School, accident and family liability insurance

School insurance

Schools must insure their pupils. In private schools the duty comes from law 06-00, which also obliges the school to let parents see the contract. Public schools are covered by a national school-insurance arrangement for which families pay a small yearly contribution.

What it covers. Accidents during lessons, breaks, sport, outings and activities organised by the school, and often the journey between home and school. It pays medical costs up to a ceiling and a capital sum for permanent disability or death. It also covers the liability of the school and, as a rule, of a pupil who injures another.

What it does not cover. Evenings, weekends, holidays, sports clubs and anything outside school activities. Ceilings are low, and illness is not covered at all.

If your child is hurt at school

1. Tell the school the same day and ask for a written accident report.
2. Get a medical certificate describing the injuries.
3. Ask the school for the name of the insurer and the policy number. The school must declare the accident within 5 days.
4. Keep every bill, prescription and X-ray, and send copies as the insurer asks.
5. If there are lasting effects, ask for a medical assessment before accepting a final settlement.

Questions to ask the school

• Who is the insurer and what is the policy number?
• What are the ceilings for medical costs, disability and death?
• Are the journey to school, outings and school transport included?
• How much of the fee charged to parents is the insurance premium?

Personal accident cover

A personal accident policy, individuelle accidents, pays fixed sums when an accident injures the insured person, at home, at school, at work, on the road or on holiday.

The sums are fixed in advance and are paid whatever other insurance you hold. A family contract covers parents and children together.

It suits children, because school insurance stops at the school gate, and anyone whose income depends on their body: craftsmen, drivers, delivery riders, athletes. Check the exclusions for motorbikes and risky sports, and the age limits.

Private-life liability

You are legally responsible for the harm you cause to others, and parents answer for the acts of their minor children. Private-life liability cover, called responsabilité civile vie privée or RC chef de famille, pays the victim in your place.

• Typical cases. A child breaks a neighbour's window or injures a classmate, a dog bites a passer-by, a cyclist knocks down a pedestrian, a flowerpot falls from a balcony.
• Who is covered. You, your spouse, your children, often household staff while they work for you, and your pets.
• What is excluded. Motor vehicles, which need their own insurance, your professional activity, deliberate damage, and damage between members of the same household.

Household staff

Cleaners, cooks, nannies, drivers, gardeners and guards employed by a household are protected by law 19-12 on domestic workers.

• A written contract. It follows an official model and a copy is filed with the labour inspectorate.
• CNSS. The employer registers the worker and pays contributions. This opens AMO, family allowances and a pension.
• Work accidents. Under law 18-12 the employer bears the cost of an accident at work: care, daily allowances and, in serious cases, a pension. An insurance contract for household staff transfers that risk to an insurer for a modest premium.

Ask your home insurer two things: whether it sells work-accident cover for household staff, and whether your liability cover applies to damage your employee causes to others while working.

Leisure: hunting, boats, sport and devices

• Hunting. Liability insurance is compulsory. The permit is issued only on presentation of an insurance certificate, and insurers licensed for this class cannot refuse to cover you. Renew it each season.
• Boats and jet-skis. Ports and marinas ask for a liability certificate. Damage to the boat itself and theft are optional guarantees.
• Sport. A federation licence normally includes accident and liability cover for training and competition. The ceilings are low, so a personal accident policy is a useful addition for regular or risky sports.
• Phones and electronics. Contracts sold in shops with a device cover breakage and certain thefts. Read what counts as theft: many contracts pay only when there was violence or a break-in.

Questions