Definition : Insurance - Civil liability insurance of the Syndicate

Water damage is the most common loss in co-ownerships.The concept of water damage also includes the liability of the syndicate, the co-owner and the tenant, who could be engaged in the event of damage suffered by third parties. The question of who is responsible for this constantly arises. However, it is necessary to know the law applicable to the culprit. Other considerations affect both the insurer of the syndicate and that of the co-owners concerned, in order to determine who will pay what. However, water damage can originate from a private portion, but also from a common portion (roof, façade, terrace, sewage discharge column that crosses the apartments, terrace).  

Les copropriétés qui perdent leur assureur ne sont plus des cas isolés. Si la plupart d'entre elles parviennent à en trouver un autre pour recadrer le risque, les primes et les franchises n'en demeurent pas moins substantielles.

Les sinistres qui proviennent d'une unité, au sein d'une copropriété, obligent bien souvent un syndicat à payer la franchise pour faire réparer les dommages occasionnés. Lorsque l'assureur du copropriétaire ne veut pas rembourser cette franchise, un syndicat peut intenter une procédure judiciaire. Cette webradio explique comment s'y prendre.

Your co-ownership is exposed to various risks, such as fire, water damage, theft and vandalism. When a loss occurs, the insurance of the co-ownership covers the immovable and the civil liability of the syndicate of co-owners. The syndicate has the obligation to subscribe this type of insurance. The Law and the vast majority of declarations of co-ownership make it compulsory. The insurance contract describes the guarantees offered, their limits, exclusions, and the amounts of the deductibles. Your syndicate must subscribe the following coverages:

Almost every insurance policy includes deductibles, the amounts of which vary depending on the risk insured. For example, the deductible for water damage is usually higher than that for fire. The amount of the deductible will be deducted from any compensation paid. Its purpose is to make the insured responsible, by making him take charge of part of the repairs of the damage caused by the disaster.  The advantage for the syndicate is to see its premium reduced. In co-ownerships, deductibles are a factor in the Building insurance, and in the third party liability insurance of the syndicate, directors, meeting officers, co-ownership manager and of the condo manager. Regarding co-owner’s insurance, generally each home insurance policy contains one or more deductibles for various amounts according with the nature of the loss.

Parasitic disorders in co-ownership are well and truly present. They take the form of infestations of various insects, including cockroaches, carpenter ants, silverfish and Bed Bugs, not to mention rats, mouse,and field mice, whose presence has a repugnant effect and possibly harmful to human health. These insects and animals intrude unexpectedly into an apartment, or even an entire co-ownership, and can make its occupants live a nightmare. Noise in the pipes and noise at night caused by rats and mice add to the equation. Most of the time, it is up to the syndicate of co-owners, with regard to its obligation to maintain the common portions and preserve the building, to mandate a company specialized in pest management in order to carry out a disinsection or a deratization, or both. If that is the case, three questions will need to be answered: who is to blame, who should act and who should bear the costs?

In the same way as any other natural or legal person, a syndicate of co-owners is likely to incur civil liability towards third parties, including co-owners. Responsibility is the counterpart of power: where authority is, there is responsibility. This responsibility can be translated into the financial contribution of the co-owners, since in the event of a judgment condemning the syndicate to pay a sum of money, this judgement will be enforceable against him and each of the persons who were co-owners at the time the cause of action arose, proportionately to the relative value of his fraction. Therefore the law obliges any syndicate of co-owners to take out insurance covering its civil liability towards third parties.