The ten-year guarantee is insurance that allows professionals in the construction sector to protect themselves over a period of 10 years in the event of damage or defects observed on the work carried out and received. The subscription of a ten-year insurance is, consequently, obligatory for the craftsmen since they are bound to the building owner by a contract. However, several criteria can come into play when it comes to choosing the best insurance. What are the criteria to take into account to choose your decennial insurance company?
Summary
The importance of having the right insurance policy as a tradesperson
Law No. 78-12 of January 4, 1978, known as the SPINETTA law, requires building professionals to take out ten-year insurance. Indeed, the artisan builder is liable for damages and defects that appear on the structure within 10 years and the cost of repairing the damage can be quite significant. It is therefore important for the craftsman to choose his ten-year insurance carefully, so that it can cover him properly when damage appears on the delivered work. The chosen insurance policy must offer good coverage in the event of a claim. Thus, it must be able to bear the costs of repairing damage which:
- compromise the solidity of the construction,
- make the work unsuitable for its intended purpose,
- affect the equipment that is inseparable from the structure (the concrete screed, the embedded pipes, etc.).
The insurance must also cover leaksmajor cracks or landslides, as well as problems relating to the roof, the frame and the walls.
How to find the best ten-year insurance for your needs?
The ten-year guarantee is an offer offered by most insurance companies, which makes the very competitive sector and the complicated choice. To choose the ten-year insurance that suits you best, you must start by sizing your contract according to your needs. It is also important to compare offers and check warranties. You must declare all your activities in order to allow your insurer to take into account the most risky.
It is also recommended to use a broker accustomed to working with professionals. The broker has a perfect command of the ten-year insurance offered by the companies and is therefore able to find the offer that best suits your needs. To determine the price of your contract, several factors, including turnover, will be taken into account. To avoid ending up with a high premium, it is advisable not to increase your turnover.
The price is a useful selection criterion if you are looking for less expensive ten-year insurance. The cost of a decennial insurance is determined according to several factors, namely your sector of activity, the size of your company, your turnover and the guarantees selected. Other criteria such as the commercial strategy of the insurance company, the experience of the company or the construction techniques used may come into play. It is important to keep in mind that a price that is too low may hide unpleasant surprises. Thus, the ten-year insurance can cost much more if the job you exercise is considered risky.
This demonstrates that the insurance company covering you is reliable and able to cover you effectively. An effective solution for finding the right ten-year insurance is to request personalized quotes online. Think of specify the type of activity you carry out and information related to the site (volume of work to be carried out, annual turnover, number of employees at the time of the request, etc.). This free and reliable method allows you to compare several quotes before making a subscription.
What to consider when comparing insurance policies?
After receiving several ten-year insurance quotes, you must base yourself on several criteria to make the right choice. First, you need to compare the guarantees that are included in the contract. In general, these guarantees are defined by the legislator. The insurance company covers damage that affects the strength of the structure (collapse or major cracks). It is also responsible for compensating the customer when the work delivered is unsuitable for its intended purpose following a construction defect.
It will also be necessary for you to take into account the optional guarantees. They relate to the guarantees offered by certain insurance companies as an option. These include, among other things, the guarantee of proper functioning, the professional civil liability guarantee (RC Pro), the consequential immaterial damage guarantee, the guarantee for damage to existing and legal protection. Indeed, legal protection is a less expensive option that can be useful to you in the event of a dispute in your business.
Take care to compare the amount of deductibles. This criterion is linked to the amount that will remain payable by you depending on the extent of the repairs. Note that the deductible is set by the insurer. In addition, take the time to read the contract carefully, in order to compare the warranty exclusions.
Before any subscription, you must ensure that the insurance company offers to lower the amount of the premium if you have already been insured for years. Also, do not forget to check the reputation of the insurer. It is advisable to opt for a serious and trustworthy insurer, and to check whether it has ACPR (Prudential Control and Resolution Authority) approval.
You should also make sure that the insurance company you choose is based in France and that its credit rating and financial health are reliable. The insurer must also have a good grasp of the realities of construction trades and be able to offer a ten-year guarantee that is adapted to the activity you carry out.
Are there specificities according to each trade?
The guarantees and the cost of the ten-year insurance may vary according to each trade. Indeed, each profession has its own risks, as well as codes that are specific to it. For example, the work carried out by an electrician generally presents several risks. The ten-year guarantee to which this professional must subscribe will take into account:
- failures related to protective equipment such as lightning rods and voltage variators,
- fires caused by electrical surges,
- the deterioration of the electrical installation caused by a fault in the domestic electrical network,
- the destruction of water caused by faulty operation of the protective screeds.
Regarding the price of the ten-year guarantee, the average price that a self-employed electrician will have to pay to take out such insurance is around 1000 euros per year. On the other hand, for a company which achieves a turnover of 500,000 euros, the price of the ten-year insurance can go up to 4,500 euros per year. For a craftsman who works as a painter, the damage covered by the ten-year insurance is limited. Its ten-year liability may be incurred when the damage observed is linked to:
- imperfections on an anti-corrosion paint,
- water infiltration caused by a fault in the installation of a thermal coating,
- sealing problems on a painting,
- poor adaptations of medical plastic coatings.
The price of a ten-year painter’s insurance can vary according to several criteria. With some insurance companies, you can find several types of insurance for painters such as the ten-year interior paint guarantee, the ten-year exterior paint guarantee or the ten-year facade paint guarantee. An individual entrepreneur who wishes to subscribe, for example, to a ten-year interior and exterior painting guarantee has a lower premium of around 900 euros.
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