Water damage
A student home insurance policy systematically provides cover in the event of water damage to the tenant. However, the cases of compensation vary considerably depending on the companies and the guarantees chosen in your contract. At Etudassur, we cover many risks, whether you opt for the “Essential” or “XXL” package. What are the cases of exclusion?
Student home insurance and water damage
In a student home insurance policy, ‘rental risk’ cover is the minimum cover required by law when you rent accommodation.
The rental risk insurance covers you against damage to your home or building. The damage may be caused by fire, explosion or water damage.
This insurance covers you vis-à-vis your landlord, but will not cover damage to your personal property, neighbours or third parties.
On the other hand, depending on the insurance contracts or insurers, the rental risk guarantee does not systematically include Civil Liability. This covers the insured student against damage caused to third parties in his private life, during his schooling or during his work placements.
If you do not have civil liability, you will bear the financial consequences of any damage you cause to third parties.
However, with Etudassur, the water damage/freeze guarantee is included in all our “CROUS” (€29.95 per year, i.e. €2.50 per month), “Essentielle” (€50 per year, i.e. €4.15 per month) and “XXL” (€64 per year, i.e. €5.30 per month) packages.
Extent of water damage/freeze cover
This guarantee covers several types of damage.
It first covers material damage to furniture inside the building and caused only under the following conditions:
– Accidental water leakage from pipes or containers, gutters, downpipes, pipes or gutters causing water damage.
– Accidental seepage from or through roofs, terraces, balconies, skylights and exterior walls, tiles, or seals around sanitary facilities.
Water damage resulting fromthe backflow of sewers, gutters, cesspools or septic tanks.
– Building dampness, condensation, condensation, capillary rise if these phenomena are the direct consequence of an insured loss.
– Rescue measures and the intervention of rescue services following an insured loss.
The guarantee also covers material damage to furniture inside the building caused by a leak or damaged pipe.
Material damage to furniture in the building caused by frost on pipes is also covered by the water damage guarantee.
Etudasssur also compensates you for damage you suffer if it is due to the fault of an identified third party (e.g. your neighbour forgetting to turn off a tap and causing a leak in your home).
Cases of exclusion
In the event of damage to furniture stored outside the building, thefts of insured furniture committed outside the building or stored in a rental unit are not compensated.
Valuables, funds, cash and valuables, works of art and jewellery are also not replaceable.
The furniture will be replaced at its use value, or at “replacement value” if it was purchased less than 2 years ago (in both “Essential” and “XXL” packages).
Certain categories of damage are also excluded from water damage cover:
– Water damage resulting from natural disasters or climatic events (compensation will be paid in accordance with the conditions laid down in your contract for these categories of risk).
– Claims that are not of accidental origin.
– Damage to roofs, balconies, external walls, skylights, terraces, gutters, pipes, external water installations (except in the case of frost) or appliances connected to these installations if they are the cause of the damage.
FAQ
– Turn off the water supply.
– Contact your landlord and the Residence Manager or the Emergency Service to stop the leak.
– If the leak comes from the building or a neighbour and/or if third parties are affected by water damage originating from your home, fill in and complete the “water damage” amicable report (you can download a version from the Etudassur website).
Each party must sign the report.
If the loss originates in your home and only your home is affected, you must tell your insurer the origin of the loss and its extent.
– Send us your declaration or a copy of the report within a maximum of 5 working days after the occurrence of the loss.
You should provide as much information as possible to determine the cause of the loss (e.g. photographs). If your insurance covers material damage to your furniture or personal belongings, you should also provide your insurer with photos or invoices of damaged goods in order to receive compensation. These documents must be from before the damage occurred.
The insurer will assess the damage suffered or will ask for an expert if the damage is very important, in order to estimate the cost of the repairs following your water damage.
When you notice water damage, stop the leak. You should then immediately contact your insurer. Your guarantee will work if the damage is covered by your home insurance policy, such as an accidental leak or a septic tank back-up. In this case, you will receive compensation from your insurer.
You should also immediately inform your landlord and/or lessor to assess the damage and make a claim.
This is important because the owner of your property has a limited time to benefit from the conditions of the IRSI Agreement. Indeed, if water damage affects other co-owners in the building and comes from a neighbouring building, the conditions of compensation will be governed by the IRSI Agreement if the total damage, excluding taxes, is less than or equal to €5,000.
Coverage depends on the terms and conditions of each home insurance policy. The damage must be covered by your policy. If this is not the case, the insured person is responsible for repairing the damage.
With Etudassur, your only obligation is to pay the excess* of €100, giving you the right to a compensation ceiling of €6,000 or €7,500 (depending on the formula) for your personal objects damaged by water damage.
Your insurer will pay for the material, physical and immaterial damage suffered by the victims.
Except in special cases (insalubrity, expropriation, etc.), the buildings affected may be compensated by your insurer.
First of all, you must report the claim to your insurance company according to the established procedure. You must provide the necessary information to your insurer so that it can determine the amount of compensation.
In the event of damage caused by water seepage, payment of your compensation is conditional on the presentation of proof that work has been carried out to repair the cause of the seepage.
The procedures for compensation for water damage vary between different insurance companies. In most cases, they will send you a letter specifying the amount of compensation offered. If you accept it, you will then be compensated within the time limit set out in your home contract. This period is generally one month. On the other hand, if you do not accept the proposed amount, you can lodge an appeal by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. In this document, ask your insurer to give you a copy of the expert report.
If the disagreement about the water damage continues, you can ask for the expert of your choice. If there is a disagreement between the insurer’s expert and your own expert, you have the possibility of resorting to the Insurance Mediation.
* The deductible is the amount you have to pay in the event of damage and which is not reimbursed by your insurance.
NB. These explanations do not exempt you from reading the General Conditions of your contract, in order to know the extent of your guarantees.