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Safety · Switzerland
Updated September 2026

🏚️ My home was broken into — what do I do first, and who do I contact?

Direct answer

Do not touch anything until the police have been — fingerprints and traces matter. Report to Kantonspolizei — Suisse ePolice (suisse-epolice.ch) immediately; they come to the scene for a burglary, and the report number is the key to the insurance claim. Then call Ombudsman der Privatversicherung und der SUVA (044 211 30 90) — your contents insurer — within their deadline (often 24–72 hours), with a first list of what is missing. Cards, phones, documents stolen? Block them the same hour (see the card and device pages). Opferhilfe Schweiz (kantonale Beratungsstellen) (opferhilfe-schweiz.ch) helps with the shock and the practical side; a burglary is not "just property".

Call firstKantonspolizei — Suisse ePolice
Report toOmbudsman der Privatversicherung und der SUVA
If that failsOpferhilfe Schweiz (kantonale Beratungsstellen)

🗣️ What to say

"My home at [address] was broken into between [time] and [time] on [date]. Entry through [door/window]. Missing so far: [items]. I have not touched anything. Please send someone and give me the case number for my insurer."

🪜 Step by step

  1. Out, then policeIf you think someone is still inside, leave and call from outside. Otherwise call from the door without walking through.
  2. Do not tidyPhotograph everything as it is, before the police and before you touch it.
  3. List what is missingStart now, keep adding for days. Serial numbers, photos, receipts, the app history of devices.
  4. Insurer within the deadlineReport, then send the list and the police number. Emergency repairs to the door are usually covered — keep invoices.
  5. Block and changeCards, phone, keys (change the locks if keys were taken), passwords on any device stolen.

📇 All contacts

Kantonspolizei — Suisse ePoliceReport online or at the stationAlways; you need the reference for the bank🔗 www.suisse-epolice.ch
Ombudsman der Privatversicherung und der SUVAFree mediation in disputes with insurersAfter the insurer's refusal📞 044 211 30 90🔗 www.ombudsman-assurance.ch
Opferhilfe Schweiz (kantonale Beratungsstellen)Statutory victim support: advice, emergency help, compensationAfter any crime🔗 www.opferhilfe-schweiz.ch
Gemeindeverwaltung / StadtverwaltungMunicipal administration: residents, order, noise, waste, lost propertyFor anything the municipality regulates🔗 www.ch.ch

❓ Frequently asked

The police will not come

For a burglary they should; insist, or file online and ask for a scene visit. Without a report there is no insurance claim.

No insurance — what now?

Victim compensation funds cover violent crime rather than property in most countries, but Opferhilfe Schweiz (kantonale Beratungsstellen) knows the exceptions and emergency help.

I am a tenant — who pays the door?

The landlord repairs the building (door, window); your contents insurance covers your things. Tell the landlord the same day in writing.

📎 Sources

Last checked: 2026-09-26

🔎 Common searches

Recognise your own search? The answer above covers all of these.

  • “burglary what to do first Switzerland”
  • “report break in police Switzerland”
  • “burglary insurance claim deadline”
  • “home broken into tenant landlord door”
  • “victim support burglary”

🧭 Is this still correct?

We check this information carefully, but phone numbers, websites and rules change — and sometimes we get something wrong. Spotted a mistake or a change? Let us know below.

🔗 Related questions

📱Device stolen→💳Card lost or stolen→🆔Identity theft→💻Online harassment→

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