Lori

I understand. Sad as it is.

Sad, before the recent software change, there were still a good handful or two of the regular posters here. Now, it is a cemetary. And I can't really find anywhere else they might have gone to. I miss them.

How cute !!!

How cute !!!

Perhaps best to find one room and make it puppy proof with a child's gate keeping her there for times when you can't keep your eye on her.

Sounds good. Be sure to keep your shoes locked up in the closet and place house plants in a safe place. Otherwise, enjoy. ?

Beautiful dog Sue. Did you decide to bring a new pup home? Wooly - Ziggy must have grown a lot by now. Puppies grow so fast. Any new photos?

Not sure if this will be helpful or not. I did this many years back (year 2000), so I'm quite sure various things have changed, but I doubt the basics have. In my case, it was a 2000 Toyota Corolla. Getting it here was simple. Used a professional car shipping company. Car arrived at the port of Le Havre. I took the train up to get it. Taxi to the port location. I had all the paperwork the shipper told me to have. Really no problems getting it. I did have to provide the paperwork for my household goods move as the two are combined in order to avoid paying customs fees on the car. Getting the car here and picking it up were easy. The rest was a nightmare. You have to get the Certificate of Conformity from the car maker in France. In our case Toyota France. So, first and foremost the car in question must have a manufacture location in France. You will have to contact that manufacture, explain to them what you are doing and they will tell you who/where to contact. From there, you will be given a small book of paperwork to complete. All of this, the phone calls, letters and forms will be in French (naturally). If was a bit of a challenge for me to figure out all the mechanical terms as these were not in my, newly arrived, French vocabulary. If memory serves, I believe I had to have a local Toyota garage sign off on the paperwork, which I did. Then, off it all went back to the car manufacture office to wait for the certificate. After a while, I got back a request for more details. Sent those. More waiting, then got a document to take to the DRIRE. Made appointment at the DRIRE locally, took all paperwork. Not sufficient. They wanted more technical details. Said what the car manufacturer provided was not complete. So, back to car manufacturer with details from DRIRE. More waiting (I'm talking weeks between steps). Finally between the main Toyota office in France and the local Toyota garage, I got all the paperwork the DRIRE wanted and submitted my request for tags. I'd say this took about 6 months. I would never do it again. If you don't speak really good French, you'd better find someone who can assist who does as this will take some really good conversing with a variety of people/organizations.

This sounds like good news Leyla. I know with Groupama, their "Sinistre" department was located outside of the department where I lived. So, perhaps that is why they called you from another region. When I lived in Bédoin, Groupama had an office in town, so all I had to do was go there for any needs/questions. I did have to follow up by calling the Sinistre phone numbers and wait for their Inspector to call me back to suggest an appointment, but it all went rather smoothly. I suspect you are right that your local agency sent your claim to the appropriate office and that prompted your contact. I understand completely about a budget. We too are now retired and always try to save money where ever we can. It was our experience with Groupama when we needed them most that we did not even hesitate to stay with them - even though there were/are cheaper alternatives. You sound somewhat like us in that we are not really very social. I know my immediate neighbors, but that's about it. We have not been to a restaurant in more than 2 years !!! Since the Pandemic started. We keep saying we're going to go, but haven't just yet. Haven't taken a vacation either in the same amount of time. We'll get to it eventually. Too bad we do not live closer as we could visit each other or I could lend a hand with some of this stuff. Being this far away, I am not much help.

Sorry, been out all day and about to leave again. I can't open the links and it probably isn't too safe to post them online. Even though I can't open them, someone else might be able to and have access to your private details. I'm sure if EDF is speaking with you, they will definitely want you to be at the fuse box in question. So, you'd need to be using a portable phone so that you can travel from the Gite fuse box to the main house fuse box - assuming they want data from each one. I just don't understand why your insurance company would not send out an inspector for your claim. That is how it is supposed to work. Are they waiting for some sort of inspection by EDF before they schedule the insurance inspector? If that is the case, then you really need someone who can come to your house and speak French with the EDF service. Can your neighbor not come over to help you out? It's just a quick phone call to answer whatever the EDF fellow asks, while stood in front of the fuse box. You don't know anyone you can call on nearby? Having to pay someone seems way over the top. This is one of the main reasons we stayed with Groupama. They aren't the cheapest insurer, but they are top quality with customer service and follow through.

