Well protected thanks to commercial liability insurance

Lorenz Weibel laughs: "Commercial liability insurance is something you never really think about and you hate making use of." However, mistakes are inevitable in this line of work. That is something the 36-year-old, the eldest of the third and youngest generation of the Weibels in Aarberg is well aware of: "Nobody really enjoys talking to the insurance company. But if it has to be done, it should be as quick and easy as possible."

For example, that is exactly how it was when a newly repaired engine of a vintage van broke down. "We were devastated, and the customer was extremely disappointed," explains Weibel. Until today, the company – which is specialized in this area – has not been able to find out why the wrong parts was installed during the overhaul. Meanwhile, however, the customer has been appeased, and the immortal VW van is back on the road.

Since a vintage van was concerned, a claims expert of Zurich was called in. "Together with the expert, we looked for a perfect solution in order to quickly resolve the issue and make sure that all three parties are satisfied," says Weibel. The three parties decided to reuse the existing operable parts of the original engine along with new parts in order to rebuild the engine from scratch. "The teamwork was outstanding," says Weibel, commenting on Zurich as an insurance partner. "The customer did not have to wait too long for his beloved vintage van, and the commercial liability insurance covered the costs of almost CHF 6,000."

"That is what a commercial liability insurance is for," explains Marcel Kiefer, Account Manager Corporate Customers at Zurich. "When third parties suffer damage from a company or its employees, the company is held liable. Our commercial liability insurance provides optimum protection against such risks, which usually occur unexpectedly."

This is true, not only for complicated cases such as the vintage van, but also for minor, everyday problems. "Usually, we merely need to send Zurich a few photographs and a description of the damage," says Weibel. "Over the years, we’ve established a relationship of mutual trust. Today, we do not merely view Zurich as an insurance company, but rather as a valuable partner in a challenging setting."

A recently settled claim involving a VW van, a 2020 T6.1, demonstrates how well this partnership works, explains Weibel. The job was actually quite straightforward: At autoweibel's garage in Aarberg, the summer wheels were mounted, and the winter wheels were stacked inside the van. On the trip back home, the stack toppled, and the wheels damaged the interior lining. Were the wheels stacked in the wrong way or was the owner driving too fast? "Well, we don’t know the answer," admits Weibel. "What we did know, however, was that the customer was upset, so we needed a solution." The situation was described by e-mail, and after the work was finished, pictures of the new lining and of the old damaged lining were sent to Zurich. Weibel says: "That was all, the situation could be resolved easily, and we regained a satisfied customer."

According to Weibel, the way how everything was handled should not be taken for granted. He explains that in recent years, the customer behavior has changed significantly. "Nowadays, customers do not merely buy a car, they expect an all-inclusive package", says the member of the management and points out: "Everything is expected to be hassle-free." For this reason, he believes that companies need a reliable insurance partner. A partner that keeps its customers up to date. "We need to be informed when changes occur at the insurance," says Weibel. Does Zurich meet this requirement? "Of course, otherwise we wouldn't have remained loyal to Zurich for three generations," says Weibel, who gets into his electric VW ID.3 and drives away.