French home insurance claims for storm damage
Following the recent storm Xynthia which caused damage estimated at €1bn in France, holiday home owners in the areas recognised as natural disaster zones have been given an extension to submit insurance claims with their French insurer. The deadline is March 31.
In France, normally a five-day limit applies to general storm damage claims – extended to 10 days to declare flood damage to the insurer if the government decrees a state of catastrophe naturelle (natural disaster).
When choosing holiday home insurance in France, owners are often confused whether they should insure with a French based company, or a UK based French insurer.
Stringent claims timescales for submitting claims to French insurers are yet another reason for choosing a UK based insurer of holiday homes, such as Schofields.
Storm and flood damage usually happens in winter when owners of holiday homes in France are likely to visit their properties less frequently. Consequently, damage is often discovered weeks, even months after it occurred.
With a French insurer, there are often problems trying to claim for storm or flood damage outside of the 5 or 10-day timescale for submitting claims. Insurers often argue that storms are well publicised and you should check your property frequently to identity damage.
Our policy stipulates that we need to be told as soon as damage is discovered. Not days after a natural disaster has been declared.
There are several questions you should ask a holiday home insurer before buying a policy. How they deal with claims is a priority. After all, you buy insurance to protect your home should the unexpected happen, and you don’t want to discover your claim wont be paid after the event.
[...] we have discussed before, this tight deadline for filing French insurance claims can leave those property owners who are unaware of it unable to claim outside of the [...]