The guarantees in the event of a disaster must be read in great detail.
Météo-France has warned: it will blow hard in France. Storm Ciaran is hitting the French coast and gusts of wind are expected, raising fears of damage, particularly on the coast. Many homes could be affected.
Falling trees, branches breaking windows, flying tiles… To repair the ravages of Mother Nature, it is better to be well insured and know the fine print of your contract. All companies announce it clearly: they insure you in the event of a storm. But behind the headlines lies a provision that could wipe out any compensation.
Insurers have in fact included in the general conditions of housing contracts that a minimum wind speed must have been recorded to initiate the process of covering the damage.
The study of various contracts makes it possible to list the insurances clearly highlighting this particularity. It is, at least,:
- Axa
- Savings bank
- Mutual credit
- Gan
- Generali
- GMF
- Matmut
- MMA
- Swiss Life
In the document, the companies stipulate that the “storm guarantee” is only triggered if the affected person presents a certificate indicating that the wind speed exceeded 100km/h at the time of the damage. At Axa, this minimum is lower, at 90km/h.
Other companies do not indicate a minimum wind speed to qualify for compensation. They simply speak of a “phenomenon of exceptional intensity” or “of such intensity that it destroys, breaks or damages a certain number of well-constructed buildings in your municipality or neighboring municipalities.” These include Allianz, Crédit Agricole, Groupama, Macif and Maaf.
To prove this (exceptional wind speed or intensity depending on the contracts), the insured is required to request the appropriate document from the nearest weather station, also called a “bad weather certificate”. It is possible to obtain it directly from the Météo-France website. But this comes at a cost: more than €60 per document.
Furthermore, the contracts provide that “these phenomena must be of such intensity that they destroy or damage well-constructed buildings in the municipality where the insured property is located or in neighboring municipalities.”
For residents who will be hit by Ciaran, there is no need to worry about compensation for possible damage. According to weather forecasts, winds will be around 100 to 150 km/h during the passage of the storm.