Just received my house insurance for next year - up 10%. Does anybody insure their French house with a non-French company, and if so, who?
I think being up there as a deputy dog and in another country, my son who was never selling insurance himself would not have known how to, but then I wasn't being serious - except if he had been able to do it ;-)
When I worked in insurance in the UK I never gave my family a discount because I always felt I needed the full commission as I knew there would be a claim I would have to handle.
You said it better Chris. My son is employed by the second. Ironically when we left CA last month that is who we changed to, but no discount :-(
Axa is French
Allianz is German
Generali is Italian
Aviva is UK
But all have French offices so their policies are written here in accordance with French insurance law.
Insuring abroad may seem attractive but in the event of a dispute it is the company issuing the policy which will be subject to their national laws and not the French ones so it could be a risk.
Also if you insure with a French national or approved insurer and they supply a policy wording in English for you, it is only for information and in the event of a dispute, the original French policy wording is what would hold sway.
2 Likes
Several insurance companies here are not actually French, simply the French 'branch'. My son works for one in the country where the head office and origins of one of the big ones is. He is a regional deputy director even. So when we came here I asked him for a favour. He said it is not advisable on the basis of all countries having their own insurance legislation. It is something to do with different types of policy and coverage by legal system, which is where he lost me and I have not got a clue. Anyway, we got a blunt 'no' and then blundered into a policy that was not really worth having and too expensive, so that we changed company in August.
My current policy with MMA insurance is coming to an end and I’ve decided it’s time for a change, since MMA dealt with a burst water pipe claim so disappointingly.
A few Brits have recommended Britline, has anybody here got any recommendations, especially positive ones when the insurer is faced with a claim.
contact @fabien and discuss
many of us have good reason to thank him for solid advice and products…
2 Likes
Britline will only make you more grumpy.
They only sell the insurance but from then on you are walking in the dark.
1 Like
Over the years we encountered many british people with holiday homes in Brittany and for some strange reason many insured with UK based companies (probably because they could not understand french) and I have to say, each time OH was called upon to go and give an estimate for damage/repairs that would normally fall under insurance cover( providing you have that cover,) he would spend hours working costs out only eventually to be told by the potential client that their UK insurers were not paying out because they could not send anyone to France to check if the claims were genuine. We stopped doing insurance estimates very quickly after that and told the brits to get insured in France and locally if possible and they would have no problems.
1 Like
Groupama were by the far the best insurers we had over the past 33years of French property owning. Unfortunately I have had to go with the bank now as they (Gr*****a) won’t insure property in flood risk regions any longer but the bank were very keen for my business and gave me a €150 cadeau against the premiums. Groupama always paid out very quickly and one time we rang at midnight on Dec 26th for my son whose flat had been damaged by smoke from a neighbour’s flat that he had set fire to smoking in bed,and they came two days later to inspect, everything was taken away and deep cleaned at no cost to us whatsoever
1 Like
I was insured locally with MMA group, had a burst pipe and they were impossible to deal with.
Will try AXA and Groupama though as I’ve heard good reports about them.
We had our Deçennelle Insurance with MMA for many years but they kept putting it up and up and up and their service was rubbish too. Actually we with Groupama as we had the house and all the vehicles with them and they offered a much lower premium for the same service.