Many thanks, Nick and Andrew,
you've confirmed some of the info I received before, though I'm also delighted to get the names of the three insurance companies to approach - I'll pass these on to him. I've been down the devis road with four people to find this guy, and it seems likely that he'll do a good job, so hopefully he'll get his house in order pronto.
I didn't realise that the decennial guarantee was also essential for an auto-entrepreneur artisan - does that mean that if the work he does creates an issue for a neighbour, for example, in a few years time, that I would be liable? Or would I just carry my own public liability add-on to normal household insurance for that?
Thanks again to both of you.
Thanks, Nick, I was hoping you'd chip in with the exact details! Second everything you've said ;-)
Hi, following on from Andrew.
Responibilité civile is not simply medical cover. As Andrew says it is third party cover.
Your builder must have this insurance and a decennial guarantee in place.
If your builder does not have the third party and the 10 year decennial guarantee, you, as the employer will be directly responsible in the event of a claim. My advice would be to physically have sight of the policies or go with another builder who is FULLY qualified.
Construction insurance, sorry Andrew, can be had through people such as Hiscox, HWI and Gras Savoie. For base cover, it should not increase the cost of your works as it should be rote for any builder who knows what they are doing in France.
Best regards
Any professional builder should have professional insurance RC (responsabilité civile) - it's third party insurance - they should have that and more in the UK but need to make sure it civers them, and you, in France. Otherwise, drop into one of the highstreet insurance agents, Groupama, Axa, Maaf, Aviva etc and ask ;-)