bazzer70

Me yet again!
ive been told I need to have insurance in place before the final signing - I would’ve insured anyway but not in such a hurry without lots of research
ive just had a quote (via estate agent and AXA) for €436. This includes contents - 3 bedroomed in a village
it seems rather high but I think all insurance is father more costly than in UK.
Again - any input gratefully received

dmu

IMO, it's quite reasonable, in fact I'm quite jealous! I'm with GAN and pay about 1000 € for my admittedly larger house, also in a village. (Btw, house insurance also covers "civil liability" for accidents by and to the insured occupants, including pets, provided that they're mentioned in the contract!)

fringlish

I have to disagree with dmu. To me it does seem extremely high. Too many people getting commission! Try www.assurland.com which is a comparison site. I have used it for car and house insurance in the past, and still go back to make sure I am not being robbed. I have a 4 bedroom house outside a village and my last payment was 299€ for the year up to April.
If you go to an office with the name AXA or some other insurance company, bear in mind that they are agents, not the insurance company. They all add their commission on to the premium. By going direct to the company through assurland or any other comparison site you are cutting out the middle man/person.

Listen Very Carefully

I agree that comparison sites are well worth a visit However if your standard of French is not high you can easily end up with a product that does not cover what you want Personally if you are not feeling confident I would seek out an English speaking agent who understands what expats want and be prepared to pay a bit extra for that and some hand holding Also use the same agent to get quotes for your car and health top up and you may well get a good deal You can then branch out on your own once you feel confident
And always keep receipts for anything you buy in the house as the insurance will want to see these in the event of a claim

Helen1964

On the subject of house insurance, I was at the bank a while back and the guy at the counter advised me to scan all receipts for major purchases, take photos of the items, transfer the scans and photos to a USB stick and put it in a fire-proof safe.
I think I’m going to rent a safe at the bank rather than keep one in the flat.
Something else to get sorted in 2022.

Good luck with everything Bazzer. It sounds very exciting. You moving over permanently?

fringlish

I wouldn't say that the difference between 436€ and just under 300€ is "a bit extra".
As for receipts, I agree with what has been said. Of course we may no longer have receipts for older items, so photos are good evidence in the event of a claim. And whenever possible take photos or at least make a note of serial numbers on mechanical and electrical goods. These may assist the gendarmes in case of theft as well as being useful in insurance claims. I'm not sure about USB sticks in fireproof safes in a bank or elsewhere, but why not?. You can now also store date/photos/etc up in the clouds, so I am led to believe. My data is on my smartphone and laptop, as well as in hard copy. Sod's law says that the day my house burns down destroying my laptop and printed copies is the day I lose my phone or drop it in a river.

bazzer70

Thanks again everybody.
Helen to answer you - I’ll be spending March there to get keys etc after final signing - then 4 months over the summer to get a better idea of whether it will indeed my permanent home as is my intention - if so I shall return in September to start selling the UK home with the view to move to Coux et Bigaroque permanently in January next year! Exciting!
BTW my sellers (French husband English wife) have been incredibly helpful (pleased I think that I am paying them their full asking price which I feel is unusual for France - but hey ho I wanted the house!) and they are going to send me their current insurance documents so I can get everything right - hopefully anyway.

fringlish

Just a thought, but when I bought my first house in France many years ago I was asked if I wanted to have the sellers insurance transferred to me, with me reimbursing the relevant part of the premium. I don't know if that is still possible. If there is not long to run on that policy it might give you time to settle in before you start shopping around. The notaire should be able to advise you. Bear in mind that insurance policies (vehicle and house) are renewed automatically unless you cancel them.

EuroTrash

Presumably you have an EU passport? otherwise I think you should be planning on 3 months rather than 4.

Re the insurance and the possibility of transferring the current owners' insurance, bear in mind that if they were full time residents and you are insuring it as a holiday home you will have to tweak the policy for that, as well as potentially replacing their thresholds/lists of valuable items with your own.

bazzer70

Oim oirish - like soooooo many people living in Blighty!

fringlish

Good point, ET. I wonder if that explains why the initial quote was so high. Bazzer didn't mention it not being his principal residence on completion when he first posted.

One other thing to consider. is whether the insurance should commence immediately. I say this because the house could be damaged or destroyed before completion of the purchase, and the buyer may still be liable to pay the full price. Ask notaire!

I also overlooked the residency requirements, but as an Irish citizen there is no problem. I recently advised someone with Irish parents or grandparents to apply for an Irish passport, but they had already decided to go the carte de séjour route, and it very nearly backfired on them.

EuroTrash

You would think so wouldnt you but when I returned to the UK for a couple of years and switched form main residence to holiday home, the premium actually went down. I was surprised, it seemed so illogical. Maybe different insurers view things differently.

Maybe you can set up the policy prior to purchase but arrange for it to only come into force on the day you complete?

dmu

When we bought our house down South, it was a holiday home until we moved down permanently. After we informed the insurance company, the premium shot up. Maybe the French mindset considers permanent occupancy more risky, esp. re responsabilité civile, fire?
@ fringlish From experience, the vendor's insurance covers the property until the signature of the final Acte de Propriété. The vendor then cancels his/her insurance, giving a copy of the final Acte as justification (and usually receiving a reimbursement pro rata of the annual premium).

bazzer70

Thanks again everybody
yes the people giving quotes are aware it’s second residence and some have a clause saying it’s unoccupied for More than 90 days - I think they assume second residence means it is unoccupied for long periods of time translating to the 90 day part.
I would’ve thought a holiday home (second residence) would pose a greater risk and therefore cost more but I haven’t worked that out yet?
I’ll let you know how I get on.

EuroTrash

Thinking about it, one factor could be that insurance on a main residence usually extends to covering all members of the household for damage they might cause to a holiday cottage they are renting, and this cover would not be included in a holiday home policy. There may be other specific elements of cover that you get with principle residence cover and not with second home insurance. I really should look into it since I am not entirely sure what I should be insuring as at present, technically it is my principal residence but lately I seem to be spending more time out of it than in it, working away from home and travelling etc. So anything you discover, bazzer, please share!