. They may be required to assist in the disbursement of compensation.

2. Land registry offices must provide the necessary land register extracts to the building insurance company.

3. The police or fire department must promptly report any damage to the building insurance company.

4. The official investigation into the cause of the damage is conducted according to criminal procedural regulations.

5. The building insurance company must provide compensation to the canton and the municipalities commensurate with the claims made.

1. A building within the meaning of the law is any above-ground or underground structural facility intended to accommodate people, animals, or objects and serve a permanent purpose.

2. Not considered buildings within the meaning of the law are

a. Movable structures;

b. Structures with an insurance value of less than 5000 Swiss Francs (see § 7);

c. Structures with an insurance value of less than 20,000 Swiss Francs, if they have been constructed on foreign land without building rights (see § 7).

1. The following are insured with the building

a. * In the residential house: all fixtures excluding the furnishings and smaller household appliances, as well as excluding all fixtures installed by the tenant or lessee that do not become the property of the building owner;

b. * In all other buildings: the fixtures that are an integral and permanent part of the building and all fixtures that belong to the owner and are firmly attached to the building, with the exception of installations serving exclusively operational purposes such as machinery and apparatus. For apartments in such buildings, paragraph 1a applies accordingly.

1. Buildings are to be numbered.

1. The construction permit authorities must provide the building insurance company with a copy of the construction permit or construction notification.

2. Based on this, the building insurance company sends the insurance confirmation for the construction insurance (insurance at increasing value) to the owner.

3. In construction insurance, building parts and facilities are insured along with the building from the time they are installed or otherwise permanently connected to the building.

4. The completion of the building must be reported to the building insurance company by the owner (see § 12). A building is considered complete when it is occupied or could be occupied.

5. A full or partial demolition of a building must be reported to the building insurance company by the owner. The building insurance company may require confirmation of the demolition report from the municipality.

1. If several persons share ownership of a building, or if the owner resides or has their registered office abroad, or does not stay at their domicile in Switzerland for more than a year, a representative with residence or registered office in Switzerland must be authorized for dealings with the building insurance.

1. The exclusion of a building may only be ordered after the owner has been unsuccessfully requested to remedy the hazardous condition within a reasonable period.

2. In special cases, the exclusion can be ordered immediately.

3. As soon as the owner provides proof that the hazardous condition has been rectified, the building insurance must reinstate the building into the insurance.

4. The exclusion and reinstatement must be published in the cantonal gazette.

1. The following are considered building-like structures

a. independent structural installations made of durable material, such as bridges, water cisterns, wells, stairs, landing stages, swimming pools, retaining walls, and enclosures;

b. structures according to § 2 para. 2 letters b and c.

1. Important Reasons Pursuant to § 13 para. 2 GVG Exist, for Example, If

a. the current value of a building is less than 50% of its replacement value;

b. a building is no longer or may not be substantially restored or rebuilt in a different manner;

c. the buildings are of historical and cultural significance.

1. Replacement cost refers to the expenses necessary for constructing the building with the same type, size, and level of finish.

1. Current Value is defined as the replacement cost less any depreciation that has occurred since the construction of the building due to age and wear.

1. The Administrative Commission determines the applicable construction cost index.

1. The owner is required to notify the building insurance not only of the completion of the building (see § 5 Para. 4) but also to report any other value-enhancing conversions and extensions. The building insurance must appropriately inform about this reporting obligation.

2. From the moment of delivering the written notification to the post office, the building insurance, or the municipality, or from the moment of sending the electronic notification to the building insurance, the reported additional values are considered insured.

1. When determining the insurance values, average local customary costs shall be referenced.

1. If the records suffice for this purpose, the directorate can determine the insurance values based on the records.

2. Cases which the directorate does not resolve according to paragraph 1 are referred to the competent appraiser for the determination of the insurance values.

1. The owner or the insurance provider of the building is entitled at any time to have the insurance values of a building reviewed.

1. The owner is responsible for bearing the costs of the appraisal if they request an expedited appraisal or if the reassessment does not deviate by at least 3% from the previous one.

3. The premium for buildings is 0.51 ‰ of the insured value.

1. Buildings that do not meet the requirements of the Swiss Fire Protection Regulations of the Association of Cantonal Fire Insurances (VKF) are considered buildings with an increased risk of damage and are subject to premium surcharges.

2. For existing buildings, premium surcharges may be waived,

a. * as long as no structural alterations are made, or

b. * if rectifying the fire safety deficiencies would be disproportionate.

3. The premium surcharge amounts to a maximum of 2 ‰ of the insurance value.

4. The building insurance shall issue a regulation on the determination of the premium surcharges.

1. The premiums are determined based on the insurance values adjusted to the construction costs pursuant to § 13 GVG.

1. For the calculation of premiums for construction and voluntary insurance, sections 17-19 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

1. Premiums are collected by the Directorate.

2. Premiums are due upon invoicing and must be paid within 30 days.

3. If the premium is not paid on time, the owner must be reminded. Should circumstances require, the Directorate will issue a premium decision.

4. Delinquents must pay an appropriate default interest rate after a 14-day grace period has elapsed. The administrative commission determines the interest rate.

