The police officer and his partner were on their way home from a trip to India when they decided to drive through northern Pakistan without an armed escort in 2011. They were kidnapped and held for eight months.
The man had taken out accident insurance but his insurer refused a payout because he had ignored longstanding Swiss Foreign Ministry advice against travel to Pakistan. A lower court had backed the insurer.
The Federal Tribunal today rejected the man's appeal, ruling that he "knowingly accepted the dangers" of his trip and "took an absolute gamble" that justifies the insurer's stance.