What would you recommend to protect oneself from the damages that children might cause to others?
I am actually wondering if my current insurance (Mobiliar) would cover in case a child damages someone else’s body or property. This is what I read in my contract:
Privathaftpflichtversicherung
Standortmerkmal: zu Hause
Personenkreis: Mehrpersonenhaushalt
Eigentumsverhältnis am Wohnsitz: Eigentümer
I am unsure what the above means: does it somehow only cover for accidents happening in my house?
You should be covered for damages caused by your children to third parties. Although I should read your T&Cs to be sure, I suspect the quoted text is used to define who/what is a third party and what isn’t. I.e. this insurance does not cover if your spouse damages something in the house, since your spouse is part of the contract and you own the house.
Normally kids are covered as a standard (everyone living in your household).
Best is to ask the insurer himself.
The easiest thing is to call your insurance broker and clarify with them directly. Normally up to a certain age they are included in your policy automatically and insurance covers the same things that they cover for you.
Personal liability insurance for a single person generally covers liability for damages or injuries to third parties caused by your underage children who are temporarily staying with you (e.g. if you are divorced and have the kids on weekends, etc.).
Personal liability insurance for a family (Mehrpersonenhaushalt) generally covers your children who live with you. As long as they are not employed (not counting apprenticeships) and live with you, they remain covered by your insurance until they turn 26.
Technically, you are not legally liable for damages to third parties caused by children that are not yet capable of good judgement (somewhere between 6-8 years old), as long as you fulfill your due dilligence obligations.
But because the definitions of both being capable of good judgement and fulfilling due dilligence obligations are pretty sketchy, Swiss insurers generally extend covereage to children who are incapable of good judgement. In fact, I don’t know of any offer for which that is not the case.