Works Damage Insurance
Ease: Immediate pricing.
Simplified subscription conditions. Without project management, without soil study for all work or construction costing less than €300,000, possibility of subscribing for water-free air-free construction. Service: Personalized service.
Do not hesitate to call us. Responsiveness: The work damage certificate within 24 hours, to respond in time to the request of financial organizations or notaries.
Security: An offer from a selection of insurers so that you are well guaranteed for the duration of your contract.
Building damage insurance: how does it really work?
Your new house is covered by building damage insurance (DO) for a period of ten years.
It will take financial responsibility for the disorders without waiting for court decisions. New houses are guaranteed for ten years against construction defects.
On the one hand, the builder must have ten-year liability insurance while on the other, the buyer is required to take out works damage insurance. The latter is obligatory. It will cover the successive owner(s) for ten years against any risk of loss affecting the structure of their house (10-year disorder in legal language).
A significant safety net. This insurance allows reimbursement and repair of problems which occur after receipt of the work and which entail the ten-year liability of professionals (builders, architects, project managers, companies). Work damage insurance must be taken out before the opening of the site.
House and structural damage: what does the law say?
Construction insurance was established in January 1978 by the Spinetta law.
This compulsory insurance system has a double trigger. On the one hand, the builder takes out a ten-year guarantee and on the other hand, the individual takes out works damage insurance. The latter is mandatory regardless of the legal framework of the project (articles L-242-1 of the insurance code and L-111-30 of the construction and housing code). The individual house construction contract must also specify the reference of the damage-work. This insurance aims to guarantee, apart from any search for liability, payment for repair work for damage suffered. It will cover the costs of restoring the house even before the builder intervenes or if, for example, the latter has disappeared during this ten-year period. It is then up to the two insurance companies to agree between them.
Manufacturers must also ensure
Any house builder in the broad sense, whether builder of individual house (CCMI-law 1990), architect, project manager must take out ten-year insurance. These professionals are required to provide proof of taking out this insurance. The regulated ten-year civil liability insurance certificate, conforming to a standard model, must be attached to the quotes and invoices. The professional is liable for ten years in the event of damage, with regard to the first owner (the project owner), but also with regard to possible successive purchasers in the event of resale of the work. The insured damages are those which compromise the solidity of the house or which make it unsuitable for its intended purpose (crack in the ground leading to unevenness of the floor, lack of waterproofing, etc.). It is also damage which affects the solidity of an element of equipment inseparable from the work (a faulty electrical installation for example).
Structure damages, ten-year: what are the differences?
The main difference between works damage insurance and the builder's ten-year insurance is above all its speed of compensation.
It is an insurance which aims to intervene in pre-financing damages within the framework of the ten-year guarantee. When a disaster occurs, the search for the causes of this disaster can be long and difficult and even conflicting. Unlike the manufacturer's ten-year guarantee, the works damage insurance aims to guarantee reimbursement or rapid repair of problems covered by the ten-year guarantee without waiting for court decisions, expert opinions and second opinions. Indeed, in the event of a disaster, it is not uncommon for the manufacturer to transfer its responsibility to another party. Everyone rejecting responsibility for the disaster, the procedure can last a long time. Hence the interest in taking out insurance which grants compensation, without excess and without waiting to identify those responsible!
What risks are covered by insurance?
The structural damage insurance covers for the duration of the builder's ten-year guarantee all physical damage compromising the solidity of the house, including that resulting from a defect in the ground.
It takes care of major cracks in the walls, sagging of the floor, collapse of the roof, water infiltration through a crack in the facade, or through the roof, defects in the thermal insulation of the walls, etc. Also covered are: damage affecting the solidity of the equipment elements which cannot be separated from the work.
Inseparable capital goods are those whose removal, dismantling or replacement cannot be carried out without damaging or removing part of the fundamental structure which serves as their support. However, it does not cover moving parts such as doors and windows. This guarantee also does not apply to damage caused by the insured, nor to normal wear and tear, fire, or natural risk (storm, flood, etc.). It can, but optionally, apply to immaterial damage suffered by the owner or its occupants (damage due to loss of use of the house, for example).
Good to know
If a soil study (type G2 AVP) is carried out by a specialized design office to define the nature of the subsoil and determine the foundations to be made, structural damage insurers grant a significant discount (up to 50 %) on the contribution. And for good reason, the loss experience linked to the geological nature of the terrain becomes marginal.
The operation of the damage-work
A disaster appears on the house, a crack on the facade, infiltrations? It all starts with a claim declaration to the insurer. From the date of receipt of the claim declaration, the insurance company has a maximum of 90 days to resolve the problem. The insurance company will have to carry out the necessary work which will have been determined and evaluated by a single expert. It is up to her to then turn against the person(s) responsible for the disturbances observed.
It guarantees the first owner but also the following ones within the limit of the duration of the ten-year guarantee. In addition, it compensates quickly without waiting for court decisions, expert opinions and second opinions. It allows reimbursements or execution of all repairs covered by the ten-year guarantee to be made, without waiting for a court decision ruling on everyone's responsibilities.
Selling a house without work damage
Failure to take out construction damage insurance does not prevent the notary from receiving the deed of sale, it being his responsibility to include a special clause mentioning the absence of this insurance, the foreseeable consequences and a discharge. of responsibility.
There may be a transfer of responsibility to the buyer. This is then a good argument to lower the price. The bank can also refuse to grant the requested loan because the absence of damage to the work represents a danger to the extent that the value of the collateral - in this case the house - could be affected in the event of a disaster.
Deadlines for processing the compensation file
Unlike the manufacturer's ten-year guarantee, the compensation procedure for work damage is rapid. The insurer is legally required to respect deadlines:
- He has ten days (D+10) from receipt of the claim declaration to notify the insured that his declaration is not deemed to have been made and to request the missing information.
- The insurer has 15 days (D+15) to notify without expertise a proposal for compensation or a refusal of coverage.
- He has 60 days (D+60) to notify the decision regarding the principle of bringing into play the guarantees of the contract, in view of the preliminary report previously notified to the insured. And propose, if necessary, the setting of an extension of time for the compensation proposal.
- Finally, the insurer has 90 days (D+90) to notify its compensation proposal in view of the expert report previously notified to the insured.
Damage Structure
The law requires the project owner who wishes to carry out construction work to take out structural damage insurance before the opening of the site.
It allows reimbursements or repairs covered by the ten-year guarantee to be carried out, without waiting for a court decision ruling on everyone's responsibilities. It is the owner of the built accommodation who benefits from structural damage insurance. It will be up to him to play it if necessary. The project owner, that is to say any natural or legal person who, acting as owner, seller or agent of the owner of the building, has the work carried out.