Interesting advice. Do keep us posted. My guess is EDF will not touch it. I was advised to hire a private electrician, which I did. No one ever mentioned EDF, but of course, every claim and every insurance company is different. Sending you all my good karma got positive results..

Understand totally. Strangely, when our house was hit by lightning, we also had the lower portion of the house rented out (totally independent 2 bedroom gite). Of course, we contacted the Dutch couple who were booked for 3 weeks (return customers) and they actually didn't care that there was no hot water. I was able to get the other repairs done before their arrival day, but they had to endure 10 days of their stay with no hot water. They didn't seem to mind. I did give them money back. They returned for many years.

Yes, I use my name, Lori. If you sign in there and PM me, I can share my phone number, just in case you want to call or text.

Yes, I would follow up with a direct phone call to verify they have received your claim and ask when you should expect to hear from an inspector. I, personally would do that on Monday afternoon (tomorrow). I am a member on the site France in Focus, though I have never posted there. I do look in. I would post my email here to communicate directly with you, but I figure that wouldn't be wise. Not sure about posting my cell phone number either, but if you want to speak on the phone, I'm sure we can figure out a private message function to facilitate that. If you do decide you want to find me, just check out the Frarnce in Focus forum site. I believe you can private message there too.

Yes, the software here is AWFUL. Makes posting a nightmare. Good it is your primary residence, that will help. From what you've written, it sounds like perhaps a lightning strike hit the gite, traveled back to the source of the electricity - the circuit breaker in your main house and tripped that breaker box, but didn't fry it. A little surprising, but hey, I am not qualified electrician. The insurance inspector should be able to shed more light on the subject. And no, turning off the breaker would not stop a lightning strike, but it should reduce the amount of damage if the electrical current to all the things in the house/gite were not active. I'm glad you were able to put in a claim online. You're on your way. Be sure to follow-up promptly if you do not get a proper reply on Monday. Good luck.

Most people I know who have second homes in France, turn off the electricity and the water (draining the pipes) before they leave. After having suffered a serious water leak beside the below ground water meter (also when we lived in Bédoin - primary residence, not secondary) and having to deal with the enormous problems involved in settling this type of thing with the water company (in this case it was SDEi), we always turn off the water and electricity when we go on vacation. Most also have neighbors who can keep an eye on the house in the event of problems - break-ins, storm damage, leaking water pipes, fire, etc.

"All I have so far is an agreement from the electrician to state that I need a complete new supply from my house across the path to the gite." So, you're saying that the fuse box/circuit breaker that is in the gite (the fried one) gets its power from the circuit breaker in your main house? If this is so, it seems very strange that a lightning strike hitting the gite breaker would not also impact the main source to that breaker (your main house).

Also, as a side thought. If your insurance policy states that your home is a second home, the inspector will almost certainly question when you left the house, when you returned to the house, if it remained vacant during your absence and if you turned off the circuit breaker during your absense. He will want to know that you were AT the house when the strike occurred. He will try to determine if it is possible that it occurred during a time when you were not staying there. Based totally on how you answer his questions. There are various reasons he will ask all these questions.

No, don't be so sure you are covered when you don't know when the problem occurred, this would also kind of imply that you don't know HOW the problem occurred. Unless things have changed, you have a limited amount of time to contact your insurance company to make a claim. And that time limit is pretty short (like only a few days if memory serves - and it might not - so double check). And most insurance companies have phone numbers to report a sinistre on any day of the week. So, if the storm happened last Monday, you want to contact them ASAP. If it was me, I would set the report from your electrician aside. I would not want to provide anything that might preclude my claim being accepted by the inspector. You should do what you feel is right for you, but keep in mind that the insurance company inspector is the one who will make a report detailing what he thinks has happened and that report is what determines if your claim will be accepted or not. So, to me anyway, I would not want to provide anything that MAY have an impact on the inspector's report. Even if I think it might work in my favor. You might be surprised at what could negatively impact an insurance claim.

https://www.letransfo.fr/comment-choisir-un-bon-electricien/

Sorry for the double post. I have no idea how to remove the duplicate.. This site is maddening. After typing all that reply out, I got an error message when attempting to post it. Had no idea if it posted or not. Really, really frustrating. Is this how they suggest the forum get tossed in the garbage?? Use the WORST software possible and all forum members will just give up.

