RC Diverses Agricoles what is it?

[JohnRoss]

Looking at the annual bill we get for our house insurance I note that they have listed in addition to Legal protection, Assistance, House, and our cars there is a charge for RC Diverses Agricoles. I did ask them what this was and their response was somewhat confusing to say the least. From what I have found on the net it would appear to be insurance for farmers including agricultural vehicles, livestock and farm workers. We do not have a farm or tractors or workers just two old codgers living in a rural situation with our three house cats so any clues anyone? It is only an extra 51 euros a year but do we need it?.................................JR

PS Have also asked them for a quote for insuring a Renault Zoe which I like the look of!

[YCCMB]

RC= Responsabilite Civile

The RC Diverses Agricoles almost certainly doesn't apply to you or your circumstances. It basically covers a farmer against claims from a third party arising from damage caused by his agricultural machinery, his animals or by chemical pollution from crop spraying etc.

As you are simply "two old codgers living in a rural situation" you most definitely won't need this particular add-on to your insurance, unless you plan on running amok with a tractor or letting a mad cow loose in your neighbours' garden...

[JohnRoss]

Thanks and the only running amok I might do is on the sit-on mower when I mows me field and then I would only wind up in the river. The farmer next door does have cows which break into my field from time to time but if they sat on my car I would hope his insurance would cover that! I thought that the insurance company was being evasive when I spoke to them so maybe I am being ripped off. An advisor is supposed to be ringing me this afternoon so I will put this point to her.......................JR

[andyh4]

[quote user="JohnRoss"]Thanks and the only running amok I might do is on the sit-on mower when I mows me field and then I would only wind up in the river.

JR[/quote]

 

............... and in doing so I crack the sump and spill the 1 litre or so of oil into the river.

This not only kills the fish in the down stream trout farm, but also contaminates (irrevokably) the water treatment plant that takes river water and converts it to drinking water for the city.

 

Be certain that you have RC for such an event.  The fact that you call it a field suggests why your cover is for agricultural activity.

[JohnRoss]

Well now there is a thing! However you have reminded me of something and that is that the farmer did have the use of our field before we bought the place. He signed a document for the previous owner saying that he no longer wanted to use the field when the house was sold to us. Now we took on the insurance that the previous owner had so maybe this is where this RC Diverses Agricoles has come from in which case we have been paying for it for the last 12 years, poo! The strange thing is that this was only seen on the list of things covered recently when the format of the document was changed. Maybe it was there but invisible before!..................JR

[woolybanana]

[6] JR, I Wonder if we are not barking up the wrong tree here. Given the area of the world you live in, is it not possible that this is insurance against mobs of rampaging, agricultural Roman Cathos, probably farmers and farm workers angry at so many incomers taking their houses and land!!!

[JohnRoss]

No but it could be against the damage caused by those monsters called wabbits that eat our young veg, those evil creatures of unknown parentage..........JR

[woolybanana]

You sure it is not rampaging RC peasants eating the veg at night?

[JohnRoss]

Oi vey oi vey you may be right but methinks it could be the little furry monsters described above or the other furry monsters that live in the wall spaces and creep out at night called loir or glis glis. Mind you I thought they only wanted to eat their nuts!.....................JR

[JohnRoss]

I managed to contact someone at a local Groupama agency and asked him by

email what exactly was covered. His reply was:

 

"Concernant le RC Diverses Agricoles, celle-ci vous couvre pour les dommages

causés aux autres dans le cadre de votre vie privée."

 

I then asked if he would give me examples of an event that would be covered

by this insurance and he gave the following two examples.

 

"Concernant la RC, elle fonctionne par exemple si vous cassez un bien chez

quelqu'un, dans un commerce ou si vous blessez quelqu'un en circulant à vélo par

exemple."

 

Now frankly I don't understand what is meant by either example and maybe I

am just being thick. I will get back to him but does anyone have a clue what

these are about. We do have house and motor insurance with the same company but

don't understand why hurting someone on a bicycle or what the other example has

to do with RC Diverses Agricole. Any clues anyone?..............JR

[BJSLIV]

I think the question should be why is it RC agricole?

One can see agree that one might might cover for the incidents/accidents described, but they ain't agricole if you ain't an agriculteur!

[YCCMB]

Agree totally with BJSLIV. I had a long discussion with my insurers along similar lines and they removed the ( non agricultural) RC from our house insurance as we don't live in France and our holiday insurance would cover such eventualities. Ask them why it is "Agricole" because I would think that this would be slightly higher than non-Agricole as you can do less harm with a bicycle than a tractor.

For example, my neighbour probably wouldn't have demolished my front wall if he had reversed into it with a bike, but the tractor did a fairly comprehensive job.....