1. The reserve fund, together with the provisions, forms the risk-bearing capital of the building insurance.

2. The administrative commission calculates the risk measure, the minimum level, and the maximum level of the risk-bearing capital according to the method specified in Appendix 1 and publishes these values in the annual report.

3. If the risk-bearing capital falls below the specified minimum level, measures must be taken to secure and increase the capital. If the risk-bearing capital is between the minimum level and maximum level, the administrative commission may, subject to the approval of the governing council, grant a premium discount depending on the expected annual result. If the maximum level is exceeded, the administrative commission must apply to the governing council for a premium reduction or explain to it how other measures, such as granting a premium discount, are warranted.

4. The calculation method and the values of the risk-bearing capital must be regularly reviewed by an external body.

1. Damages caused by backflow from sewage systems or by groundwater occurring inside the building are not considered to be flood or inundation damages.

1. A building is considered restored if it has been rebuilt by the owner or a person equivalent to the owner at the original location or in the vicinity, for the same purpose, at least in the same size, and with at least equivalent quality of construction.

2. If the reconstruction occurs at a different location or for a different purpose, and the injured person derives substantial economic benefits from this, these benefits shall be appropriately taken into account when determining the compensation.

3. The offset is waived if the building can no longer be rebuilt at the original location or in the vicinity due to subsequent public law building restrictions, or if relocation serves the public interest.

1. The demolition value is deemed to be the sale value of damaged building parts, insofar as it exceeds the cost of their demolition.

1. In the event of elemental damage, the owner must bear 10% of the damage, but at least CHF 200.- and at most CHF 2000.- per building and incident.

1. Compensation exceeding CHF 10,000 shall bear interest to the benefit of the owner to the extent that he or she has advanced the reconstruction costs, but for no longer than three years.

2. The applicable interest rate is the rate for first mortgages of the Luzerner Kantonalbank.

1. If the records are sufficient for this purpose, the Directorate may determine the amount of damages based on the records.

2. Damage cases that the Directorate does not resolve pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be referred to the competent assessor for the determination of the amount of damages.

1. If the damage has been conclusively determined, the management decides on the forfeiture or reduction of the compensation.

1. A damage is considered repaired when the building or damaged parts thereof are restored.

1. The building insurance pays prevention contributions to promote fire and natural disaster protection at the rate of 13 cents per 1,000 Swiss Francs of the insured value of buildings.

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2. The private insurance companies that insure movable property against fire damage in the Canton of Lucerne pay prevention contributions to promote fire protection at the rate of 5 cents per 1,000 Swiss Francs of the insured sum. These contributions are to be paid to the building insurance.

3. The building insurance must keep separate accounts for the prevention contributions. To this end, it manages two funds in accordance with § 31a. The building insurance is required to report annually on the income and use of the funds from these two funds.

1. The Building Insurance administers the prevention contributions in the Fund for Fire and Natural Disaster Protection pursuant to § 43a paragraphs 1 and 2b of the GVG as well as in the Fund for Enhanced Object Protection Measures pursuant to § 43a paragraph 2a of the GVG.

2. If the balance of the Fund for Enhanced Object Protection Measures exceeds three times the annual contributions to the fund after the annual disbursements of contributions to the canton and municipalities, the corresponding surplus balance shall be transferred to the general Fund for Fire and Natural Disaster Protection.

3. If the available funds in the Fund for Enhanced Object Protection Measures are insufficient in a given year to cover the contributions requested by the canton and municipalities for measures to protect against natural hazards, it is possible to provide a commitment of contributions for future years with a distribution of the disbursement over several years.

1. The Use of Prevention Contributions is Governed by § 43a GVG.

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2. Thirty Percent of the Prevention Contributions According to § 31 Paragraph 1 are to be Used for Measures by the Canton and Municipalities for Protection Against Natural Hazards. The Administrative Commission Decides on the Co-Financing of Individual Measures Upon Request by the Department of Construction, Environment, and Economic Affairs.

2a. Fire Department Vehicles for the Road Rescue Service of Regional Bases are to be Co-Financed by the Prevention Contributions According to § 9c Paragraph 2c of the Ordinance to the Fire Protection Act of June 16, 1995.

2a(1) With This Share, the Building Insurance Provides Contributions Amounting to at Least 25 Percent Towards the Cost Shares of the Canton and Municipalities for Protection and Immediate Measures That Significantly Reduce the Risk of Elemental Damage to Buildings.

3. The Building Insurance Shall Issue Regulations on the Use of Prevention Contributions.

1. The following are repealed by this regulation

a. the Implementing Regulation for the Law on the Fire Insurance Institution (Fire Insurance Law) dated July 17, 1922, from November 8, 1922;

b. the Implementing Regulation for the Fire Insurance Law concerning the Additional Replacement Value Insurance dated March 6, 1963;

c. the Regulation on Building Insurance dated July 12, 1926;

d. the Resolution regarding the Payout of Fire Compensation dated October 8, 1934;

e. the Rules of Procedure of the Cantonal Fire Insurance Institution dated January 12, 1924.

1. This regulation shall enter into force on January 1, 1977. It is to be published.