Insurer steers clear of Balkan drivers

Too many cars are winding up like this, says insurer Mobiliar Keystone

A leading Swiss insurance company has rejected allegations of racism after it refused to cover young drivers from the Balkans and eastern Europe.

Swiss Mobiliar said the measure was justified because of the large number of road accidents involving drivers from these regions.

“Our statistics show clearly that young drivers from eastern Europe and the Balkans cause up to three times more damage with their cars than the Swiss,” said Gaspare Nadig, a senior manager at Swiss Mobiliar.

Nadig added that the measure was a way of slowing down regular increases in insurance premiums for car owners.

His statement came in response to an article in Wednesday’s edition of the tabloid “Blick“.

The newspaper revealed that Swiss Mobiliar had been refusing to cover drivers from eastern Europe and the Balkans for more than a year.

The policy is to remain in place beyond the introduction of a new individual tariff system due in the middle of next year.

Discriminatory rule?

Josef Zisyadis, a leftwing parliamentarian, described the move as “scandalous”.

But the Swiss government and legal experts have dismissed allegations that basing premiums on a driver’s nationality is discriminatory.

They said this was justified if accident statistics showed that certain groups were proving to be more of a risk.

The government declined to comment on the decision by one insurer to exclude drivers on the grounds of their nationality.

Swiss Mobiliar, which has around 1.3 million clients, is apparently the first company to have introduced such a rule.

It only accepts policyholders from 25 western European countries, the United States, Canada and Australia without any conditions.

Rival companies, including Winterthur, Zurich Insurance and Generali Insurance, have drastically increased their premiums for drivers from eastern Europe.

swissinfo with agencies

In brief

Swiss Mobiliar has excluded drivers from eastern Europe and the Balkans as potential new policyholders.

Other insurers have introduced individual tarif systems for drivers from certain countries whom they consider more accident-prone.

Swiss Mobiliar, which is the country’s number three motor insurer, says it has 1.3 million clients. The insurer made a SFr205 million ($179 million) profit last year.