La Revue TechEnglishConstruction Pros: The Real Reasons Your 10-Year Liability Insurance Could Cost More...
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If you work in construction in France, your mandatory 10-year liability policy, known as “decennial insurance”, is getting harder to price and easier to get wrong.
Premiums can swing wildly from one contractor to the next, driven by what you build, how much you bill, and whether you’ve had claims. With insurers paying out more and tightening underwriting, understanding what actually moves your rate is the difference between a manageable renewal and a budget shock.
First, get a reality check on pricing, because the spread is huge
Before you can judge whether a quote is fair, you need a baseline. In the French market, decennial insurance pricing varies sharply based on your trade, your declared revenue, and your company’s risk profile.
A solo contractor doing interior finish work won’t be priced like a general building firm with employees and a heavy workload. Even within the same trade, two insurers can quote very different numbers depending on the types of projects you take on and the guarantees you select.
Your trade is the biggest driver: structural work costs more to insure
Insurers start with the basics: what kind of construction work you actually do. The closer your work is to a building’s structure, or to elements that can’t be separated from the structure, the more expensive the coverage tends to be.
Roofers, waterproofing specialists, framers, and masons typically face higher premiums because failures can trigger major structural damage. A painter’s work rarely threatens a building’s integrity in the same way, so the risk, and the price, usually comes in lower.
To classify risk, insurers rely on official industry activity codes (France uses NAF/NACE codes, roughly comparable to how U.S. insurers use NAICS classifications). Those codes help slot your business into a pricing grid, and misclassification can mean the wrong premium, or the wrong coverage.
Revenue isn’t just paperwork, it’s the math behind your premium
Your premium is calculated off the revenue you declare (typically revenue excluding VAT). More revenue usually means more jobs, more sites, and more chances something goes wrong, so insurers charge more.
But the bigger issue is accuracy. If your real revenue ends up higher than what you declared during the policy year, the insurer can “true up” the premium at renewal, sometimes with a painful bill that hits cash flow fast.
Underreporting on purpose can be worse. After a claim, an insurer may reduce what it pays out in proportion to the gap between declared and actual revenue, leaving your business on the hook for a larger share of the damage.
Claims history is now a pricing landmine as insurers lose money
France’s construction insurance market is under financial strain. Payouts reached €2.319 billion in 2024, about $2.5 billion, up 12.8% from the year before, and the sector posted a technical result of −€827 million (roughly −$900 million).
That kind of loss changes behavior. Contractors with frequent or costly claims can expect premium surcharges at renewal. In more serious cases, an insurer may refuse to renew at all, forcing the company to hunt for coverage in a tougher, more expensive corner of the market.
Firms with heavy claims histories often get pushed toward specialty insurers that handle higher-risk accounts, typically with steep surcharges. Once you’re out of the “standard” market, higher costs can stick for years.
The best defense is operational: document every incident, track root causes, and tighten jobsite practices to prevent defects. With liability that can follow you for a decade, quality control isn’t just craftsmanship, it’s risk management.
How to compare quotes without getting fooled by a “cheap” premium
Shopping decennial insurance isn’t like price-checking car insurance. The lowest annual premium can hide restrictive terms that cost you far more when something goes wrong.
When comparing quotes, focus on the details that determine whether the policy will actually protect you:
Scope of coverage:It must match the exact type of work you perform and the structures you touch.
Deductible:A high deductible can make a policy look affordable, until you’re paying big out of pocket after a claim.
Coverage limits:Limits need to be high enough to handle worst-case structural losses.
Claims handling timeline:Slow response can turn a defect into a financial spiral.
Insurer financial strength:This is a 10-year promise; the carrier’s stability matters.
Getting multiple quotes is still the best way to understand the market. If your situation is complicated, mixed activities, high revenue, or prior claims, a specialized construction insurance broker can help you find carriers willing to write the risk and negotiate terms that fit your real exposure.
For contractors heading into 2026, the message is clear: insurers are pricing harder, and the “why” behind your premium matters as much as the number on the invoice.
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