Catasrophe naturelle

[mona]

Hallo everyone

My French is not as good as it should be.  [I know, i should do something about it]

I aw this in La Depeche Du Midi "L'état de catastrophe naturelle est reconnu pour 9 départements (Aude, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Pyrénées-Orientales) par arrêté signé aujourd'hui (mercredi), et les déclarations communales seront facilitées pour 21 autres départements", selon un communiqué de l'Elysée.

Please could someone explain what it means and what action anyone with damaged property in the affected area needs to take following last weekend's storm?

Many thanks

[Clair]

More details (in French) HERE and in Google English HERE.

[mona]

Blimey Clair

You're breathtakingly quick with the replies which is very much appreciated.  I chose the Googlese option but I'm not really sure it's best especially with technical stuff as it's so literal.  i was sort of hoping it would provide a step by step guide for idiots - how stupid of me.

Again, many thanks for your help

[Clair]

Now that the catastrophe naturelle has been declared, you have 10 days to contact your insurance company to make a claim.

[Patf]

Unless the catastrophe naturelle has been officially declared/confirmed the insurance companies will not accept claims.

After the heatwave of 2003 many houses developed cracks , but not all communes in the Gers were given the status of C.N. so not everyone could claim compensation from their insurers.

[mona]

Thank you very much to both of you.  The Forum proves its worth time after time.

[allanb]

[quote user="Patf"]Unless the catastrophe naturelle has been officially declared/confirmed the insurance companies will not accept claims.[/quote]

But don't let this hold you back from making a claim if you have suffered any damage which is covered anyway by an existing policy - in fact, you want to be sure that you don't miss any deadline for submitting such a claim.

If catastrophe naturelle is subsequently declared for your commune, and covers the same damage, you should normally benefit by not having to pay the deductible stated in your policy.

[mona]

Thank you Patf. You make a very good point.  I know how incredibly lucky I am having fantastic neighbours who checked and let me know what the damage was and who whizzed down to my insurers for me within the 5 days I had to submit a claim.  Goodness knows how other people, with homes in France but based in the UK, cope without the sort of support I have had.

[mona]

Very sorry allanb, my last posting should have been for you.  Thank you, your advice was absolutely right and much appreciated.

[Clair]

http://www.service-public.fr/actualites/001098.html?xtor=EPR-140

in Google English: Storm: how to be reimbursed?

[milkeybar kid]

Confused as Usual. I had understood that because the storm  had been decreed a "disaster" by the Government the insurance company would pay 100% rather than deducting excess %. Just received cheque but minus excess. Had I understood wrongly about them paying 100% Milkey Thank you

[allanb]

[quote user="milkeybar kid"]I had understood that because the storm

 had been decreed a "disaster" by the Government the insurance company

would pay 100% rather than deducting excess %. Just received cheque but

minus excess. Had I understood wrongly about them paying

100%[/quote]I'm sorry about that.  I made the statement on the basis of

what I was told (although not in writing) by an employee of my

insurance agent; I noticed that she didn't say "the company" or "our

company", she said "the insurance companies", as though it was a

general practice.

Maybe the truth is that only some insurers do it.

On the other hand, are you sure the declaration applied to where you live?  I gather that sometimes it applies to an entire department, but sometimes only to specific communes.

[milkeybar kid]

Thanks for reply Alan- we are in the Lot et Garonne this is one of the areas classed as a disaster area I am 99% sure and our Insurance company is Generali.

If I could find something in writing that says its 100% would be brill.Milkey

 

 

[Scooby]

We had storm damage to our roof a while ago.  A chimney cap (2 * 2 concrete slab) blew off and hit the roof breaking quite a number of tiles leaving a large hole in the roof .  No 'natural disaster' was declared - we just had to get a statement from the mairie that there had been a storm on the day of the damage and the insurance company paid up.

[Ron Avery]

MBK

As a "catastrophe naturelle" has been declared that means that you should not have to pay the excess for any claim for storm damage.  Get on to your insurer and ask them why you have had the franchise deducted only they can tell you.

[BJSLIV]

The main impact of the declaration is to extend the coverage of an existing policy to include things such as Flood, Landslip, and Tree damage , things which might otherwise have not been covered.

It also brings with it a statutory excess which is 380 Euros for home property damage  1520 Euros if it involves land heave or subsidence. These rates come into play if they are lower than the excess aready applied to your policy

http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F3076.xhtml

 

[Ron Avery]

I phoned CA's insurer's Pacifica to report some damage to our barn roof, they said get a devis.  I asked if it was worth claiming for it as as the damage might not be more than the franchise.  They said there was no franchise for the storm damage and we were paid in full for the artisan's bill.   My car got flooded when the river burst its banks,  franchise for catastophe naturelle, is 180€ higher than for an accident, but again the value of the write off was paid in full without any deduction.  Maybe it depends on who you insure with[:D].