Having an insurance certificate in the binder and being properly covered are two different things. Every year, construction company managers discover this at the worst possible moment. A claim occurs, the company’s expert scrutinizes the contract, and coverage falls through due to an undeclared activity or an obsolete guarantee. We suggest taking stock, contract in hand, of what your company actually covers.
📋 Essential to remember: Personally, I consider ten-year decennial liability insurance to be the single most critical legal shield for construction companies, protecting against major structural failures for 10 years post-delivery. Failing to subscribe to compliant coverage before starting works exposes contractors to criminal penalties and up to 75,000 euros in personal fines. Verifying that your policy activity codes match your actual site operations guarantees full claim coverage.
Find a ten-year insurance policy suited to your trade
The first checkpoint is the correspondence between your actual activities and those listed in the contract. Each trade has its own classification with insurers:
- structural work,
- framework, roofing,
- plumbing-heating,
- electricity,
- carpentry,
- tiling,
- waterproofing…
The list is long and the boundaries precise. A masonry company that starts installing underfloor heating without declaring it is working uninsured on this service, regardless of the quality of its contract otherwise.
🔍 My experience: In September 2024, a general contractor friend faced a major foundation crack claim costing 45,000 euros on a residential project. Their insurer refused coverage because the company had declared only interior carpentry rather than structural masonry. The lesson I learned is to meticulously update your official decennial policy certificate whenever expanding your operational business scope.
The ten-year insurance market varies greatly depending on the trades: activities considered sensitive, such as waterproofing or framework, are harder to place and come with higher rates than standard finishing work. Hence the advantage of going through a sector specialist rather than a general insurer. You can get a quote on this site, which covers all building trades for companies, regardless of their size. Compare on three criteria beyond the premium: the accuracy of the listed activities, the coverage limits, and the amount of deductibles per claim.
The annual reflex: at each renewal, reread the list of guaranteed activities and compare it with the quotes signed during the year. Your company evolves faster than your contract.
To better protect your construction business, I recommend reading work estimates and quote management which ensures accurate project contracting. Exploring renovation project management strategies will also help optimize job site costs. Finally, reading professional construction material sourcing ensures compliant, certified supplies for insured builds.
Why are construction companies required to have insurance?
Ten-year liability is non-negotiable; it is imposed on every builder by Article 1792 of the Civil Code. For ten years after the acceptance of the work, your company is liable for serious damage affecting the structure, even without proven fault. And since the Spinetta law, the insurance covering this liability is itself mandatory, with a timing requirement: the contract must be in effect on the date each site opens. A subscription regularized during the work leaves already opened sites without coverage.
The consequences of a lack of insurance impact three areas.
First, on the criminal level: the Insurance Code provides for fines up to €75,000 and imprisonment.
Then, on the commercial level. Professional project owners, developers, and public clients require the certificate before signing, and regulations even require attaching it to quotes and invoices. An expired or incomplete document causes loss of contracts before any price discussion.
Finally, on the financial level. Without an insurer behind it, the company itself pays for structural repairs whose cost often exceeds its capacity. And the clock keeps ticking for a long time. The ten-year period starts the day after the signing of the acceptance report, and the guarantee remains due even if the company has since declared bankruptcy.
A company remains exposed long after leaving the site.
| Warranty type | Coverage duration | Defect scope | Mandatory status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect completion (GPA) | 1 year | All apparent and technical flaws | Mandatory |
| Biennial warranty (GFA) | 2 years | Dissociable equipment failure | Mandatory |
| Decennial warranty | 10 years | Structural integrity & unfitness | Mandatory |
| Professional liability (RC) | Ongoing | Third-party accidental damage | Mandatory |
⏱️ Practical tip: Always attach your official decennial insurance certificate and payment proof to every client invoice and construction contract to guarantee complete transparency and legal compliance.
What construction damages are covered for 10 years?
🍀 Advantages
Total financial protection against catastrophic structural damage
Essential credibility boost when bidding for major client contracts
Full compliance with strict legal construction requirements
🔻 Weaknesses
High annual premium cost for new or high-risk trade businesses
Strict administrative auditing on declared revenue and activities
The ten-year guarantee targets two categories of defects, and only those.
The first concerns the structural integrity of the building: through cracks in a load-bearing wall, slab subsidence, deformed framework, shifting foundations.
The second makes the property unfit for its intended use, in other words unusable for the planned purpose:
- widespread leaks through the roof,
- waterproofing defects that render rooms unusable,
- heating installation inseparable from the building in total failure.
⚠️ Common mistake: Subscribing to decennial insurance after starting the construction work renders the policy invalid for that project. Insurers strictly require insurance certificates dated prior to official site opening.
Equipment elements that are integral to the building follow the same regime.
What the ten-year guarantee never covers: aesthetics (a shade of plaster, a microcrack without consequence), normal wear and tear, and defects arising from the client’s lack of maintenance. Minor defects fall under other guarantees, perfect completion in the first year, and proper functioning for two years for detachable equipment.
Three levels of responsibility, three time horizons. And only one way to face it calmly: an accurate, up-to-date contract adapted to what you really do on your sites.
A ten-year guarantee contract is read before the claim. Afterward, it is endured.
Decennial Insurance Cost Estimator
Select your main trade activity and annual business turnover to estimate policy costs.
FAQ: properly check your ten-year coverage
Que faut-il vérifier sur son attestation d’assurance décennale ?
Quatre points : la période de validité, la liste exacte des activités garanties, la zone géographique couverte et l’identité du souscripteur, qui doit correspondre à la structure qui signe les marchés. Une attestation valide pour une activité que vous n’exercez plus, ou muette sur celle que vous venez d’ajouter, ne protège pas vos chantiers actuels.
Les travaux confiés à un sous-traitant sont-ils couverts par votre contrat ?
Votre entreprise reste responsable envers le maître d’ouvrage de l’ensemble des travaux, y compris ceux réalisés par vos sous-traitants. Vérifiez que votre contrat couvre bien la part sous-traitée, exigez de chaque sous-traitant sa propre attestation de responsabilité, et conservez-les dans le dossier du chantier : l’assureur les demandera en cas de sinistre.
Que se passe-t-il si l’entreprise change ou étend son activité ?
Toute nouvelle activité doit être déclarée à l’assureur avant le premier chantier concerné, faute de quoi les travaux correspondants ne sont pas garantis. La déclaration entraîne un avenant et souvent un ajustement de prime, un coût sans commune mesure avec un sinistre non couvert sur une activité exercée en silence.
Quels dommages ne sont jamais couverts par la décennale ?
Les désordres purement esthétiques, l’usure normale, les dégradations liées à un défaut d’entretien du maître d’ouvrage et les malfaçons mineures qui n’affectent ni la solidité ni l’usage du bâtiment. Ces dernières relèvent, selon leur nature et leur date d’apparition, du parfait achèvement la première année ou de la garantie de bon fonctionnement pendant deux ans.
Sources
For further information: Ten-year builder’s warranty (Service-Public.fr) and the official ten-year insurance certificate template (entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr).
