E-bike: which insurance

What speed changes

The law distinguishes two categories. The slow e-bike — assistance up to 25 km/h — carries no plate: since the bicycle vignette was abolished there is no insurance of its own, and damage you cause to others falls under your personal liability cover.

The fast e-bike — assistance up to 45 km/h — carries a yellow control plate, and that plate carries the compulsory liability insurance. A helmet is mandatory there.

The traffic rules attached to these categories — age, licence, lights, speedometer — change regularly. Your cantonal road traffic office is the source; we do not replace it.

Theft: the usual nasty surprise

No liability cover reimburses YOUR bike. Theft falls under household insurance — and there, two limits stack up.

Inside the flat or the cellar, theft by break-in is covered in principle. Outside — in front of the station, in the street — you need the «simple theft away from home» extension, which is not included by default and is almost always capped.

An e-bike at CHF 3,000 or 4,000 often exceeds that cap. Read the amount before buying, not after the theft: that is the only moment it can still be changed.

The bike itself, and the battery

• ✓A fall, an impact, damage nobody else is liable for: neither liability nor household cover pays. That needs a bicycle casco policy, sold separately.
• ✓The battery is the most expensive part. Its normal wear is excluded everywhere — it is a wearing part, not a claim.
• ✓Note the frame number and keep the invoice. Without them, a theft report is hard to push through.
• ✓If you ride a 45 km/h model, check that your casco covers that category: some bicycle policies stop at 25 km/h.