Why you need insurance when you rent in France

If anything happens to you, or you cause damage at the house you have rented, you are not covered by the home-owner's insurance. This can range from breaking a coffee-table to accidentally burning the house down.

It is a normal condition of renting in France that you have third party/personal liability insurance to cover these sorts of eventualities. This may also be referred to by its French name, assurance villegiature.

If you are a French resident, no problem, your home insurance covers you when you rent in France. But if you are not French resident you need adequate personal liability insurance to rent a house. The rental contract you sign will ask for this.

In addition, this type of insurance will also cover you for trip cancellation or interruption.

You may have this insurance as part of your existing travel insurance - if so it is probably referred to as personal liability insurance. If not, you need to take out this insurance within 10 days of booking a rental. No details about the house are needed, the cost of the policy is simply a set percentage of the total rental rate you are paying. You just need to know the rental rate and the postcode of the nearest village or town to the house.

You can find the postcode here: Luberon postcodes