French Insurance Code
In forceDepending on the choice of the parties, cover is triggered either by the harmful event or by the claim. However, when it covers the liability of natural persons outside their professional activity, cover is triggered by the harmful event. A decree of the Conseil d'Etat may also impose one of these methods for other types of cover.
Depending on the case, the contract must reproduce the text of the third or fourth paragraph of this article.
Cover triggered by a harmful event covers the insured against the financial consequences of claims, if the harmful event occurs between the date on which the cover initially takes effect and its cancellation or expiry date, regardless of the date of the other elements constituting the claim.
The guarantee triggered by the claim covers the insured against the financial consequences of claims, provided that the harmful event occurred prior to the date of cancellation or expiry of the guarantee, and that the first claim is made to the insured or his insurer between the initial effective date of the guarantee and the expiry of a period subsequent to the date of cancellation or expiry mentioned in the contract, regardless of the date of the other constituent elements of the claim. However, cover shall only be provided for claims for which the insured became aware of the harmful event after the date of cancellation or expiry if, at the time the insured became aware of the harmful event, this cover had not been re-subscribed or had been re-subscribed on the basis that the harmful event had triggered the cover. The insurer does not cover the insured against the financial consequences of claims if it establishes that the insured was aware of the harmful event on the date the cover was taken out.
The subsequent period of cover triggered by the claim may not be less than five years. The limit of cover triggered during the subsequent period may not be less than the limit of cover triggered during the year preceding the date of termination of the contract. A longer period and a higher level of subsequent cover may be set under conditions defined by decree.
When the same claim is likely to involve cover provided by several successive contracts, the cover triggered by the harmful event which took effect after the law no. 2003-706 of 1st August 2003 on financial security came into force is called upon first, without application of the fourth and fifth paragraphs of article L. 121-4.
The provisions of this article do not apply to insurance guarantees for which the law provides other conditions for the application of the guarantee over time.
