Fire disaster Valais SP postulate wants cantonal building insurance
Following the fire disaster in Crans-Montana, the question of establishing a cantonal buildings insurance company in Valais is being raised again. The SP postulate submitted to the Grand Council of the Canton of Valais in June 2025 is expected to be discussed in March.
25.01.2026, 09:01
25.01.2026, 09:54
SDA
Grand Councillor Silvia Eyer from Naters is the author of a text calling on the State Council to examine several measures. The SP is calling for "the introduction of compulsory insurance for all buildings in the canton of Valais", as the president of the SP Lower Valais, Clément Borgeaud, confirmed to Keystone-SDA.
The SP is also advocating the establishment of a cantonal building insurance company under public law. This should be responsible for covering fires and damage caused by natural disasters and promote damage prevention. Finally, the party calls on the State Council to introduce an obligation to insure all cantonal and communal buildings with this institution.
Currently, 19 Swiss cantons have compulsory building insurance. Valais is not one of them.
Open questions
In an interview with the newspaper "Walliser Bote" on Friday, Valais Security Director Stéphane Ganzer also commented on the establishment of cantonal buildings insurance. "I think we need to seriously consider this option. However, there are still unanswered questions, particularly in the area of competition law," he said.
For the State Council, a distinction must also be made between buildings insurance as an institution and the question of compulsory buildings insurance. These two aspects must be examined separately, Ganzer continued.
However, the FDP politician went on to say that he did not believe in a miracle cure. This had been shown in the canton of Bern, where it had recently been discovered in Lauterbrunnen that numerous checks had not been carried out and several businesses had had to be closed. The decisive factor is "that the regulations are applicable and that the checks actually take place".
The program for the session from 9 to 13 March has not yet been determined, "but I can well imagine that the postulate will be dealt with on this occasion," Patricia Constantin, President of the Valais Parliament, told Keystone-SDA.
At the start of the session on Monday, March 9, a minute's silence will be observed for the victims of the Crans-Montana fire.
