French property insurance for prime residences: cover, contents and inventory

Borrower insurance protects repayment of the mortgage if an insured borrower dies or suffers another covered event. Home insurance protects the property, liability and insured contents against defined risks. A French lender will generally require borrower insurance and appropriate property cover, but the policies are not interchangeable.

Since September 2022, a borrower can change mortgage insurance at any time, provided the replacement offers an equivalent level of guarantee accepted by the lender. For an international buyer, age, residence, medical history and occupation can materially affect availability and pricing, so the insurance work should begin alongside the loan rather than after approval.

An owner of a property in a copropriété must carry civil-liability cover. Outside co-ownership, insurance is not always legally compulsory for an owner-occupier, but the owner remains responsible for damage caused to others. In practice, leaving a valuable property uninsured is not a credible risk-management decision and will normally be incompatible with mortgage requirements.

Ask the notaire, building manager and insurer which risks sit with the co-ownership policy and which remain with the apartment owner. The building policy rarely removes the need to insure improvements, contents, alternative accommodation, liability and owner-specific risks.

The insurer needs more than an address and surface area. State whether the property is a principal residence, second home, furnished rental or a combination. Explain long vacancy periods, caretaker arrangements, alarm and surveillance systems, outbuildings, pools, waterfront exposure and any staff accommodation.

Prime properties often fall outside standard online policy assumptions. Bespoke joinery, wine cellars, art, jewellery, outdoor kitchens and expensive audio-visual installations should be discussed explicitly. An apparently generous total contents limit may still contain restrictive sub-limits for individual categories.

The purpose of the inventory is not decorative record-keeping. It is to establish ownership, value and condition if an item is stolen or damaged. Create a room-by-room record before occupation and update it when important items enter or leave the property.

• Wide photographs of every room, followed by clear photographs of important individual items
• Purchase invoices, auction records, valuations and provenance documents
• Maker, model, serial number, dimensions and distinguishing marks where relevant
• Receipts and contracts for fitted kitchens, lighting, automation, landscaping and specialist installations
• A secure digital copy held away from the property, with access available to the person handling a claim

For art, jewellery, watches or a collection, ask whether the insurer requires itemised valuation rather than relying on the general contents limit.

A second home may be unoccupied for months, particularly outside the Paris market. Many policies reduce or exclude certain protections after a stated period of vacancy. Water damage, frost, theft and delayed discovery are the central concerns.

Agree a practical management protocol: periodic visits, heating and water settings, alarm response, keyholders and notification after a serious event. Smart sensors can be useful, but they do not override a policy condition requiring physical inspection or specific security measures.

Occasional use by friends, seasonal letting and a long-term furnished tenancy are different risks. Tell the insurer before the occupancy changes. A platform's host protection is not automatically a substitute for a French owner policy, and it may not cover the building, high-value contents or loss of rent on the terms expected by the owner.

Where the property is let, confirm owner liability, tenant obligations, accidental damage, theft by an occupant, legal expenses, loss of rent and alternative accommodation. The lease and house rules should also identify responsibility for reporting damage promptly.

Structural work, roof replacement, excavation, a pool or a long period without normal occupancy should be declared before works begin. The contractor's insurance does not necessarily protect the owner against every loss. Ask who covers the existing structure, works, materials on site, neighbouring property and delay.

Retain contracts, invoices, contractor insurance certificates and completion records. The finished works may increase both reconstruction cost and contents value, which means the permanent policy should be revised before the residence is occupied again.

Premium alone is a poor comparison. Review the reconstruction basis, excesses, single-item limits, jewellery and art provisions, water and flood definitions, escape-of-water search costs, garden and pool cover, accidental damage, legal assistance and emergency accommodation.

For a property near the coast, in the mountains or in an area exposed to natural events, ask how the policy responds to local hazards and official catastrophe declarations. If the residence contains non-standard materials or heritage features, confirm whether replacement is on a modern equivalent or like-for-like basis.

Keep the insurer, broker, policy number and emergency contacts in one place. Decide who can enter the property and act locally if the owner is abroad. After a loss, make the site safe, record the damage, preserve evidence and notify the insurer promptly without disposing of important items before instructions are received.

The inventory, invoices and photographs should be accessible without returning to the property. For a significant claim, a bilingual adviser or loss assessor may help the owner communicate with local contractors and the insurer.

A useful annual review checks the occupancy pattern, insured values, named high-value items, renovation, security, staff, letting and the lender's requirements. It should also confirm that contact details and payment instructions remain current.

The best policy is the one written around the property that now exists, not the one that was purchased on completion day. For a prime residence, disciplined documentation is part of ownership rather than administrative housekeeping.