astitchingtime

Hi everyone, (Eurotrash included)

Ok, I have spent the best part of the last week (and I do mean the BEST part) searching for insurance quotes. I have tried all of the comparison sites (note a patch on the UK ones I have to say - hmmmm maybe there is a market opportunity there) and found some other good sites with leads or links to insurers not included in the comparison sites, phew!

Anyway, the long shot is, I need to be fairly well insured as I am initially renting in France and their insurance seems way more expensive than ours. I have had quotes from 197euros to over 500euros for pretty much the same thing. I don't want all the bells and whistles (and in my experience, I have never had to claim before so i don't want to be forking out over 500euros for something I may never use) but just to be covered.

One thing i have noticed is that there is little leeway to reducing the excess/franchise unless the policy offers an extra that removes the franchise from most smaller claim areas. So having settled down with about 4 or 5 potential insurers I found the opinions website and checked to see what others had to say and I was astounded!! None of them got more than 3 out of 5, a majority of clients were appalled and let down and the biggies like AXA and Aviva, Banque Paribas etc did the worst of all on the scoring. In my opinion the best insurance I found which was good value for money, lower franchise and covered what I needed etc with reasonable feedback from customers was La Poste! However, that policy is just over 400 euros and without a French bank account, I cannot pay monthly yet.

So, I have decided that it may be better to go with an insurer like CSF or Groupama who offer something reasonable for around 200euros and I will change next year (I know that is another issue but I am prepared for it).

My questions are:

1. Am I doing this right? Or am I setting myself up for a fall? I mean, how often have any of you guys needed to make a claim on house insurance?
2. Can any of you suggest insurers worth looking at or avoiding?

Thanks.

EuroTrash

I missed you too Stitch

Well, I expect you'll ignore me as usual but it is my mission in life to be a thorn in your side, so voilà my deux centimes worth:

French insurers have a different approach from UK insurers. In the UK the insurers offer a choice of one size fits all packages; some offer more cover than you need and some don't cover everything you want, but you pick the package you think is best and maybe add on an add-on or two. In France, insurance is more tailor made and personal, which doesn't fit well with trying to market it online. My experience is that you get the best deal by going in to a local insurance agent (go to a couple and compare quotes if you have the time), sitting down for the duration and working out exactly what cover you need. Usually in France they are agents not brokers, each agent only represents one insurance company. They'll take you through a list of items and say, do you want this cover or not, what limit do you want on put on that, what excess would you like, then when they have all the details on their computer they run a quote, and if you don't like it they're perfectly happy to change your spec and do another quote, and keep tweaking the details to try and arrive at a good compromise between the level of cover and the premium. You can go out with a sheaf of marginally different quotes, sit in a cafe and look at them all and decide, then go back to the broker and take the policy out on the spot. Best to do it early in the month if you can because normally policies are charged for per month, so if you take it out on the 28th of March you pay for March and your renewal date is always 1 March, or at least that's how my agent works and she assures me 'c'est normale'.

If you do it that way the service you get will depend probably more on your agent, than the insurance company itself.

FWIW I'm with MMA for all my insurances, and for house insurance I pay around 140€ a year for average to good cover, not all singing all dancing but not the cheapest either.

astitchingtime

Awww schucks!!





Hmm, 140euros (I don't have a euro keyboard! ) seems really light compared to the quotes I was getting. Maybe I am including far too many unnecessary accessories then? (It's a woman thing I think!)

I did look at MMA and their prices were pretty low but then I got scared when I read all the opinions on that darn site! have you had to claim yet? Had any major problems or has it been pretty much just paying money so far with no recompense?

Oh the joys of being an ExPat!

EuroTrash

Thankfully I've never had to claim yet - apart from having to call on their breakdown service for the car, twice - but I went to that particular agent on the recommendation of somebody who had made several claims and was happy with the service.

I get on well with the lady at the agency, we always have a good chat and set the world to rights when I go in, and I like to think that she would try to do well for me if the need arose because she wouldn't want to lose a customer who has house insurance, car insurance, protection juridique and mutuelle policies with her.

dmu

Hi, if you're renting, you only really need to insure against fire, water damage, theft or damage to your goods and chattels, and "responsabilité civile" for damage caused by you to third parties.
If you purchase property, then you have more liabilities and more to insure.
Car insurance is separate.
We've stayed faithful to GAN, since we knew the Agent when we first arrived. As suggested, visit a couple of Agents personally and choose one. If you have to make a claim, you'll be glad to have personal contact...
P.S. Have just re-read your other thread. Your "responsabilité civile" will be higher if you have three children, and don't forget compulsory school insurance for each one, but there are specialised Insurance Companies for that and the school will give you the documentation. You must also add "Mutuelle" top-up insurance for the 4 of you.