If you are going to report the damage to your insurance company as a lightning strike, you will be asked when the strike occurred. I'm not sure what would happen if you said you didn't know. I imagine they would ask you how you know it was a strike if you don't know when it happened. So, if you had a storm over the last few days, use that day when reporting - that is what I would do. You say the gite is new. Is the fuse box also new? Did you hire someone to install it when doing up the gite or did you inherite it when you bought the house? Did all the electricity work when you finished preparing the gite? I ask because if any work was done on the fuse box, it is possible the work might not have been done correctly and that could have caused to fry up. Just asking because the insurance company will likely ask similar questions. I'm sure their inspector will when he arrives. As said by Harnser, you need an l’électricien licencié et assuré. Here is a brief suggestion on how to choose an electrician. And there are many other similar sites on the net. This one gives a very good reminder to make sure whomever you choose does not sub-contract the work out to someone else. Be sure to get all quotes in writing and make sure you understand them. Your insurance company can really help with this; assuming they agree it qualifies for a claim. The inspector will be the one who determines that. He is your first port of call. He should also be able to recommend qualified contractors.

If you are going to report the damage to your insurance company as a lightning strike, you will be asked when the strike occurred. I'm not sure what would happen if you said you didn't know. I imagine they would ask you how you know it was a strike if you don't know when it happened. So, if you had a storm over the last few days, use that day when reporting - that is what I would do. You say the gite is new. Is the fuse box also new? Did you hire someone to install it when doing up the gite or did you inherite it when you bought the house? Did all the electricity work when you finished preparing the gite? I ask because if any work was done on the fuse box, it is possible the work might not have been done correctly and that could have caused to fry up. Just asking because the insurance company will likely ask similar questions. I'm sure their inspector will when he arrives. As said by Harnser, you need an l’électricien licencié et assuré. Here is a brief suggestion on how to choose an electrician. And there are many other similar sites on the net. This one gives a very good reminder to make sure whomever you choose does not sub-contract the work out to someone else. Be sure to get all quotes in writing and make sure you understand them. Your insurance company can really help with this; assuming they agree it qualifies for a claim. The inspector will be the one who determines that. He is your first port of call. He should also be able to recommend qualified contractors.

You need the insurance company to send out THEIR inspector. His report is the only one that matters (to the Insurance company). His report will determine what the insurance company will cover. In effect, what estimates of works you need. Estimates from contractors are obtained AFTER the insurance inspectors report has been submitted.

This happened to us when we lived in Bédoin. There was a fairly major storm that passed through. Lightening blew a hole in a part of our roof. More than 10,000€ worth of damages (heating system, loads of electricals, appliances, etc., not to mention the work to repair the roof. We had (and have) Groupama. I called them to report the sinistre. They immediately assign a number to your case (which will be needed for future contact and follow-up). They then told me an expert would call me within (I think) it was 24 to 48 hours to schedule an appointment to inspect the damages. I was told very firmly NOT to move or change anything that was damaged. I did get the call from the expert the next day. We discussed briefly what had happened. He came out about 2 days later (soonest appt. available). I was never asked to provide anything proving the storm came through. It was a pretty big storm and we weren't the only ones who had lightening damage. Long and short of it, they replaced everything with new items. We were asked to provide receipts for ALL of the damaged things. Luckily, I keep every receipt I ever get, especially for anything sizeable. So, I could provide them with them all. Our policy was a good one and had the caveat that full replacement value would be provided. They asked me to get several repair estimates - they also provided names of contractor who could provide estimates in my region if I didn't know anyone. Once the expert inspected the damage and wrote up his report (next day after inspection) things rolled very quickly (for France). I was without hot water for 19 days and that was rather tough. But getting the HVAC system repaired required ordering parts from Germany and they took a while to receive. It was the best (if there is such a thing) insurance claim experience I've ever had. They (Groupama) also came through for me when an elderly driver hit my car head on when he vired over into my lane. His fault. Groupama took care of it all for me. This is why we still have them now for our home and car.