Summer is approaching, you are planning to go on vacation soon and you are wondering if you should take out or adapt your home insurance for the accommodation you are going to rent? MoneyVox takes stock.
77% of French people plan to leave, for the most part, between June and September, according to the 2024 vacation barometer, carried out by Ipsos for Europ Assistance. Are you one of them? Before traveling, it is advisable to check your home insurance to be clear, especially if you plan to rent accommodation.
Is it obligatory to insure the rented accommodation?
Seasonal rental is the first choice of those who have planned a vacation: 37%. 31% opted for a hotel, 26% will stay with a relative and 17% for a campsite. In France, home insurance is compulsory for owners of accommodation in collective buildings and for tenants, but only for long-term rentals.
Comprehensive home insurance: damage covered by guarantees
If your vacation rental is not in an apartment, know that for its owner as for you, it is not obligatory to take out home insurance. However, it is often strongly recommended to be covered if you inadvertently cause damage to the accommodation, or in the event of a disaster.
If the owner has already taken out insurance
Several scenarios are possible. The owner of the accommodation you are going to rent may have taken out insurance that covers tenants. If the insurance includes special guarantees for the benefit of any tenant, the contract is called “on whose behalf it will belong”. In this case, no action to be taken on your side: “You will be covered not only for the damage you could cause to the owner’s home, but also for any damage you could cause to third parties », indicates the site Public service.
Another possibility, the owner has taken out insurance for tenants with more restricted guarantees called abandonment of recourse (or waiver of recourse), which therefore cover “only damage caused by tenants to the owner’s accommodation”.
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If the owner has not provided insurance
In this case, it happens that the owner of your vacation accommodation requires you in the contract to take one. Even without requesting, you can also decide to do so, by contacting any company, or by adding a clause called resort guarantee to your own home insurance.
If you already have home insurance, the first step is to check your contract, because very often, this clause is included and “generally sufficient to guarantee the rental of furnished tourist accommodation during your vacation. You must check that your contract contains this guarantee and that there is not a clause which limits the coverage area. For example, coverage only for France,” specifies Public Service. It can also cover your camping stay, if no exclusion on this subject is provided.
Another point to check, the exact name on his contract, because it may imply different guarantees. “ The resort guarantee covers some of your belongings when they are damaged by events guaranteed by the contract (water damage, fire, etc.), during your vacation in France or abroad. Resort civil liability guarantee covers your liability when you are a tenant or occupant for the duration of your stay if you are at the origin of one of the events guaranteed by the contract”, details the federation France insurers.
What about accommodation booked on Airbnb, Booking, Abritel…?
Booking, Abritel or Airbnb, accommodation rental platforms are increasingly popular. They often offer their own insurance to the owners who use them. This insurance sometimes only covers the damage you could suffer as a tenant, sometimes the damage you could cause, or both. It remains to find out to find out (the platform sites explain it most of the time) and make the choice or not to extend or subscribe to another insurance.
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