Foreign drivers in Switzerland are charged up to 74 percent more for car insurance than Swiss citizens, a new study from Comparis has revealed. By analysing the eight largest expat nationalities, the study found that, alongside age and place of residence, citizenship remains an “important criterion” when calculating insurance costs.

Kosovar, Macedonian and Turkish drivers the most affected

The price differences were most stark among young non-Swiss motorists. Comparis found that a 20-year-old Kosovar who lives in the city of Basel and drives a Mercedes-Benz GLC pays an average of 74,4 percent more for comprehensive car insurance than a Swiss national of the same age and experience. The same was found to be true for young motorists from North Macedonia (73,6 percent) and Turkey (72,9 percent).

While Basel was found to offer the most unequal premiums overall, the same phenomenon was observed across all Swiss cities analysed, from St. Gallen and Zurich to Geneva and Lausanne. Even experienced middle-aged drivers from Kosovo, Macedonia and Turkey were found to pay almost 55 percent more for insurance than Swiss drivers. 

Car insurance almost always cheaper for Swiss drivers

Although less pronounced, there were also insurance premium differences for the five other largest expat groups in Switzerland, with young Portuguese drivers paying 24 percent more than their Swiss counterparts. Spanish drivers (20 percent more), Italian drivers (17 percent) French (5 percent) and German drivers (3 percent) also paid more. 

This wasn't true across the board, however: Comparis noted that insurance premiums for a middle-aged German motorist in St. Gallen and Biel / Bienne, who drives a Škoda Octavia, are 1 percent less expensive on average than the equivalent Swiss driver. The same applied to German drivers of Fiat 500s and Cupra Formentors in Ticino.

Swiss method of calculating insurance likely illegal in EU

"Nationality is an important criterion for insurers in calculating the probability of a claim, even if it may seem unfair," wrote Adi Kolecic, mobility expert at Comparis. The report explained that when calculating premiums, practically all insurers use actuarial data (based on age, experience, nationality and place of residence) to determine the likelihood of the driver having a road accident.

"This is unfortunate for those affected, especially if they have never had an accident, because their premium is not calculated based on their own driving behaviour, but on that of their fellow countrymen," Kolecic noted. 

Indeed, Comparis argued that this method of calculating insurance premiums would be illegal in the EU as it would violate discrimination law. However, the Swiss government has argued that premiums are calculated on genuine statistics rather than prejudice, meaning “risk-related pricing based on nationality therefore does not constitute discrimination.”

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