Home, car and legal insurance
Most home insurance policies will cover basic risks such as water damage, fire, attacks, electrical damage, theft, storms and exceptional climate events, natural disasters and broken glass.
Further options for more security are available in the more inclusive types of contract which often include third party damage.
Car insurance in France is competitive and several options are available which include different levels of risks from minor accidents to damage, theft or fire.
Other insurance packages are available covering personal liability (responsabilité civile) and legal fees (protection juridique).
Useful tip
- Insurance policies are automatically renewed after a certain period of time defined on the contract if neither of the concerned parties terminates it. This is called tacite reconduction.
In the full Moving to France helpguide, we explain:
- Home insurance and the risks covered
- Getting quotes and comparing policies
- How to claim in the event of weather damage
- Contract terms and durations
- How to cancel a policy
- Comparing car insurance
- Vehicle breakdown cover
- Personal liability insurance and who needs it
- Getting legal protection
Download the guide as a PDF now from this link
…or ask a question about this topic in the comment box below.
i have been searching for an insurance policy to cover electronic / digital items that are regularly taken out of the house eg. laptops, cameras, phones, mp3 players. All the house insurance policies I have checked only provide cover for items stolen from your house or a gite (but not a hotel) if you are on holiday. This was found to be true of my bikes which I thought were insured until I lost them outside a hotel in Carcassone and found out the cover did not extend to them being stolen, only to them being removed from my garage by a thief who left signs of his break-in. The principle seems to be that there must be evidence of a break-in. In the UK my home insurance policy meant that valuable but portable items were insured even for such things as leaving a camera on a train. I found a CA midi policy for ‘appareil numerique’ and thought I was in luck until I read the small print to discover it only covers items bought in France. What I would like to know is if this is against EU policy. Especially in the light of the publican who took Sky to court for the right to use a Greek satellite disc. Given the rules of free trade / no trade barriers within the Community I do not think such a stipulation can be legal. Your own views on this would be very interesting.
Xanthe Jay
Lozere
[Reply]
I am Irish, and as a householder in Ireland, I had my house insurance with an English company. Many years ago, they started insuring furniture at replacement value, for a small extra premium. The logic behind this was that in the event of a total loss, all furniture would have to be replaced, and recovering only the written-down value would leave the insured seriously out of pocket. Also, English policies cover occasional helpers who are injured while employed by me.
Recently, I changed my house insurance. I was told that no insurer in France would cover for replacement value of furniture. I find this disturbing, as almost all of my furniture was brought to this house over 7 years ago. I was also told that no French house insurer would cover casual workers, as that was covered by the State if they are paid legally (NOT by cash). I find this worrying, as I employ a femme de manage regularly, and occasionally employ a gardener, a payageiste, computer repairers, pump repairers, pool technician, etc. Could you tell me please, if I can get these people covered by insurance by a French company or by an English company that operates in France.
Frank Cunnane
[Reply]
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