Better safe than sorry

Make sure you read the small print when signing up for insurance in France as there are key differences to its counterpart in the UK

- Paulette Booth

Moving to France means you will usually need to arrange the two most common types of insurance – house and car.

It is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security believing you have adequately insured yourself, because that is how you have always arranged your insurance. House and car insurance policies are fairly similar to policies in the UK, but not identical. Here are the main differences between policies in both countries.

HOME INSURANCE

Home insurance in France is multi-risk as opposed to all risk. This means that there are many risks covered, but a claim must be as the result of one of the risk areas.

The main guaranteed events on a policy are usually fire, water damage, climatic events (including flooding), theft and vandalism, glass breakage, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, technological disasters and contents placed temporarily in holiday accommodation (excluding valuables, however).

Accidental damage, as you may be used to on a policy in the UK, isn’t included as standard in a policy in France. This is because a claim must be the result of one of the guaranteed events above. Some policies do include an element of accidental damage and this can sometimes be added as an extra option.

There are however extra things covered such as public liability insurance (Responsabilité Civile Vie Privée or RCVP) and assistance. RCVP is mandatory in France, and covers damage or injury caused to a person or an item.

For example, if you are involved in a car accident as a pedestrian or while riding a bike, the RCVP of your house insurance will cover a claim on your behalf against the driver of the vehicle involved.

This cover can also extend to non-domestic animals, a lake on your land, family celebrations, renting out all, or part of the property etc. It is important to advise your insurance agent about any unusual aspects or anything out of the ordinary.