Safe haven: How Sinistar brings protection to disaster areas in Switzerland

As natural disasters become more frequent in the Swiss Alps, a Canadian InsurTech company is stepping in with a humanitarian solution. Sinistar, a platform for emergency shelters after disasters, is now also coming to Switzerland, offering families a place to turn to when their home is no longer safe.

On Wednesday afternoon, May 28, 2025, the feared worst-case scenario came true. Tons of rubble buried the mountain community of Blatten in the Lötschental. The 300 inhabitants have lost everything. Their homes and souvenirs are gone. All that remains are memories. The glacier collapse buried 90 percent of the village. Three million cubic meters of rubble lying on the glacier thundered down into the valley with the ice. What was left standing was flooded by the dammed Lonza River.

Is the Blatten disaster a unique tragedy?

Glaciers are formed by decades of snowfall and enormous pressure that compresses snow into ice. They are the largest freshwater reservoirs on earth, holding around 70 percent of drinking water. There are still around 215,000 glaciers worldwide, but they are melting rapidly.

Experts believe that the thawing of permafrost can also be responsible for glacier collapses like the one in Blatten. This begins at an altitude of 3,000 meters. The frost serves as a kind of “mountain cement”, which holds the fissured rock together better and stabilizes the top 15 metres. If the frost thaws, the compressive and tensile strength of the rock also changes, decreasing by 20 to 40 percent, making large falls more likely.

Where do people live when their homes are suddenly uninhabitable?

The Canadian start-up Sinistar has an answer. The InsurTech company works with insurers to provide policyholders with temporary accommodation following natural disasters. Unlike emergency shelters or hotels, Sinistar offers furnished and equipped apartments close to home that are available at short notice via a curated network of hosts.

It is an optimized model that simplifies relocation in some of life’s most chaotic moments. In Switzerland, Sinistar could have been used in Blatten, Brienz or Schwanden, for example, where entire communities needed temporary accommodation.

Relief for guests – and hosts

Sinistar’s model offers something rare: a win-win situation for families and property owners. With an average length of stay of 55 days, hosts benefit from stable rental income, less fluctuation and lower maintenance costs. This is because guests – often homeowners themselves – treat the premises with care and respect.

For hosts, it’s not just about money. It’s about offering meaningful help to people in crisis situations. And for insurers, it means lower costs, less bureaucracy and better results for their customers. And: guests don’t have to pay a deposit or additional fees.

A legal and social advantage

In contrast to conventional short-term rental platforms, Sinistar operates in a clearly defined legal niche. As the company serves the “property insurance” sector, its offerings are often exempt from municipal restrictions on vacation rentals such as Airbnb. This gives Sinistar a regulatory advantage, especially in urban areas where short-term rentals are strictly controlled.

In addition, hosts are protected by Sinistar’s unique no-questions-asked compensation policy. If something breaks or goes wrong, they report it directly to the platform – not to the guest – and receive compensation within 48 hours. In extreme cases, a higher level of cover and waiver of excess are possible.

Not just another platform

Sinistar is not a marketplace with countless anonymous offers. It is a “community” based on trust and empathy. Hosts are selected based on quality, professionalism and their willingness to help others in difficult moments. It is hospitality with meaning and responsibility.

The future of reconstruction

With its expansion into Switzerland, Sinistar brings a model that combines technology, humanity and resilience. In a country where the next natural disaster is never far away, this platform offers more than just shelter. It offers peace of mind.

For insurers, it is an innovative way to keep their promises. For property owners, it’s a chance to make money and do good at the same time. And for those who have been forced out of their homes, it’s a soft landing when the ground falls away from under their feet.

Binci Heeb

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