Just had a quote of over 600 Euros from Fab for a 105m2 twenty year old bungalow on one floor with 5 by 10 in-ground pool and no outbuildings. I asked Chat GPT about typical insurance costs and it told me insurance generally less expensive than the UK. House is in a rural location with neighbours within 500M. The form I had to fill in (despite booking an appointment) was flawed.
Does this price seem excessive? Any recommendations for a decent insurer please. I’ve always stayed away from the cheapest in the UK. This will be our primary residence.
I find with insurance generally you do have to do the Meerkat Thing and shop around.
Not to say Fab’s option is bad, I’m sure he’s done his diligence, but well worth getting some more quotes. Probably none of us can accurately say if that price is high or low as it’s going to vary by region and the details of what’s insured.
Here are some French comparison websites you can use:
Assurland
Empruntis
Le Lynx
Les Furets
Meilleurs Taux
Obviously make a list of the cover you need first so that you can be sure you are getting accurate comparative quotes,
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That seems a little on the high side.
We pay 525€ for a 126m2 (3 bedroom) house with several outbuildings, 1500m2 of grounds etc, also in a rural location. We use CA Britline’s insurers (Pacifica). Probably like other insurers, they almost throw discounts at you the more items you insure with them (eg 2 cars, house etc).
I’m with CA’s Pacifica too and I was most concerned about having flood risk cover as this is a flood plain and they were only too happy to quote and insure my house whereas Groupama with whom I had been insured for years on the old house refused point blank to give any flood risk cover, needless to say I did not continue with them.
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We were with Allianz until last year. I can’t remember how much we paid, but I do remember it increasing massively for no particularly obvious reason, which prompted me to look elsewhere. Now we’re with a company called Lemonade.
We pay 45€ per month for a 130M² house in a town centre location. Have added some additional extras that bumped the price up a bit but which we felt were worthwhile having.
Haven’t had to make a claim so can’t comment on how efficient they are for that aspect… Kinda hope I don’t have to ever find out.
At the back end of last year we received an apologetic letter from our house insurer (MMA) explaining that premiums were substantially rising due to increased frequency of severe weather events, the rise in cost of repair materials, and the rise in cost of the workmen to fix things. Although we have no flood danger we are only an hour inland from the Atlantic storms and are also in an area of seismic activity. Our premium is now 780 Euro p.a. for a two storey old stone house of about 180 square metres plus a detached garage and barn.
Obviously premiums vary with the risks of the area, but with an in-ground pool I should imagine the premium would be higher if one is in a seismically active area.
Be careful with comparison websites. I don’t know what it’s like for house insurance, but did a comparison for “mutuelles” 2 or 3 years ago, and I had to enter my adresse and phone number to do it, and my phone hasn’t stopped ringing since.
And by the way, I have my house insurance with the MAAF, no complaints.
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We visited a local broker who was heartily recommended to us. We came away with a policy from AXA and a separate legal insurance policy. The lady with Irish roots was able to explain all the details in English in her charming Irish/French accent! The house insurance cost just over 500€ but that included additional cover for water pipes, electrics and lock problems - about 7€ month. This will be our first house with metered water and the plumbing from the meter at the perimeter of the property is covered too. The legal cover was 50€. I used to enjoy legal cover as part of my CSMA membership. I can contact the broker on Whatsapp. Her reviews are excellent. So that’s sorted. She didn’t have any kind words for French drivers.
For that you need your phone number which is 06 or 07 and a suitable number of zero s.
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If I ever have to do this, I set up a Gmail account that I only use for that particular enquiry, and give them a fictitious phone number.
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I just give 061234567 etc or something that is accepted. I do also use a spare email address.
iPhone has a ‘Hide my email’ facility which creates a supplementary email address that then forwards emails to your true email box and can be easily later terminated.
Maintains your security for any site that passes on/sells email addresses.
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