house insurance

[Pads]

Hello

I am about to buy my house buildings and contents insurance for the first time .

My estate agent has said he will do this for me...........Before i agree to anything is there do or donts i should be thinking about ?

I will not be there full time as it is currently a second home but will be a full home in a few years

Its a small 4 bedroom 3 storey house, the bottom floor being a cellar garage, utilertyroom. and 2 floors of living quarters any idea of the sort of price i should be looking at?

many thanks

[Cassis]

Household insurance is normally based on the number of rooms in the house* plus an estimate (made by you) of the contents value plus the surface area of any outbuildings.  I would get at least 2 quotes - having been with AGF for 2 years we decided this renewal to get a quote from our bank as well - saved 180 euros on the house insurance.  Also got a quote for the car insurance - saved another 100.  And because we took both out at once, we get the first 3 months house insurance free.  Many banks and insurance companies have the means to do a quote online - our bank BNP Paribas does.  Be sure you are comparing like with like and look out for excesses.

* Many insurers count each bedroom and each living area room as one room each, but do not count the kitchen (unless it is a kitchen/living room) or any bathrooms or any utility/boiler room under 14m2.

[Pads]

Hello many thanks for that

Would they enclude the ground floor cellar/garage/utilerty room? as a room? We wont be keeping a car out there yet, as hubby gets a great deal on car hire through his company, so for now it will be cheaper. so its just building (no out buildings) plus contents, which for now will be basic, any rough idea what the cost i  will be looking at? Is it normal for your estate agent to offer to sort this? or could he be working for his own ends?  

[Cassis]

Can't say how much - depends on your risk area determined by your postcode.  Why don't you give one or two of the online estimators a try?  It'll at least give you a rough guide.  I guess your cellar/garage/utility counts as one room but you would have to check with the insurance company to be sure.

I suspect your agent is on a commission but that may just be my natural cynicism!

Phil

[Pads]

I was on line last night and got a few quotes from english based insurance companies, that seem quite resonable, and a lot easier to understand, Are there any pros or cons going with english/french based companies? 

[mark24]

We got our first insurance through the estate agent then found out from the insurance agent that he had a commission of 30 euros .

We later found out that we were not covered for what we were told we were.

And after meeting so many people that have had problems getting claims paid from French Insurance company’s + knowing two friends that have had to claim on there Uk based  Insurance company’s with no probs , we opted for UK based and for the cover we now have it worked out 35 euros more .

We live in France and we have never had to make a claim on any house insurance in all the time we have owned houses , but you never know  

[ali-cat]

Please excuse my total lack of knowledge on this - but - can you say (without advertising - possibly PM me!!) which UK companies will insure a house in France? (& will they also do car insurance?!!).  Do you think they would cover us, as we will be living in France & not have a UK address?!!

I've been meaning to start a post on this, myself - so hope you don't mind me hijacking your thread, Pads!!  [:$]

[Pads]

Ali I have pm ed you

[Cassis]

Pads - no harm mentioning on forum the names of some insurance companies others may find useful as long as you're not their agent!

[Pads]

Ok thanks casis

well after a lot of serching on the web and phone today, i have had the best quote that seems to cover the most things from a company called intasure, if any one knows of them and have any views i would love to hear about them. I must make a decision by monday, and i have to tell my estate agent i dont want his choice (do you think i will put his nose out of joint) I dont want to upset him but i think its important to have a policy in english so i can fully understand it. OHHHhh what to say to him[8-)]

[Cassis]

[quote user="pads"]

I must make a decision by monday, and i have to tell my estate agent i dont want his choice (do you think i will put his nose out of joint) I dont want to upset him but i think its important to have a policy in english so i can fully understand it. OHHHhh what to say to him[8-)]

[/quote]

How about 'It was really kind of you to get a quote for our insurance but we would rather take a policy that is written in English - I hope you understand.'

If his nose is out of joint, his problem - he's an agent, not a lifelong friend (be tough, Pads!!!).

[Benjamin]

Google intasure and bring up their website. I haven't read it in detail but their overseas property policies seem to be underwritten by Norwich Union so why not try NU as well?

Benjamin

[Cassis]

Just a momentary aside - is anyone else getting double email notification of some posts?

[Pads]

yes i have been getting double ones

and its taking a long time from when you write it until it comes up on last post 

Thats a good idea ben will try that

and cassis yes i will be tough, especially as he wont go and pick my mail up as he has the keys, so i can get on line to pay for any insurance out there. I just dont want him to start playing silly buggars when it comes to picking up the keys, you now what men are like[Www]

[Department71]

What ever you do make sure any doors don't just have padlocks on them, we found this out to our cost. If you have padlocks also fit the yale type locks (ie with just the keyhole showing on the outside). they are fairly cheap and fulfills the insurance company conditions. But check thhis with them and get it in writing if possible

Good luck

Steve

[Ron Avery]

Very few if any UK insurers will insure a French house simply because they don't know the risks, it is bad enough to get cover for certain post codes in the UK let alone in another country. Not true I hear some say, well it is because those who use UK based insurers are probably using a broker who is insuring through a French company and you are paying a premium rate for the privilege.  Never heard of post code rates here, with CA AXA and Groupama, the rate is the rate, although in the big cities there may well be post code supplements,  don't know.  What you must establish is what you are covered for.  We took on the policy from our vendors only to find out three years later that we were not insured for theft, as its rural with lots of farm dogs about, they did not see it as necessary,  in addition, some insurers only cover the depreciated value for contents.  A friend had a PC go up in smoke and was told to buy another, good deal he thought as he spent 700€ only to get a cheque for 180€.   The banks are getting into the insurance business, CA ae puishing hard at the moment and they are really competitive with better terms, CA do new for old,  but few (if any) will insure properties that are empty for more than 90 days,  so if that applies to you make sure you tell them and make sure you are covered.  I seem to recall there are UK brokers who will insure second homes in France, but they are not cheap.

