French Property Insurance
In France, French property insurance is a legal requirement.
Under French law a Notaire must always require the production of a current certificate of property insurance before registering the sale of any French property.
What typically happens is this. Your French property insurance, which is always renewed on the basis of Tacite Reconduction, is simply passed on from the vendor to the buyer of the property. It’s quite possible that the policy may even pre-date the vendor, who may have also taken over the policy on the basis of tacite reconduction when they brought the property.
The benefit of this is that you stay legal.
The downside is that you can get stuck with an overly expensive French property insurance policy providing the wrong cover for you. With the wrong cover, your French property insurance may not provide the cover you need.
Worse still your French property insurance may not pay out should you ever need to make a claim – a nightmare scenario.
What’s more the policy will be likely to be written in French and you may not even understand the fine detail of what you are signing up to!
It’s understandable if, in the excitement of completing on the purchase of your new property, a review of the details of your French property insurance was overlooked. It’s not too late.
French property insurance, like all French insurance contracts, can be remarkably difficult to change and the contracts are structured to make it very difficult to change once you have signed up for a policy. This is because under French law French insurers can insist on very lengthy cancellation notice periods and minimum insurance terms.
However, French law does give a new owner the right to choose their own insurer at the time the purchase is completed.
It’s wise to get a new quotation for property insurance that matches your needs and circumstances before you complete the purchase transaction. Then, if a new insurer will provide more appropriate or cheaper insurance cover, you can start with the right property insurance from day one.
Property Insurance Checklist
Before you opt for the default of just taking over an old, possibly out of date, French property insurance policy you should check that the old policy really will suit your needs.
Examples of things you may need to check are:
- The house may have been occupied full-time by the vendors, but perhaps you will be leaving it empty between holidays and lets. If so you will need insurance cover for the unoccupied periods, for which a French insurer will charge a supplement.
- If you intend to let the property, your home insurer must be aware and accept the risk.
- If you plan on undertaking any modernisation, restoration or just upgrading the property the existing level of cover may not be appropriate.
- If you plan on equipping and furnishing the property to a higher standard than is typical in the local area you may be underinsured.
- The level of cover you will be paying for may offer an inappropriately high level of cover for jewellery, valuables and cash which are already covered on your main home insurance.
- That you fully understand the French property insurance policy and the policy exclusions.
Property Insurance In English
If you’re searching for French property insurance Best French Mortgage can offer you the best cover at the best price, just as you would expect.
Policies are provided through one of the UK’s leading specialists in holiday home insurance: The policies are underwritten by Lloyd’s of London and other international insurers.
The policy documents will be in English and the insurance company’s claims department will speak English.
The property insurance policy can cover:
- All types of property including Chalets / Log Cabins.
- Unoccupied homes.
- Loss of rent following a claim.
- Accidental damage.
- New-for-old replacement.
- Emergency accommodation and travel.