Real Life in France - Tips and traps Protect yourself against questionable insurance company practices
In France, nearly 150 million insurance contracts are signed every year – an average of 3 per inhabitant! To sign on the dotted line for an insurance policy is as easy as filling up your grocery cart at the supermarket, and the insurance agents are very persuasive. However, when it comes to filing a claim for a reimbursement for an accident or loss, they are much slower to react, and will always try to use any possible justification to declare that the “options” that you signed for don’t cover the type of accident or problem you have. Or, they will find other reasons not to reimburse you: your car has been stolen? You must certainly have left the keys inside. Your cell-phone has been stolen from the pocket of your coat by a pickpocket? You cannot be reimbursed because you have not been physically aggressed by the person who stole it from you (the same is true of car hijackings – if you are forced from your car, even at gun point, and your car is stolen in this way, most insurance companies will not cover the loss). There is a flood in your apartment from a leaky roof? You should have taken better care of the roof. Your cat has damaged the wallpaper? This is your responsibility, you could certainly have avoided it. We could go on and on with examples.
Therefore, before signing an insurance policy contract, you should first of all determine if the insurance is compulsory, or if it can be of any use. It is difficult to generalize, but sometimes you will be asked to buy insurance for damages which are already covered by another agency, your credit card insurance for example in the case of a travel insurance. And take all the time necessary to read the nearly illegible small print at the bottom of the contract and the list of clauses attached to the main document to see in which cases you may not be covered. For example many travel cancellation policies (assurances annulation) for a trip will work only if you have a serious medical or professional reason to cancel, and not if you just changed your mind or were prevented by a traffic jam from reaching the airport in time for your flight. Apart from the basic car insurance (tierce collision) and the insurance for your housing, very few are compulsory. Learn to protect yourself against questionable insurance company practices!...
Insurance: questions to ask before signing
(Assurance: les questions à poser avant de signer)
Est-ce que cette assurance est absolument obligatoire ? = Is this insurance absolutely compulsory? Donnez-moi le détail de ce que couvre l’assurance? = Give me the details of the insurance coverage? Donnez-moi toute la documentation, et je vais prendre le temps de réfléchir. = Give me all documentation needed, and I’ll take the time to think about it. Si ma maison est totalement détruite par un incendie (une inondation, une tempête, une catastrophe naturelle, une coulée de boue, des actes criminels…) est-ce que l’assurance couvrira entièrement les dépenses de reconstruction ? = If my house is totally destroyed by fire (flood, storm, natural disaster, mudslide, criminal act…), will the insurance cover the entire cost of rebuilding? Comment fait-on concrètement une demande de remboursement, et quel est le délai après l’incident? = How exactly do we file a claim, and what is the time limit after the incident ? Dans quelle situation l’assurance ne me remboursera pas ? = In which situation won’t the insurance reimburse me? Dans quelle situation l’assurance ne rembourse que partiellement ? = In which situation will the insurance only reimburse partially? Quel est le montant de la franchise ? = What is the amount of the deductable? Cela prend combien de temps pour rembourser ? = How long does it take to get reimbursed? Quelles sont les conditions de résiliation de l’assurance ? = what are the conditions in order to cancel my policy? Si j’ai un accrochage en voiture, est-ce que je dois immédiatement remplir un constat à l’amiable, et est-ce que je dois appeler la police ? If I am involved in a car accident, do I have to fill out the accident report immediately, and do I have to call the police?
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