EuroTrash

Just a heads-up too, that French household insurance policies tend not to routinely cover accidental damage by yourself.

dmu

I thought the "responsabilité civile" was compulsory and automatically included in the household insurance policies?

EuroTrash

Yes sorry that wasn't at all clear, was it - what I meant was, doesn't routinely cover accidental damage by yourself to your own possessions. Such as, sitting on your specs, or dropping your best Waterford Crystal decanter, or spilling wine over a white sheepskin rug and claiming on the insurance for a new rug.
But as you say, if you damage something in someone else's house, that would normally be covered by your responsabilité civile.

astitchingtime

Geeze! whats the point then? If I have no friends and therefore no visitors and God is kind to me, I don't need it!

I thought if you were renting it would cover damage to furnishings/fixtures and fittings belonging to the Landlord. I must have been reading the details wrong then. I may as well go for something that covers the bare minimum required until my circumstances change.

Rip off merchants! Selling you something that is useless!

EuroTrash

That's why it's easier to go and discuss it with an insurance agent, especially if it's your first encounter with French insurance because isn't like UK insurance only with the policy written in French, the conventions are different.
As a tenant, as a minimum you have to insure the building. The landlord will probably want you to be responsible for damage to his fixtures and fittings as well (although he might have his own insurance for that). Then your own possessions are a separate issue again, and presumably you would want to insure them against theft or being destroyed in a fire. Then there's responsabilité civile, then there's assurance juridique. An agent would discuss these different elements with you to see which you want and advise if necessary, but if you're looking at packages online, you need to be sure what is included and what isn't. Maybe there are special tenants' packages that do include fixtures and fittings, I don't know. If you're paying 400€ I would certainly expect them to be covered!

dmu

[QUOTE=astitchingtime;11120468] If I have no friends and therefore no visitors
[QUOTE]

... but you said you had 3 children and even the best brought up children break or damage things! Not to mention the most careful mothers...
I don't know how insurance for furnished rentals works, such rentals are less common than unfurnished in France. The landlord will have his own insurance for his property (and I believe it's only the landlord who has insurance for the building, but I stand to be corrected).
I should say go for the minimum (fire, water damage, theft of your personal property, responsabilité civile (to cover damage to the landlord's property) for 1 adult and 3 children). If you have a dog, it's worthwhile to declare it, in case it damages third party's property or injures some one.
What we're trying to advise you is to actually speak to human insurance agents and discuss what options are available. To avoid being ripped off, don't take out insurance on-line!
P.S. We've never had to claim back on our home insurance, except once when our dog injured a neighbour's dog and our insurance reimbursed the vet's fees. One of our daughters had to claim back for water damage to the floor underneath when her shower pipe leaked. A bit annoying to pay the premium every year, but then that's what Insurance is for....

astitchingtime

Thanks guys. The property agent offered to sort out some insurance for me but I just thought I would have a look see. I will see what the agent comes up with and failing that I will go see an agent. Blimey seems more like the US, insurance for everything. I think the term 'accident' needs to be rewritten in the dictionaries, quite clearly they just do not exist anymore!!

dmu

It's not the property agent's job to do this and may in fact lead to you being ripped off as you feared. They're sure to take a Commission both from you and the chosen Insurance Co. You're the one to decide on the insurance company and what options to take, and it's best to do your own thing....

astitchingtime

Hi again,

I am renting furnished (it is actually a holiday home owned by some English people but I have negotiated a good deal to take it for 12 months). The Owner already told me that she had some kind of 'gite'insurance to cover her stuff anyway. I have just read on a French property site that in the case of renting furnished, a tenant is only liable to take out insurance to cover personal liability and his own belongings, is this still the case do any of you know?

My draft contract simply states that I am to insure against theft, burglary, water damage, civil liabilities and personal/property accidents. There is no mention of natural disasters etc. I guess this means I only need a fairly basic policy then?

DMU I did think this too. The agent in question offers an 'assistance' service to expats and foreigners so I would imagine she tries to make an extra bit of commission where she can. She aint making much out of me, the Landlord is paying for the contract to be drawn up and taken care of by her and that is all.

capricorn2013

I had to visit the local insurance broker in France to take out insurance to cover my mobile home, which I use as a second home.
The broker was great, offered me several options and ensured that I understood everything before I was allowed to sign and pay - a much better service than I have ever had in the UK and his quote was half what I had been quoted in the UK for the same cover.
I queried acts of god and the broker told me that no insurance policy in France covers these - the Government takes a decision on what is covered when emergencies occur and for what amounts and then you have to make a claim from them.