How does the home insurance deductible work?
Verified 24 April 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The deductible is the amount that the insurer leaves to the insured when he pays him compensation following a loss. We present the conditions of application of the franchise and the different methods of calculation. The situation is different in the event of a natural disaster.
General case
Duty-free treatment is not mandatory.
When you purchase home insurance, the insurer can decide whether or not to implement a deductible for each of the different guarantees in the contract.
If the insurer decides to apply a deductible to a guarantee, it must include a clause indicating this in the contract.
The insurer must specify the claims to which the deductible applies and how it will be calculated.
FYI
where the claimant is a third party and is identified, the insurer may claim the full amount of the compensation. The contract may provide that the insurer does not apply the deductible in this case (or that it reimburses you).
There's 3 types of franchise in the field of home insurance: deductible absolute, deductible relative and frankness proportional.
The absolute deductible is that which will be systematically deducted from your compensation for each claim.
Example :
The deductible is €150.
If you have a disaster €100You will not be compensated.
If you have a disaster €200, you will be compensated for an amount equal to the difference between the amount of the claim and the deductible, either €200 - €150 = €50.
The relative deductible is the amount of which determines the amount of the insurer's intervention according to the amount of the claim.
If the amount of the claim is less than the deductible, you will not be compensated at all.
But, if the amount of the claim is greater than the deductible, you will be fully compensated.
Example :
The deductible is €150.
If you have a disaster €100However, you will not be compensated at all, because the amount of the dispute is less than the amount of the deductible.
However, if you have a €200, you will be compensated up to €200, because the amount of the dispute is greater than the amount of the deductible.
The proportional deductible is that amount corresponding to a percentage of the amount of the claim.
Example :
The deductible is 10% the amount of the claim.
If you have a disaster €100, you will be compensated for an amount equal to the difference between the amount of the claim and 10% of that amount, or €100 - (€100 x10%) = €100 - €10 = €90.
The insurer may provide that the proportional deductible applies with a minimum or maximum threshold.
Example :
Minimum Threshold
The deductible is 10% the amount of the claim, with a minimum threshold of 15%.
If you have a disaster €100, the amount of the proportional exemption shall be €100 x 10% = €10.
But since there is a minimum threshold of €15, the deductible shall be €15.
Your compensation will therefore be €100 - €15 = €85 instead of €90.
Maximum Threshold
The deductible is 10% of the amount of the claim, with a maximum threshold of 90%.
If you have a disaster €1000, the amount of the proportional exemption shall be €1000 x 10% = €100.
But since there is a maximum threshold of €90, the deductible shall be €90.
Your compensation will therefore be €1000 - €90 = €910 instead of 900.
Natural disaster
If the loss is caused by a natural or technological disaster, the application of the exemption shall be obligatory.
The amount of the deductible is fixed by the public authorities and not by the insurer.
The deductible for a home disaster is €380.
If the damage results from a movement of land following the drought and/or rehydration of the soil, the allowance is €1,520.
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National Institute of Consumer Affairs (INC)
National Institute of Consumer Affairs (INC)