Electrical damage: distinguish the equipment bill from the lost work
A surge or internal fault can stop a business without a major fire. Check technical cover and its boundary with data and interruption costs.
No visible fire does not mean no serious loss
A damaged control board or power supply can stop invoicing, production or access to essential files while the office still looks perfectly intact. Ordinary property-event cover and technical-equipment cover should therefore be read separately. The Mobilière’s current product explanation and published business conditions were reviewed on 16 October 2026. Its technical range includes electronic equipment and examples involving electrical damage. That is a reason to investigate your own insured events, not proof that every breakdown is covered. Identify the cause with a qualified technician and the insurer rather than describing every unexplained failure as lightning simply because a storm occurred nearby.
Map the equipment and the event
List servers, network equipment, control systems and other essential electronics with ownership, location, replacement cost and maintenance information. Ask how leased equipment, portable units and off-site devices are treated. Then distinguish a sudden electrical event from gradual deterioration, an ordinary service issue or a manufacturer's responsibility. The product category alone does not answer every exclusion. A general equipment inventory can hide a crucial controller whose failure interrupts several workflows at once. Ask the insurer whether sums are based on replacement values and how underinsurance or obsolete parts would be handled. Keep the maintenance provider’s report with the original event description and photographs.
A hypothetical controller failure in three cost lines
Suppose a small workshop receives a CHF 7,500 replacement estimate, a CHF 1,200 emergency configuration invoice and incurs CHF 3,000 of additional outsourcing costs. These invented amounts total CHF 11,700, but that does not make them one insured property claim. Equipment repair, software configuration and additional operating costs may fall under different clauses, limits or exclusions. Record them separately and ask which are authorised before ordering non-urgent work. A quick replacement can restore operations, yet an unapproved expense can still remain with the business. The example shows why comparing only the equipment purchase price can underestimate both disruption and the questions needed to establish cover.
Separate the box from its information
Replacing hardware does not necessarily restore files, licences, settings or time-sensitive work. Ask specifically about data-recovery costs, software, configuration and temporary replacement equipment, rather than assuming a reference to electronics includes all digital consequences. Business interruption may require an insured trigger and its own schedule; a cyber event raises another analysis. Check manufacturer warranties and service contracts as well, without assuming they finance every consequential loss. There is a tradeoff between a broader insured package and retaining smaller predictable repair costs. Make that decision using the actual recovery workflow, including the time required to obtain a compatible part and restart safely.
Create a repair-and-evidence routine
Name who can make equipment safe, contact the insurer and approve emergency expenditure. Preserve damaged components when safe and requested, along with diagnostic reports and invoices. Do not restart unsafe electrical equipment solely to obtain a photograph or prove the fault. Keep configuration records and a tested recovery procedure available independently of the failed device. Review protection after installing new automation or relying on one controller for several processes. Clearwise can compare technical and property schedules against that dependency map. The useful outcome is a clear repair pathway and understood uninsured costs, not the assumption that the word equipment includes everything the business loses when a machine stops.
Sources and further reading
Original Clearwise analysis. External reporting provides context; rules and contract terms must be verified with the competent authority or provider. Some press articles may require a subscription.
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Request a free consultationGeneral guidance, not a binding quote or personalised legal, tax or investment advice. Examples are hypothetical and results are not guaranteed.
