I think I posted about this before - I'm trying to understand what the insurance requirements are for having volets/bars/grilles at your window. I wrote to our insurer who said:
Il est indiqué sur les conditions particulières de votre contrat: Les parties vitrées facilement accessibles de votre habitation: doivent être protégées soit de volets, de persiennes, de barreaux ou de grilles, soit de vitres composées de trois glaces soudées entre elles par un film plastique.
So I understand this to be that any easily accesible glazed unit (fixed or opening window) must be protected.
What is a persienne?
What are vitres composées de trois glaces soudées entre elles par un film plastique?
We're looking at windows which have the WK1 or WK2 security mark does this count as the point above?
With you on just glass and sunshades. I hate roller blinds which no doubt cost a fortune if they're not a standard size. They can also be a problem as a neighbour discovered during a five-day power cut a year or so back. There was no way to open them manually! One local had also put one on his front door so he was locked in his home without light or heat for a week.
Thanks Terry - might send over the plans for the insurance to validate whether they would require volets or not - our ideal would be to have strong security glass and then to use sun shades rather than having to put roller shutters or other types of volets as the panes will be very large.
A persienne is just a kind of shutter, the one that has slats which let the air in while providing shade so not a lot of use against burglars unless they're in metal.
The glass is just very strong safety glass also known as verre feuilleté. We have it in our veranda and it will resist being hit with a sledgehammer for a specified length of time. Normal safety glass of this kind has a sheet of plastic sandwiched by two sheets of glass which is sufficient to stop your child smashing through the window and if hit will not shatter into large, lethal pieces. So the triple glass one is just much stronger.
WK1 and WK2 could be enough to satisfy the insurance company. Ask them. You could also ask them to come to the house and check what's needed which is what we did when we built the veranda. WK1, from what I just read, will protect against someone kicking at the glass, WK2 is stronger.