Home Insurance in France 2026: Rules, Cover, Cost

How French home insurance works

Home insurance in France (assurance habitation) is built around one standard policy known as multirisques habitation, or MRH. It bundles fire, water damage, theft, civil liability and the mandatory natural-disaster cover into a single contract. For tenants, holding such a policy is a legal duty. For co-owners and landlords, the ALUR Act of 24 March 2014 added a parallel civil-liability obligation.

The system is supervised by the ACPR (Autorite de controle prudentiel et de resolution), the regulator that watches insurer solvency and market conduct. Contracts are governed by the Code des assurances. Disputes have a dedicated free ombudsman, La Mediation de l'Assurance, before any court action.

This guide walks through the legal duties by profile, what an MRH actually covers, the franchise and deductible rules, how to file a claim, and how to leave a contract using the Loi Hamon. If you also need car insurance or want to understand the broader insurance landscape in France, we have separate guides for those.

Who must have home insurance?

Tenants (locataires)

Article 7g of the Law n°89-462 of 6 July 1989 requires every tenant to insure against the risks they answer for as occupier. The minimum "risques locatifs" cover protects the building against fire, explosion and water damage. Since the ALUR Act of 2014 the same duty applies to both unfurnished and furnished rentals, including:

• Unfurnished rentals (location nue)
• Furnished rentals (location meublee)
• Social housing (HLM)
• Mobility leases (bail mobilite, Article 25-12 of the same Act)
• Student housing in private residences

You must hand the landlord an attestation d'assurance at lease signing and on each anniversary. Without one, the landlord may either start lease-termination proceedings or, since the ALUR Act, take out a policy on your behalf and bill it back to you with a surcharge capped at 10 percent of the annual premium (Decree of 30 March 2016).

Co-owners in a copropriete

Since the ALUR Act, every co-owner (whether owner-occupier or landlord) must carry at least civil liability cover for damage stemming from their lot. This is set out in Article 9-1 of the Law of 10 July 1965. The syndicate of co-owners separately insures the common parts through a building-wide multirisques policy. The Loi ELAN of 23 November 2018 further clarified the allocation of responsibilities between co-owners, tenants and the syndic.

Non-occupant landlords (PNO)

A landlord must carry at minimum a Proprietaire Non-Occupant (PNO) civil liability policy under the ALUR Act. It covers vacant periods between tenants, the parts of damage the tenant's policy does not reach, and the landlord's own liability. Mortgage lenders nearly always require broader cover as well.

Owner-occupiers of standalone houses

No law forces you to insure your standalone home. In practice, almost everyone does because rebuilding after a fire, flood or major liability claim out of pocket is rarely realistic. If you took out a mortgage, the bank will require a home insurance policy as a precondition.

What an MRH policy covers

A standard MRH bundles several protections in one contract. The exact wording varies between insurers, but the core perils are almost always the same.

Standard cover (garanties de base)

Optional cover worth considering

• Legal protection (protection juridique): covers lawyer and expert fees for housing disputes.
• New-for-old (valeur a neuf): indemnity without depreciation, generally on goods under two years old.
• Electrical damage: surges and short circuits hitting electronics.
• Pool, outbuildings, solar panels: extensions to the building cover.
• Remote work: cover for professional equipment used at home.
• 24/7 home assistance: emergency call-out for plumbers, locksmiths, glaziers, plus temporary rehousing.

Common exclusions to check

• Wear and tear, lack of maintenance (slow, progressive leaks).
• Intentional damage caused by the insured.
• War, riots and terrorism (separate FGTI compensation scheme).
• Properties left empty beyond a contractual vacancy period (often 90 consecutive days).
• Undeclared professional use of the property.

Franchise, sums insured and pricing in 2026

Three franchise (excess) types

• Fixed franchise: the same amount whatever the claim (typically 150 EUR).
• Proportional franchise: a percentage of the claim, capped by a floor and a ceiling.
• Statutory cat nat franchise: 380 EUR per dwelling claim, set by the Decree of 5 September 2000 and unchangeable.

Sums insured (capitaux garantis)

Your contract sets a ceiling on the building cover, a separate ceiling on contents (capital mobilier), and sub-limits for jewellery, art and portable electronics. Under-declaring the contents value triggers the proportional rule of Article L121-5 of the Insurance Code: indemnity is reduced in proportion to the under-insurance, so a 50 percent shortfall leads to 50 percent compensation only.

Typical 2026 premiums

What drives your premium

• Location: dense urban areas, flood zones and seismic risk zones pay more.
• Size and building age: more square metres mean higher rebuild cost; old plumbing and wiring raise the risk.
• Security features: A2P-certified locks, alarms and shutters can earn discounts.
• Contents value: the sum insured drives the premium directly.
• Claims history: a recent loss record raises the price for several years.
• Franchise choice: accepting a higher excess lowers the premium but raises your share when something goes wrong.

Filing a claim (declaration de sinistre)

Article L113-2 of the Code des assurances sets the deadlines. Missing them without a valid reason can lead to forfeiture of cover if the insurer can show actual prejudice.

Step by step

1. 1Limit further damage. Shut off water or power, secure entry points after a break-in. Salvage costs are reimbursable.
2. 2Gather evidence. Photos, videos, receipts. For theft, file a depot de plainte within 24 hours and keep the receipt.
3. 3Send a formal declaration. Registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt is the safest channel; email or app declarations are accepted by most insurers.
4. 4Expertise. Above a certain threshold, the insurer mandates an expert. You may bring your own (covered if you have protection juridique).
5. 5Settlement. Payment usually arrives within 30 days of agreement. For water damage involving a neighbour, both insurers settle through a constat amiable degats des eaux.

Cancelling and switching: Loi Hamon and other paths

Under the Loi Hamon of 17 March 2014, codified at Article L113-15-2 of the Code des assurances, you can cancel any home insurance policy once it has been running for at least one year. Notice is one month, with no fees or penalty. Your new insurer can handle the paperwork to keep cover continuous. The detailed mechanics are covered in our Hamon Law guide.

During the first year, two doors stay open. The Loi Chatel requires insurers to send a renewal notice before each anniversary; if it arrives late or never, you can cancel at any time. And Article L113-16 lets you cancel for a qualifying life change (move, marriage, divorce, retirement, job loss) with three months' notice, as long as the change is directly linked to the insured risk.

If you disagree with the insurer

Start with the complaints department by registered letter. ACPR recommendation 2022-R-01 gives the insurer two months to reply. If you are not satisfied, you can take the file free of charge to La Mediation de l'Assurance. The mediator issues an opinion within about 90 days.

Court action before the tribunal judiciaire is the final step. The ACPR supervises insurer conduct but does not resolve individual disputes. Keep every letter, expertise and email; they will be the heart of your file.

Holiday and second-home insurance

If you own a holiday home, declare it as a residence secondaire when you take out the policy. Most contracts reduce or void cover after about 90 consecutive days of vacancy, so the insurer needs to know upfront. Expect higher premiums than for a primary residence of the same size, especially for theft and water damage.

Pay attention to two practical clauses: visit frequency (some policies require periodic inspections) and security measures during absences (shutters closed, water main turned off in winter). Frozen pipe cover is worth the small extra for any property left unheated.

Frequently Asked Questions