Guest insurance to stay in a holiday let......advice please!

[JanB]

I hope someone can enlighten me......

Planning to stay in a property in France with a 500 Euro damage deposit, which is quite usual.

In addition, the owner requests we obtain insurance to cover fire or damage. Is this usual? I have not encountered this before.

Does anyone have knowledge of what kind of policy I would be able to get, as we are not covered on our own home insurance.

Thank you so much - I will be so grateful for any input on this!

[Lets Go To Puglia]

I'm really surprised at that. I would have thought that most owners have full insurance including public liability ... I believe it's a legal requirement in Europe.

Maybe the owners of the property you are considering renting don't want to be in a position where they have to make a claim on their own insurance. Or maybe they have had serious problems in the past.

Having said that I just did a quick search and found some information, it seems it is not unusual for France

Try these

Renting holiday house and owner wants us to pay insurance!

Why you need insurance when you rent in France

Just goes to show how wrong our assumptions can be!

[Lets Go To Puglia]

The second link has links to where you can get the insurance if your own travel insurance does not cover it.

Ciao!

[JanB]

Thank you so much, Lets Go To Puglia.....I am so grateful for that and the very helpful links.

We learn something new every day. The owner says his French and Belgian guests find this usual and have never questioned it, although they seem to be covered on their own home insurance.

Uk home insurance does not cover holiday rental, but some policies appear to cover second home ownership.

Oooh, I do like a challenge!

[Lets Go To Puglia]

Prego ... you are very welcome

[French Cricket]

The owner says his French and Belgian guests find this usual and have never questioned it, although they seem to be covered on their own home insurance.

Yes, here we're covered as part of our own home insurance. But before we moved here I never encountered a French owner who ever insisted on insurance, or ever asked about it come to that!

[kevsboredagain]

I never encountered a French owner who ever insisted on insurance, or ever asked about it come to that!

Me neither. Most odd. It's like Easyjet asking your to take out collision damage insurance before you fly.

[JanB]

The owner says his French and Belgian guests find this usual and have never questioned it, although they seem to be covered on their own home insurance.

Yes, here we're covered as part of our own home insurance. But before we moved here I never encountered a French owner who ever insisted on insurance, or ever asked about it come to that!

The friends we are visiting, who live in France, think we should find somewhere else to stay. I must admit, slight alarm bells are ringing as we have to give 500 Euros damage deposit on arrival as well as buying insurance.

To obtain the insurance, we need full property address details and owner email. Of course, this is not straightforward either as we are operating via the HA platform in our communications and they block any attempt to swap email addresses and other personal information. Oh, the joy of it all.

Further complications have arisen with car hire at Limoges as their desk closes at 5.00pm on a Saturday and we do not land until 5.00pm. A dilemma! If we get to France this time, I will be surprised - never known such problems.....husband losing the will to live on this one!!!!

[Hells Bells]

Insurance for second homes, gites etc in France do not include cover for fire or damage by people renting the property. They are expected to have their own cover, which is included as part of a normal French house insurance policy. It is probably unusual to be asked for it, as they probably have assumed everyone has it.
Some UK travel policies include it, and some UK home insurance policies (Nationwide and LV both do I think).
FWIW, I don't ask for details of it, and I have never been asked, but on the ski forum I frequent there is always someone who has each year.

[Hells Bells]

If the car hire place is anything like Grenoble airport, they stay open until the last flight has cleared arrivals.

[JanB]

If the car hire place is anything like Grenoble airport, they stay open until the last flight has cleared arrivals.

Many thanks!

Phew, that sounds good - I wondered whether desk closing times were for "in person" booking, rather than online. After all, they know we have booked amd have the flight number, so it would be odd to leave us high and dry.

We go to France at least once a year and have never encountered quite so many potential obstacles.

Determination and kind LMHers win through. Thanks a million!

[Ecosse]

The previous owner of our place had this system... we assumed this was normal practice in France, but we have since found out that he was winging it with regards to his insurance package, basically he'd taken out a cheaper 'long term let' with an organisation that doesn't do professional insurance, rather than 'running a holiday let' insurance. So, by asking his guests for insurance, he was covering his back at their expense.

Perhaps this isn't the case with the holiday let that you've booked, but in the case of our previous owner, the lack of decent insurance was indicative of him not running the place well... without going into details, he just didn't care.

So, perhaps the advice of looking for alternative accommodation is a good one.

[JanB]

The previous owner of our place had this system... we assumed this was normal practice in France, but we have since found out that he was winging it with regards to his insurance package, basically he'd taken out a cheaper 'long term let' with an organisation that doesn't do professional insurance, rather than 'running a holiday let' insurance. So, by asking his guests for insurance, he was covering his back at their expense.

Perhaps this isn't the case with the holiday let that you've booked, but in the case of our previous owner, the lack of decent insurance was indicative of him not running the place well... without going into details, he just didn't care.

So, perhaps the advice of looking for alternative accommodation is a good one.

Exactly what my husband thinks, the owner is possibly ensuring he is covered and it protects his excess as he would never need to claim. However, he does seem genuinely helpful and I feel it is mainly because his core guest group of Belgians and French do not have the same problems as someone from the UK in terms of their own home insurance covering them.

[paolo]

I think this situation is completely normal in France. The owner can take out extra insurance to cover the damage done by renters. But he can also, instead, ask renters to provide proof of personal liability insurance to cover damage they may cause. Normal home insurance covers the owner, friends, family, but not rentals.

It is also true that most owners know nothing about this, and even fewer renters. So when an owner brings it up, it is assumed to be dodgy.

[JanB]

I think this situation is completely normal in France. The owner can take out extra insurance to cover the damage done by renters. But he can also, instead, ask renters to provide proof of personal liability insurance to cover damage they may cause. Normal home insurance covers the owner, friends, family, but not rentals.

It is also true that most owners know nothing about this, and even fewer renters. So when an owner brings it up, it is assumed to be dodgy.

Thank you, this sums it up perfectly. I have been renting in France almost all my adult life and never come across it and I think we are all a little suspicious when it comes to what can be perceived as odd requests.

Thought I would update everyone on how it worked out, as it could be useful information for owners and renters alike.

In the event it was quite straightforward but only one company provide such cover, ADAR. I did it online and they sent the owner comfirmation of the cover, dates etc, so that made it easy. 34Euro for our 7 night stay. The premium is worked out based on the cost of the accommodation for thr period you are staying. It is possible to have annual cover for 45Euro but we are not planning another trip in the next twelve months.

So, I have learned quite a bit and thank you everyone for your input. One thing I will add....the owner was so kind, patient and willing to explain and that made the difference as to whether we looked elsewhere for a house to rent. He could have been a bit tetchy about my questions. His attitude saved the booking.

The same could not be said for my husband........!!!!