Expert Assessment of Insurance Claims in France

Two experts, two mandates

After a significant property claim in France, the insurer usually appoints an expert from a loss adjusting firm. That expert inspects the premises, checks the circumstances, applies the policy terms and proposes an amount. Despite the neutral tone of the report, the expert works under the insurer's instructions and is paid by it.

The policyholder may appoint an expert of their own, called an expert d'assuré or sometimes expert d'assurés. This professional defends the insured's interests, prepares a competing valuation and negotiates directly with the insurer's expert. The discussion between the two is described as contradictory, meaning each side has the right to see and answer the other's evidence.

French vocabulary worth knowing

Policies and reports are written in French, and a few terms recur in almost every file.

• Expert d'assuré: the policyholder's own independent loss assessor.
• Expert de la compagnie: the expert mandated by the insurer.
• Contre-expertise: a second assessment requested by the insured to challenge the first.
• Tiers expert: a third expert appointed to settle a disagreement between the two sides.
• Expert judiciaire: a court-appointed expert, registered on a court of appeal list.
• Garantie honoraires d'expert: a policy cover that reimburses, within limits, the cost of the insured's expert.

Framework: the Code des assurances and industry conventions

The relationship between insurer and insured is governed mainly by the Code des assurances and by the policy conditions. These set the duty to report a loss within the deadline stated in the contract, the documents to be provided and the insurer's obligations once agreement on the amount is reached. Supervision of insurers is carried out by the ACPR, the prudential and conduct authority attached to the Banque de France.

Alongside the law, insurers apply market conventions between themselves. For water damage in buildings, the IRSI convention determines which insurer manages the claim and organises the expertise, which can be confusing for occupants and owners. Natural catastrophe losses follow the specific cat nat regime, triggered only after an official interministerial decree recognises the event in the commune concerned.

Situations that justify an independent expert

A small, clear-cut claim rarely needs one. The picture changes for a major fire, a building made unusable by water, a business forced to close, or any claim where the insurer argues that the policy does not apply. In such cases the gap between the first offer and a properly documented valuation can be substantial, and the policyholder often lacks the time and technical knowledge to rebuild the figures.

Business owners turn to experts d'assuré for operating loss claims, where turnover, gross margin and additional working costs must be reconstructed. Homeowners call them after fires, structural damage or disputes over whether damage is old or sudden. Co-ownership syndicates use them for large building claims involving many parties.

How the expert d'assuré works on a file

The engagement starts with a signed mission letter defining the scope and the fee arrangement. The expert then reads the policy closely, identifies every relevant cover, including often overlooked items such as demolition, debris removal or loss of rent, and visits the site.

Next comes the valuation: quantities, contractor quotes, depreciation rules, and the difference between replacement value and new-for-old cover where the contract allows it. The expert meets the insurer's expert, defends each item and keeps the client informed until the final agreement is signed and paid.

Risks that dominate French claims

Subsidence linked to the shrinking and swelling of clay soils during droughts has become one of the most expensive and contentious perils for houses, particularly because it depends on cat nat recognition and involves long-term cracking. Storms, flooding in river valleys and Mediterranean flash floods, as well as hail affecting vehicles, roofs and crops, also generate large volumes of claims.

Fire and water damage remain the everyday core of property claims, in apartments as much as in commercial premises. Overseas departments face additional exposures such as cyclones, which follow their own practical arrangements.

When the experts cannot agree

Many French policies include an expertise clause: if the two experts disagree, they jointly appoint a third expert, and if they cannot choose one, a judge can make the appointment. The costs of the third expert are usually shared, depending on the contract.

Beyond the technical route, the insured can use the insurer's internal complaints service and then refer the matter, free of charge, to La Médiation de l'Assurance, the industry mediator. Court proceedings remain available, often starting with a request for a court-appointed expert in summary proceedings. Insurance actions are subject to a limitation period, generally two years under French insurance law, so delays should be monitored carefully.

Fees in brief

Experts d'assuré in France are commonly paid a percentage of the indemnity, sometimes combined with a minimum fee or replaced by a fixed fee for smaller claims. Some home and business policies include an expert fees cover that reimburses part of this cost. Fee levels vary with the size and complexity of the claim, so the mission letter should be read carefully before signing.

France gives policyholders a genuine right to their own expert and a clear ladder of escalation, which makes early, well-documented action particularly effective. Other countries and claim types are covered across expertdassure.com.