Home insurance, called multi-risk home insurance, protects the home and the property it contains against damage that could occur due to fire, water damage, theft, for example. Likewise, the members of the family of the insured are covered against any damage they may cause to other people.
Tenant, co-owner: home insurance obligation
Tenants must insure their accommodation against rental risks. That is to say that they must protect the property they use against all kinds of damage such as the risk of fire, water damage, explosion… Lack of insurance is even a clause termination of the lease by the landlord.
As far as the co-owner is concerned, his home must be insured against any damage he may cause to the common areas (stairs, roofs, walls, etc.) or to the private areas (the co-owner’s private home). In these cases of disaster, the purpose of the home insurance is to compensate the other co-owners for damage caused to the common areas or to their own private areas.
Owner: essential home insurance
The owner of a simple dwelling (i.e. a dwelling not held in joint ownership), such as a single-family house for example, is not obliged to take out insurance because in principle he cannot cause damage to his neighbors. However, in practice, home insurance remains essential in order to cover its own repairs due to damage, especially since the contribution for such insurance is not expensive compared to the cost of repairs to be incurred in the event of a claim.
Assess your movable property at its fair value
When taking out a home contract, it is necessary to value your movable property at its fair value in order to receive fair compensation in the event of a claim. An undervaluation of the value of his property may lead to a reduction in the compensation paid in the event of a claim.
To value your own movable assets at their fair value, the principle of compensation retained in the contract must be taken into account:
The dilapidated value deducted is the value of an asset that takes into account its aging or obsolescence. This type of compensation does not allow re-equipment with the same goods since the reimbursement received will be lower than the price of new. In return, the contribution of the housing contract will be lower than another type of contract;
The new value allows you to receive compensation for your goods at their value on the day of the loss. This type of reimbursement is the best since it allows you to re-equip yourself after a disaster, without paying any additional costs, but the contribution will be higher.
With regard to claims suffered by the property, the compensation is generally made in reconstruction value, that is to say that the insurer compensates you so as to be able to rebuild your property as it was before the sinister.
Franchise
The deductible corresponds to the amount of money that remains the responsibility of the insured in the event of a claim.
The multi-risk home contract often includes several deductibles depending on the claim. It is necessary to carefully read the general conditions, where all the deductibles in force and the maximum amounts of compensation are specified. The higher the deductible, the cheaper the contract premium will be, since the insurer will have less to pay in the event of a claim.