Home Insurance Certificate in France: What It Is & How to Get One

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How to get a home insurance certificate in France
How to get a home insurance certificate in France

You are in France and you are already a tenant or you are about to rent an apartment or a house? As you enter your new home, you will need a proof of house insurance in France. That document is called a home insurance certificate and it will be required by the landlord. What is a French home insurance certificate? When do you need to present this specific certificate and why do you need to have one? Who may ask for this proof of insurance? How to get a home insurance certificate? We will answer all these questions hereafter.


What is a home insurance certificate in France?

A French home insurance certificate is an official document proving that you have taken out insurance for your home in France. It is given to you by the home insurance provider you have chosen to insure your new French apartment or house. Regarding the law, it is mandatory for your insurer to provide you with such certificate.

Therefore, whether you rent and apartment or a house, you must sign a house insurance for the place you will live in. A home insurance protects the place you live in and the furniture inside. You have to sign this type of contract before you enter your new home in France.

Such home insurance prevents the payment by the tenant of the damages caused to the house or apartment rented: fire, water damage... This kind of insurance is a protection for both the tenant and the landlord in case an event causes damages to the landlord property.

Basically, the home insurance certificate is a one-page document on which you will find the following information:

  • The postal address of the apartment or house insured
  • A summary of the different guarantees included in your home insurance
  • The name of the insurer and its address
  • The home insurance contract number
  • The period of validity of the insurance, usually 1 year
  • The date of the certificate

Depending on your insurer, the presentation may vary slightly but you will usually find all this information.

If you need or want to have more details about the coverage and the warranties, you can find all the details in your insurance agreement and the general conditions. These two documents shall be kept and used as a reference in case of any damage to learn about the coverage provided by your insurer.

The house insurance certificate in France is free and valid for 12 months unless otherwise written in your insurance agreement.

In what cases do I need to present a French home insurance certificate?

As a lessee, the landlord is entitled to ask you for the proof of a valid home insurance. That proof will be the home insurance certificate in France. Once you provide the landlord with such document, he or she will have the guarantee that his or her property in insured. Therefore, in case of damage to the house or the apartment, the insurer should cover the expenses.

This certificate will be asked by the landlord at your entrance into the home and at the renewal of the lease agreement.

Moreover, the landlord is allowed to ask for the home insurance certificate every year as a proof of a continuous insurance upon his or her property. It will be your duty, as a tenant, to give him or her such up-to-date document.

How can I get a home insurance certificate in France?

As a resident of France, it is essential for you to have a French home insurance. In order to receive your certificate, you should find the insurance company that would insure your apartment or house in France. Therefore, the first step for you would be to choose the insurance company that fits your needs. For you to have a global vision of the different options you have, you can ask for quotes and have the opportunity to compare the different fares.

How will you get your home insurance certificate? After you have subscribed a home insurance, the insurer will provide you with the home insurance certificate. Once it is done and you have subscribed to a home insurance, the certificate is automatically delivered to you.

It can be mailed to you but usually, if you prefer, it can also be sent by e-mail. In all cases, you can find it online and download it any time after your subscription to the home insurance. Go to your personal account on the website of the insurer you have chosen, log in and download the house insurance certificate.

Choosing the home insurer right for you

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Home insurance quote

Receive a free home insurance quote from one of our partner providers.

As all markets, you will find several home insurers in France and many different options. Depending on your status of student or not, you will find different insurance online.

To find the right home insurance for your needs, do not hesitate to ask for quotes. That will be the best way to compare home insurances, their coverage and prices of different insurers.
The cost of a house insurance in France won’t do everything and paying a lot of money for a home insurance will not mean that you have the maximum coverage. You must look for the different caps and deductibles but also, and most of all, you will have to pay attention to the exclusions.

What happens if I fail to show my landlord the certificate?

Insurer Advice:

As you will enter your new home in France, you will be asked by the landlord to provide him or her a home insurance certificate. That document will give the landlord the guarantee that his or her property you are living in is well guaranteed. Call or email you insurer and ask for your certificate!

It is very easy and fast to subscribe to a home insurance. Once you executed the insurance contract, you will be provided with an insurance certificate (if not you can ask your insurer or find the certificate on your online personal insurance account).

In France, the landlord may ask for this document as a condition for you to enter the apartment or house. And then, during the time you stay in that same home, the owner can ask every year for such certificate. You will have to give him or her a home insurance certificate up to date every 12 months.

If you fail to provide your landlord with such home insurance certificate the landlord may ask you the certificate by registered mail. If you fail to answer this mail, the landlord is allowed:

  • To subscribe to a home insurance by himself/herself and add the fee to your lease payment;
  • Terminate the lease agreement if such contractual provision exists in the lease agreement you have signed.

Risk of termination of the lean agreement Please note that your lean agreement may include a termination article in case the tenant does not send the home insurance certificate every year to the landlord. Therefore, in such case and if you fail to provide the landlord with your home insurance certificate, he or she would be entitled to terminate the lease agreement. It would be legitimated by the lack of home insurance. In order to revoke the contract, the landlord will have to send you a Court bailiff order by mail. He or she will then start an eviction procedure.

I haven't received my home insurance certificate. What should I do?

Once you have chosen your home insurer, you should receive the home insurance certificate within a few days. That is the proof that you insured the house where you live in France. And you will have to send it to your landlord.

Your insurer should send you the certificate within 4 or 5 days after the conclusion of the home insurance agreement. It can be sent by mail to your postal address or by email.

In case you do not receive your home insurance certificate within seven days, you can:

  1. call or send an email to your insurer and ask for the certificate. It can be to send to you by email or mail.
  2. go online on the customer area of your insurer website, get connected with your personal information, contract number and personal password. Online you can usually choose between downloading the home insurance certificate or getting it sent by mail.
  3. go to an office of your insurer and ask for the certificate to an employee.
  4. download the application of your insurer on your smartphone and go online, log into your personal account and as many possibilities, you can usually download the home insurance certificate directly from the application.

You can ask for such certificate any time during the year and your insurer will provide you with an up to date certificate for the French apartment or house you live in.

How long is a French home insurance certificate valid for?

A home insurance certificate is valid for a year in France. You will be provided with such document as soon as you subscribed to an insurance company. The certificate will be valid for the next 12 months (except if you leave before that date the apartment or house insured).

The landlord of the home you live in is entitled to ask for your home insurance certificate every 12 months. Therefore, every year you will have to ask your insurer for a new and up-to-date certificate. As the first time, you will have to send the certificate to your landlord, as a proof of a valid insurance on his or her good.

Do not hesitate to contact your insurer to get you home insurance certificate up to date if he does not send it to you automatically.

The home insurance certificate is also considered as a proof of address such as an electricity or a water bill. The proof of address to be valid shall have less than 6 months. So if you need to provide such proof, you can ask your insurer for an up-to-date home insurance certificate.