The certificate of civil liability is a protection that covers the insured in the event of damage to a third party. More specifically, it protects the insured, his minor children still under his responsibility, his pets, the people living or working under his roof, the animals entrusted to him temporarily as well as his movable and immovable property when these cause damage to a third party, provided that these are unintentional. This certificate of civil liability, coupled with home insurance, may be required on several occasions during the life of the insured. If so, how do I get it? Our answers are in this file.
What is the certificate of civil liability for?
The certificate of civil liability is a document given to the subscribers of home insurance, a formula that can take care of the housing insurance or the only part of the civil liability.
The Civil Code provides that this certificate is essential to cover individuals in the context of their daily life, in particular for any damage to third parties for which they are recognized as responsible. Note that there is also a professional civil liability (RC Pro) for professionals.
The certificate of civil liability covers the subscriber in several situations.
- It covers bodily injury, material damage and immaterial damage caused involuntarily (by negligence, recklessness, or distraction) by the insured or by a person for whom he acts as guarantor (his minor children living under his roof, etc.) to a third party.
- It covers damage caused by the children of the insured to a third party, provided that they are minors and that they still live under his roof, that is to say, that they are still under his responsibility.
- It covers damage caused to a third party by any person residing under the roof of the insured.
- It covers damage caused to a third party by any person recruited by the insured to work under his roof (gardener, babysitter, cleaning lady, etc.).
- It covers damage caused by the insured’s pets to a third party.
- It covers damage caused to a third party by a pet that does not belong to the insured, but whose custody has been temporarily entrusted to him.
- It covers damage caused by the insured’s equipment to a third party. This includes equipment belonging to the insured and that for which he is temporarily responsible (rental tools, etc.).
- It covers damage caused to a third party by real estate owned by the insured, whether or not he resides there (a water leak or a fire that spreads to neighbors, for example).
As you will have understood, the certificate of civil liability covers all damage involuntarily caused to a third party. On the other hand, it does not cover the insured in any way if he injures himself, if the damage caused to a third party is caused voluntarily or if no prevention is applied in the event of damage.
How to obtain a certificate of civil liability?
Obtaining a civil liability certificate is very simple. All you have to do is make a request to your insurer, although a paper form is generally already given to you when you sign your home insurance contract.
Consequently, to obtain a liability certificate, it is first necessary to take out home insurance with an insurance company or a bank. You can then request a form whenever you need it. Indeed, the certificate of civil liability may be required in many situations, in particular to insured tenants under their rental lease, to students when they enter certain schools or when they join certain companies under their training, etc.
This facilitated accessibility is made possible by the fact that the certificate of civil liability is automatically included in the home insurance contract. Nevertheless, there are more specific civil liability certificate formulas that can be taken out in order to better cover the insured according to his situation (student formula, family formula, etc.).
