About French Holiday Home Insurance

Claim

24 Hour Claims Helpline

There is a 24-hour claims helpline available so you can report your claim as soon as it happens. Once you’ve reported a claim, the team will aim to call you back within 24 hours* to take you through the next steps.

Group

Friendly Specialist Property Team

We have a dedicated, specialist team to help you set up your policy, make changes to your policy and renew your policy. They are available weekdays between 9am - 7pm.

Options

Range of properties

French holiday home insurance from Towergate can cover your maison, gîte, château, or chalet, whether you use it for holidays or you let it out. We cover all of France and most kinds of properties; from rustic farmhouses and cottages of the vast Gallic countryside to luxurious villas in the glittering Côte d’Azur, or even upmarket urban apartments for the city dwellers. We can cover UK residents with properties in France.

Direct Debit

Spread the cost

You can spread the cost of your insurance over monthly direct debit instalments.

Features of French Holiday Home Insurance

Standard cover

Liability cover

Whether you use your holiday home for yourself or choose to let it out, it is important to ensure you are covered for liability to the public or any domestic employees. Our policies include liability cover up to the amounts shown within your policy wording and schedule, with the potential to increase the cover as required.

Alternative Accommodation and Emergency Travel

If your property experiences a claim that exceeds £1500, with the insurer’s agreement, you will be able to claim for the cost of a return journey by air, sea, or rail to your holiday home to enable you to better manage the situation (subject to the limits set out within your policy wording).

Leaks and burst pipes

We call this 'escape of water or oil', and this is included as standard. Fully furnished properties, with Building & Contents cover, can remain unoccupied for up to 60 consecutive days with cover against loss or damage due to Escape of Water. Between 1 Nov - 31 Mar, when unoccupied overnight, any plumbed systems must be drained down or property maintained at a minimum 15C for cover to apply. (Not applicable to Spanish, Portuguese, Greek and Southern Cypriot Holiday Homes.)

UK based claims service and policy wording

Should you need to claim on your holiday home insurance policy, to ensure you have a simple and straightforward claims experience, we utilise a UK based claims call centre staffed by insurance professionals. They will have access to your policy wording, which is tailored to be compliant with local requirements wherever your holiday home is located.

French Holiday Home Insurance FAQs

Question

What does Brexit mean for my Towergate holiday home insurance policy?

Answer

For most customers, your policy will be unchanged after the end of the Brexit transition period on 1 January 2021.

  • If you’re a permanent resident in the UK, with properties in the UK, your policy and cover won’t change at all.
  • If you’re a permanent resident in the UK, with properties in the EU, your policy and cover won’t change at all.
  • If you’re a permanent resident in the EU, with properties in the UK, your policy and cover won’t change at all.
  • However, if you are a permanent resident or domiciled in the EU, with properties in the EU, unfortunately we will not be able to cover you after 1 January 2021. Your policy will be cancelled on 1 January 2020 and you will need to seek an alternative provider. We will be contacting you directly if your policy is due to be cancelled.

Question

I live abroad – what happens with my holiday home insurance policy after 1 January 2021? 

Answer
  • If you’re a permanent resident in the EU, with properties in the UK, we will still be able to cover you.
  • However, if you are a permanent resident in the EU, with properties in the EU, unfortunately we will not be able to cover you after 1 January 2021. Your policy will be cancelled and you will need to seek an alternative provider. We will be contacting you directly if your policy is due to be cancelled.

Question

Is this policy only eligible for holiday homes in France?

Answer

No, if you have a holiday home in any of the following countries you are eligible to apply for a policy: the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Spain, France, Portugal, Greece and Southern Cyprus. The main criteria which make a property a holiday home are how you use it and how often you go there. If you just use the home for holidays or holiday lets and you don’t visit frequently then it’s likely to be classed as a holiday home. If you have a property which you visit more frequently, say for work or to visit nearby relatives, then it may be considered a second home in insurance terms.

Question

Are there any exclusions?

Answer

We have provided a summary of the key features of the policy, above. For details of the terms and conditions applicable, please refer to the insurance product information document and policy wording, which are available during the quotation process.

Question

Where can I find full details of my policy?

Answer

We have provided a summary of the key features of the policy, above. For details of the terms and conditions applicable, please refer to the insurance product information document and policy wording, which are available during the quotation process.

Question

Can I pay in instalments?

Answer

If you would prefer to spread the cost of your policy you have the option of setting up a Direct Debit to pay your premium in equal monthly instalments through our preferred provider, Premium Credit Limited (PCL)

To find out more about PCL and direct debit payments, select Direct Debit.

To understand more about how PCL work together with Towergate, please read our Regulatory Information

Question

Where can I find out more?

Answer

Watch our video:

How do I make a claim?

When you need to make a claim, we’ll guide you through the process and get your claim settled as quickly as possible.

1.

Find your insurance documents

and make sure you have all your information at hand, including your policy number

2.

Call the claims team

on 0330 123 0821 and explain exactly what happened

3.

Provide photos if requested

to help us understand what happened as quickly as we can

Relaxed Person Making Claim