# Water damage and insurance



## myol

I recently started renting an apartment which is suffering water damage. I understand I need to make a house insurance claim but I've heard different things about excess costs.

One person told me if the repair costs of the damage is over a certain threshold, the property owners insurance takes care of the issue. Otherwise my insurance will. If my insurance takes on the issue, roughly what kind of extra costs would I have to pay? I understand contracts and insurance companies are all different but are we talking a couple hundred Euros here or closer to a grand?

The damage looks like a builder will have to come in and tear down a (not so) drywall, possibly remove the bath tub, fix the issue, build a new drywall and re-tile the entire thing. I got a quote for a plumber to come out just to fix my toilet not refilling and that would be €200 for an hours work, so I imagine realistically a builder ripping out a chunk of the bathroom over a number of days plus materials would be upwards of €2k

I tried to clarify with the insurance after reading the contract but they completely ignored my question.


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## Buchigon

I suggest you be very careful if you want to take out insurance with an insurance company because they can often defraud you or not clearly present all the clauses in your contract.


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## BackinFrance

Usually you claim on your own insurance and your insurer works with your landlord's insurer in order to claim costs in full or in part against them. It is possible that you will be required to pay the excess on your policy, and that excess should be clearly stated on your policy on the page that indicates the premium and dates covered by the policy. However if your insurer considers that you have not taken due care of the property things could get complicated, in which case I would suggest you refer it to your assurance juridique. Most often though the most you pay is the excess on your policy.

The insurer should send someone out to assess your claim after which they should contact you.


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## Buchigon

I suggest you be very careful if you want to take out insurance with an insurance company because they can often defraud you or not clearly present all the clauses in your contract. Water damage insurance is a type of protection provided in most homeowners insurance policies against sudden and accidental water damage. Water damage insurance does not cover water damage restoration resulting from the homeowners' negligence or failure to keep the home in good repair.


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## Bevdeforges

Buchigon said:


> I suggest you be very careful if you want to take out insurance with an insurance company because they can often defraud you or not clearly present all the clauses in your contract. Water damage insurance is a type of protection provided in most homeowners insurance policies against sudden and accidental water damage. Water damage insurance does not cover water damage restoration resulting from the homeowners' negligence or failure to keep the home in good repair.


I think you're talking about US homeowners' insurance here. The various forms of insurance in France for those who own a home tend to be very different, based on the laws here in France.


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