Holiday Insurance

When you arrive, the holiday property owner (or their manager/caretaker) may request to see documentary proof that the members of your party have the necessary personal Liability cover. Note that this is not a whim or preference on their part, it is a statutory requirement in French law.

This should be provided for ALL members of the group who are to reside in the property.

Whatever the insurance supplier, they should be able to provide a summary of the cover (despite some companies attempts to be as "occult" as possible - if you don't know what you're covered for you are less likely to make a claim). The documentary evidence of the cover that you need to provide should include the following:

- The contact details, name, address, of the company providing the insurance.

- The policy number or reference number that identifies you with them.

- The names of those covered by the policy, and/or the extent of family members that are covered by the policy.

- An extract from the policy summary or terms which shows that personal liability cover is included in the policy.

You can delete any information that you consider to be of a private nature.

The arrival instructions that you will receive have the owners' contact details, including an e-mail address where available. For simplicity, you can therefore send your insurance details to the owner beforehand:
- scanned documents sent by e-mail, or
- electronic documents received from Internet sent by e-mail, or
- photocopies sent by post (If you have a substantial booklet, just photocopy the relevant pages).

Please ensure that these details do show the necessary information (or for an electronic version, a link to the terms of the cover).

NOTE: For properties Les Tamaris, La Fontaine, La Nature, you will be posting the Security Deposit to the owners beforehand so you can include the insurance details at the same time.

Return


	Questions and Answers \| How to book \| Terms & Conditions \| Go Back
	Why do I need holiday insurance? Insurance is a complex subject. We give you below what we have gleaned concerning the potential problems for UK residents taking a holiday in France, but this is only for guidance and is not intended to replace professional advice. For those of other countries of residence, we strongly advise that you consult your insurance provider to see what applies for your country. There are fundamental differences between the UK and French insurance systems as regards “personal liability”. Personal liability cover relates to incidents of damage or injury that you may cause to someone else. Every French resident has automatic and substantial personal liability cover from their house policy, even when on holiday. As we understand it, this is not necessarily the case for UK residents, hence the inclusion of personal liability cover in holiday insurance packages. In France, in the event of damage or injury, the insurance company of the person having been subject to the damage or injury assumes that the person responsible for the accident has personal liability cover and so a claim will be made against the person responsible to cover the costs and any compensation. Note that in the event of you having to cancel your holiday, a holiday insurance will also usually allow you to recover the deposit or the full rental price that you have paid.
	Take these two examples: 1. Your child takes a sharp object into the swimming pool and rips the plastic liner of the pool. The pool has to be closed for repair. As the damage has been caused by a third party (who should be insured), the property owners’ insurance company make a claim against you for the cost of replacing the pool liner (£1800) and the reimbursements that the owners had to make for the next 2 weeks letting whilst the pool was out of action (£1200). In the absence of personal liability cover, this simple holiday accident would therefore cost you £3000. 2. You are walking down the street with an umbrella and one of the points blinds someone in one eye. This person needs excellent eyesight for his job and so his insurance company make a claim against you for the permanent disability (£500,000) plus loss of career (£800,000). In the absence of personal liability cover you might end up selling your house to pay the bill. Obviously we need to ensure that adequate insurance protection is in place as regards damage that any of our holiday property owners may incur during the letting and that may not be covered directly by the owners’ own insurance (as in example 1 above). Quite apart from looking after the interests of the owners, we also feel that it is necessary to point out the risks that you may run at any time that you are in France if you are not adequately covered. The requirement for personal liability cover obviously extends to all members of your party, not just the person or family who made the reservation. This loophole is not widely understood and therefore most private holiday property owners do not take it into account. However, the major holiday letting companies and tour operators all apply this requirement.
	Purchasing Holiday Insurance In the past we have avoided promoting any particular holiday insurance provider on our web site to not be accused of “making a fuss just to sell insurance” but we get many requests to recommend a supplier so here is one suggestion below. Most holiday insurance policies contain personal liability cover - just make sure that a holiday property that you rent is not excluded from the cover. This can be a specific policy for the holiday, or an annual policy. It can be included in a banking or credit card package (check this cover carefully, as it may not be very comprehensive), or (rarely) it may included in home insurance. A one trip policy for family group of 2 adults and 2 children is typically under £25. Includes holiday cover for swine flu - cancellation, medical costs, repatriation.
	What documents do I need to show to the property owner ? When you arrive, the holiday property owner (or their manager/caretaker) may request to see documentary proof that the members of your party have the necessary personal Liability cover. Note that this is not a whim or preference on their part, it is a statutory requirement in French law. This should be provided for ALL members of the group who are to reside in the property. Whatever the insurance supplier, they should be able to provide a summary of the cover (despite some companies attempts to be as "occult" as possible - if you don't know what you're covered for you are less likely to make a claim). The documentary evidence of the cover that you need to provide should include the following: - The contact details, name, address, of the company providing the insurance. - The policy number or reference number that identifies you with them. - The names of those covered by the policy, and/or the extent of family members that are covered by the policy. - An extract from the policy summary or terms which shows that personal liability cover is included in the policy. You can delete any information that you consider to be of a private nature. The arrival instructions that you will receive have the owners' contact details, including an e-mail address where available. For simplicity, you can therefore send your insurance details to the owner beforehand: - scanned documents sent by e-mail, or - electronic documents received from Internet sent by e-mail, or - photocopies sent by post (If you have a substantial booklet, just photocopy the relevant pages). Please ensure that these details do show the necessary information (or for an electronic version, a link to the terms of the cover). NOTE: For properties Les Tamaris, La Fontaine, La Nature, you will be posting the Security Deposit to the owners beforehand so you can include the insurance details at the same time. Return