Am I insured for subsidence?

Subsidence (affaissement) is covered by most multirisques habitation household contracts but usually under the cover for catastrophes naturelles (natural disasters), related to drought, flood, earthquakes etc.

Claims can be met only if you have relevant insurance and if the government has published a decree in the Journal Officiel declaring a state of natural disaster covering the area where you have your home.

Usually this will cover a whole commune but sometimes it is limited to only part of it.

Once the decree has been published, the way is open for insurance companies to pay out quickly – they are partly compensated through a special fund. Claims have to be lodged within 10 days.

The first stop is to ask at the mairie to see if a decree has been issued. If there is no decree, you can ask the mairie to get one from the Ministère de la Cohésion des territoires. You may have to pay for a survey, although it might be covered by a protection juridique clause as part of your home insurance. As well as the mayor, you could contact your MP, senator and departmental or regional councillors and anyone else you believe might have some influence.

If you are successful, you will still have to contribute a franchise légale of €1,520 if the damage the claim relates to has been caused by drought, or the re-hydration of the soil.

If you find cracks in the home due to subsidence and your home was built in the last 10 years, you can make use of the garantie décennale, the 10-year builder’s guarantee. This should cover problems relating to the
solidity of your home in this period.

Also if you discover subsidence after a purchase, you might be able to make a claim against the seller for a vice caché (a hidden defect), but this can be difficult. The problem needs to have existed before you purchased it but not have been obviously apparent to you at the time. Finally, if the subsidence is due to actions of a neighbour or the council, then you can sue them.