[Pads]

Ron you have worried me now. I have found one called intasure who i thought gave us a fair quote(half the price of the one at home)

The policy is clear and clearly states what is and is not covered. I think also the fact its all in english will give us peace of mind if anything went wrong.

Any how I got an e-mail this morning from my estate agent. the way he has worded it I can not tell if he is telling me he has already covered our house even though i asked he to get us quotes, I didnt agree to anything. So I have emailed him back twice to say i hve found my own that i want to go with and he hasnt answered me, I can feel him throwing a paddy all the way from here[:-))] Can he just take out cover for our house with out me agreeing?

[Jc]

Probably wheeling his commission to the bank this morning.

[Ron Avery]

I would be a little concerned and read the small print again Pads.  Intasure are based in Spain and are brokers for Norwich Union.

The premium will be 28€ more than is normal in France because that is what they charge for administering your policy. 

Their security requirements are very stringent and expensive to implement for the average French rural home, they look to be based on risks in theft ridden parts of the Costa Brava or Liverpool[:P], 5 lever mortices are required on all doors plus locks or grilles on all downstairs windows.

They are actually also 150€ more expensive on a like for like quote from CA and CA would cover me for up to 90 days absence if it was required. although I don't know how much that option would jack up the premium.

Athough aimed at the ex pat community, if you are insuring a holiday home, I would ask Intasure what " certain losses and damage are not covered when your home is unoccupied for more than 30 days in a row" means.

Your Estate Agent might have done you a favour[6] 

 

[Ewa]

Pads,  We had the same problem 18 months ago where our agent turned up at the signing with the notaire with insurance documents!  We had asked him for a quote, repeatedly, he didn't reply so we organised our own (I think with HIFX).  Told him at the signing we didn't need it, he was fine.  However we kept receiving reminders from the insurance broker for payment until I curtly wrote on one of his reminders to talk to the agent as we hadn't authorised the insurance and we've not heard from him since.  One other thing to consider, and it may be just us and a glitch, but French insurance renews itself (and your liability to pay) every year unles you give them something like 3 months notice that you wish to cancel.  We didn't receive a reminder from HIFX when the insurance expired last December and I've only just found out we're uninsured.... so many minefields to deal with - lucky our's isn't a habitable home yet!

Ewa

Devon & 27

[Pads]

Hello many thanks for all your replies

I have spoken today to intasure, they do cover me for any period of time away fom the house, as long as i follow certain instructions, for leaving the house empty, such as turning water, gas, electric, off at the mains, and all the ground floor doors and windows need to have proper locks , all of which we will be doing anyhow for our own peace of mind they have sent me their policy rules and what is covered and what is not. It is all very clear, and the price( 240pounds is that expensive?) is half what i pay here in cornwall for roughly the same size house. and that is for thier fully comprehensive cover, which includes bikes, garden furniture, fences, Items that we take out with us for the day, lost money, and travel expensives if we need to rush out there because of a problem. all of which is extras on my policy here at home. It also covers work people in the house and people like maids/cleaners(I should be so lucky) and for people who might rent the place. I have also rung norwich union and spoken to them they seem happy with them as a company but did say they couldnt do the policy(hoping to cut out the middle man) but that i could get all i needed from intasure, I asked about renewing and they said they send a new policy to you 3 weeks before its due and you can post it back or ring them to continue the coverage, and i have had a couple of pms from people who have used them and they have said they are cool. So hopfully I think i have picked the right company. but when my house falls down around my knees and no one will give me any money to fix it I will be back on shouting from the roof top, even if that is only 2 foot off the ground[:D]   

[bixy]

You are right to be most concerned about the cover, rather than the cost. Our immobilier arranged our insurance - very cheap - until we had a burglary only to find that most of our property was not insured. Changed agent but not company and made sure all our property was covered. Then had a lightning strike and guess what, almost none of the damage was covered. Went to another company and asked for a copy of the policy. Went through this with a fine toothcomb [and dictionary] and wrote out a list of questions for the agent. Then went through the policy schedule with same fine toothcomb [see above] to make sure he had covered everything. Finally satisfied, signed up at no more cost than with the old company. It's amazing what difference there is in the levels of cover from company to company. Always worth asking for a sight of the policy in advance - get several.

As someone else has remarked, it is especially important to look at the level of security required. French insurance companies do seem to have a thing against padlocks on outbuildings. They may also ask for window locks etc.

Patrick