Buying Property in the Languedoc: Building Insurance

By law you must have third-party insurance for your property. The notaire will check that you have such insurance before the formal signing of the Acte de Vente. In practice this is not too traumatic, as it is common for the purchasor to take over the insurance policy from the vendor.

This insurance, like third-party motor insurance, is designed to provide a guaranteed fund against which third-parties can seek recourseif you are deemed liable for damage. To take a simple example it will cover you if a roof tile blows off and injures your neighbour.

There is no legal requirement to insure your property against fire, flood, storm damage or earth movement, nor the contents against theft.

Fortunately, theft is very rare in the Languedoc, except in cities. It is also becoming common in towns. In the countryside you are generally safe, except that you cherries from your remote cherry might mysteriously dissappear overnight. You are particularly safe in villages.

One type of property that is particularly vulnerable is the remote farmhouse used as a holiday home, especially if it has two separate access roads. If you own such a property you should employ a guardian. This can be expensive, but without it you stand a high chance of loosing your furniture, kitchen equipment, bathroom fittings, firplaces, radiators, boiler, stoves, doors, carpets, shutters, windows, locks, garden ornaments, and so on, perhaps even your roof tiles.

The alternative is special insurance for holiday properties, which is also expensive. Insurance companies enjoy the same moral stature as other financial institutions, and as such will be far more comfortable taking your money that giving you theirs, so read the small print very carefully and make sure you comply with every tiny requirement in your policy.