Holiday Home Insurance France

In France, holiday home insurance is not strictly required by law for homeowners, but there are situations where having cover may be expected. For example, if the property is part of a shared building (copropriété), owners are typically required to have at least third-party liability cover. Mortgage lenders may also require insurance as a condition of the loan.

Swimming pools can be included as part of your Buildings cover when taking out a holiday home insurance policy. This can extend to other permanent features of the property, such as hot tubs, saunas, or steam rooms, often found in larger holiday homes, particularly in destinations like France.

Overseas holiday home insurance arranged through Schofields can include cover for a range of insured events that may affect your property, including severe weather and environmental risks. This can extend to incidents such as storm damage, flooding, and fire, depending on the level of cover selected.

These types of risks can be particularly relevant for holiday homes abroad, where properties may be exposed to different weather conditions or left unoccupied for periods of time.

Schofields French holiday home insurance covers most areas of France. Including popular holiday destinations such as:

• Nice

• Cannes

• Bordeaux

• Lyon

• Toulouse

• Provence

• Dordogne

Alpine areas and ski resorts are generally not covered. The best way to find out if your location is covered is to start a quote, where you will be asked to submit your address.

Insurance policies available in France may sometimes be priced differently from those offered by UK-based insurers. Cover, limits, exclusions, terms and conditions can vary between providers, so it is important to review the details of any policy before purchasing.

Differences may exist in areas such as claims procedures, liability cover, unoccupancy conditions, holiday letting cover, policy documentation and customer support arrangements. The availability and scope of these features will depend on the individual insurer and policy selected.

Some UK-based insurers, like Schofields, offer insurance specifically designed for French holiday homes, with policy documentation and customer support provided in English. French insurers may offer different policy features and services. Property owners should review the policy wording carefully to determine whether the cover is suitable for their needs and circumstances.

The amount of insurance required will depend on the property and the cover selected. For buildings insurance, insurers typically require a buildings sum insured that reflects the cost of rebuilding the property, rather than its market value. Rebuild costs may include the cost of reconstructing the property and any associated expenses, such as debris removal and professional fees, where these are covered under the policy.

The buildings sum insured may also need to take account of any permanent structures within the boundary of the property, such as outbuildings, barns, swimming pools, tennis courts, drives, patios, terraces, walls, gates and fences, where applicable.

For contents insurance, the sum insured is typically based on the cost of replacing insured items with equivalent new items at current prices, subject to the terms and conditions of the policy.

Calculating the rebuild cost of a French property can be complex, particularly for older, listed or extensively renovated buildings.

A qualified surveyor may be able to provide a rebuild cost assessment for insurance purposes. Rebuild cost information may also be available from a recent survey or valuation report, although the suitability of any figure will depend on the individual property and circumstances.

The rebuild cost used for insurance purposes should reflect the estimated cost of rebuilding the property and any relevant permanent structures, rather than its market value. Property owners are responsible for ensuring that the sum insured selected is appropriate for their circumstances and should seek professional guidance where required.