Dealing with a leak

[DZ]

OK, so no one did say it would be easy owning a property in France! 

We had a serious leak last week caused by the builder in the flat above our maison secondaire.  After many interesting (?!) conversations with the said builder, his wife etc, got all the necessary information and passed onto my insurance.  They said they would organize for someone to come and give us a quote for the repair job, but that was a week ago and nothing since.

I am a total novice as to how French insurers work (and living in the UK full time doesn't help).  Can anyone advise me whether we need to wait for the insurers to organize a devis, or would we be better off actively looking for a builder who would provide a quote?

Also, on reporting the leak, I was told by my insurers that they would pay for the damaged ceiling but not for the floor, and that it's our "assurance immobiliere" that is to cover that - what is that?!  We have not been paying for anything else but the building insurance we have with Pacifica.

I am totally lost (Je suis dans les choux?!).  Good practice for my French anyway...

[DZ]

No answers probably means that people have not had similar experiences.  Maybe another question then: If you ever had to contact your French insurance firm, is it best to let them send their people to arrange a quote or is it better to arrange a "devis" yourself? 

Thanks for any help!

[BJSLIV]

These companies have many and various policies. What is the name of your particular policy with Pacifica ?

 

[Cassis]

As we seem to be scraping the barrel for info ...

I know someone who had to make a claim for flooding after freakishly heavy rains.  A ditch or drain for which the commune was responsible overflowed and backed up sewage into their living room and bedroom.  They were told by their insurance company that under no circs should they effect any repairs until the insurers of the responsible party (the commune) had made an assessment.  I guess the same principle applies here - you shouldn't do anything until the insurers themselves have made their assessment of the damage.  In this case, shouldn't that be the insurers of the builder who caused the damage?

Isn't "assurance immobilier" your house insurance?  I don't understand what your insurers mean.

[Clair]

My first thought when I read the original post was: "if this has

been cause by a third party, the third party's own insurance should

cover it under the (compulsary) "responsabilité civile" clause"

You have now informed your insurance that somebody has caused damage to your property.

Did you do that in writing? (I don't want to sound argumentative, but these French companies do love their paper trail). Have you been in contact with Pacifica since? If not, do call them again and again...

From memory (as a former Pacifica client), their policy has 3 or 4 levels of cover. Check which level of cover you have with Pacifica. That will indicate how they will deal with your claim and what is covered.

I don't think it's a good idea for you to organise quotes and such likes, without knowing for sure who's going to pay for the repairs.

[DZ]

Thank you for your suggestions!  Some good ideas there. I certainly have to put our claim in writing, to be on the safe side; also need to find out about our communal insurance.  If I learn anything useful in the process, I will pass this onto this Forum.

[Deimos]

When I was flooded the insurance sent round "an expert" (in fact they ended sending 3 over a period of time). First I had to get quotes for the repair work (which takes some time). Only then do the insurance company arrange the expert. The first took a couple of months to arrive. My company writes to the "expert' company", who sit on things a bit. The "expert" then writes to you telling you when he will be visiting (and he gives a month or more notice). Thus the entire procedure is quite drawn-out.

The insurance company did allow immediate necessary repairs to make the house secure (the front door had been broken) without quotes - but that was all. In my case I was claiming on my own insurance. The real purpose of the "expert" is to see how much they can avoid paying out. One of my three only looked at my policy paperwork during his visit. Kept saying "but you are not covered because ..." to which I would point out something else and he would have to carry on searching through the policy.

However, that is my personal single experience with my own insurance company. I'm sure different companies have different procedures.

Ian