AXA’s published explanation of home-insurance absence clauses gives a typical range of 30 to 90 days, depending on the insurer, beyond which theft compensation may be reduced or refused. That is an awkward starting point for a ski apartment intended to stand empty for much of the year. A policy can look perfectly respectable beside the purchase paperwork and still be poorly suited to the way its owner actually lives.
For a non-resident buyer, the useful question is therefore very specific: what happens to this cover between visits? The answer belongs in the contract, alongside the arrangements for someone nearby to deal with a problem. This is a buying check worth doing before completion, while there is still time to compare terms and organise access. The sources below were checked on 29 September 2026; individual policy terms, rather than a general article, determine cover.
Put your real calendar in front of the insurer
Take a deliberately simple example: an owner spends 42 nights a year in an apartment and neither lends nor lets it. In a 365-day year, that leaves 323 nights without the owner there. This is an illustration, not an estimate of typical Alpine use. It shows why describing a property merely as a holiday home is less useful than explaining the pattern of occupation.
The AXA guidance on the clause d’inhabitation discusses restrictions associated with prolonged absence and the possibility of negotiating different terms. Its range is not a universal French legal allowance. Ask the proposed insurer how its own contract counts absence: cumulatively, consecutively, or under another definition. Ask which guarantees are affected and what counts as occupation. A cleaner’s visit should never be assumed to reset a contractual clock.
Send a realistic calendar, including long gaps and any intended guest stays, and request a written response. An overseas address, winter-only visits and a local keyholder are useful facts to disclose together. Keep the answer with the policy schedule. If the underwriter cannot explain how the contract works during the ordinary pattern of use, that is a practical reason to keep shopping, however attractive the headline premium.
The building’s policy is only part of the answer
In an apartment building, there can be several different interests to insure: the shared structure, your private property, your belongings and your liability to other people. Hearing that the residence is insured does not establish that every one of these is covered for you. Ask the managing agent for the building’s insurance information and ask your own insurer to explain how the proposed policy sits alongside it.
Service Public’s explanation of home liability insurance states that this cover is compulsory for an owner in a copropriété, whether occupying the property or letting it. Liability cover addresses damage caused to others. It should not be mistaken for a promise to replace your furniture or repair every part of your apartment after a loss.
Make the questions concrete. Who handles a leak from your washing machine that reaches the apartment below? What happens if the source is a shared pipe? Who records damage to your kitchen? You are asking for the claims route and the division of cover, rather than trying to settle liability in advance. Retain the contact details of the syndic, your insurer and your local representative in the same accessible file.
Winter precautions need an owner on the ground
An insurance certificate does not turn off a leaking tap. Before buying, ask someone who knows the building to show you the water shut-off, heating controls and any areas containing vulnerable pipework. Photograph the controls and record which installations serve only your apartment. Do not improvise with shared systems or isolate equipment whose safe operation you do not understand.
MAAF’s frost-prevention guidance recommends frost-protection heating rather than simply switching heating off during an absence of more than 48 hours, and discusses protecting water installations. That is useful prevention advice, not a universal contractual temperature setting. Obtain the instructions for your actual heating system and the insurer’s requirements for winter absence. A plumber or building manager can help translate them into a workable departure routine.
Ask a prospective keyholder what their service includes. Holding a key, inspecting the apartment and responding urgently are different jobs. Agree how a power failure, abnormal temperature or suspected leak is reported, who may authorise a tradesperson and how access is arranged when you are travelling. A connected sensor can support that arrangement. It cannot provide physical access, and it is only useful if somebody receives and acts on its message.
Describe the property you are really insuring
The purchase price is not a complete inventory. An apartment may come with furniture, a cellar, a ski locker and a separate garage, with some expensive equipment stored away from the living space. Give the insurer the details and ask which locations and categories of belongings are included. Ski equipment locked downstairs deserves a more precise answer than “contents covered”.
Service Public’s guidance on taking out home insurance identifies information insurers may request, including area, number of rooms, outbuildings, security and use as a main or secondary residence. It also stresses accurate declarations and an estimate of the belongings to be insured. Use the documents and actual layout to answer the questions; if the insurer’s room-count definition is unclear, ask rather than guessing.
For a resale, photograph what remains after the seller leaves and retain the agreed inventory. For a new build, update the information when furniture and equipment arrive. Neither a recent construction date nor a developer’s handover file answers all the contents questions. Check how the policy treats replacement value, depreciation, excesses and individual item limits. Compare quotations on the same declared facts, so that a cheaper premium is not simply the price of a smaller promise.
Tell the insurer before the first paying guest
A home used by its owner, lent to friends and offered to holidaymakers may move between several patterns of occupation. Explain the intended mix from the outset. If the plan changes later, contact the insurer before accepting the new arrangement. The booking platform, letting agent and household insurer may each provide something useful, but their responsibilities need to be understood separately.
France Assureurs’ guidance on holiday letting tells owners to inform their insurer that they intend to let seasonally. It also explains that a guest may have holiday liability cover through the insurance on their main home. That possibility is a question to verify, not evidence that your particular guest is insured or that your own losses are covered.
Ask about damage by guests, theft, liability and any cover for lost rent following an insured event. Request the conditions and limits for each. If income protection matters to your purchase budget, establish what evidence of bookings the insurer would require. An optimistic annual rental projection is a business assumption; do not treat it as an insured sum. Keep the agent’s emergency procedures consistent with the ones you have agreed for your own visits.
Prepare for the call that comes while you are abroad
Service Public’s water-damage guidance says a claim should be declared within five working days of discovering the damage. Its separate guidance on theft explains that the contractual notification period cannot be shorter than two working days after becoming aware of the theft. Check your contract and notify promptly; those periods are not an invitation to leave a problem unattended.
The important distinction for an absent owner is discovery. Record when you or your representative became aware of the incident, what was found and what immediate steps were taken. Ask the insurer how it wants photographs, invoices and supporting documents supplied. Keep the policy number and assistance contact available away from the apartment, with a copy for the person authorised to help you.
Make that person’s role explicit. They may be able to provide access and photographs without being authorised to approve extensive repairs on your behalf. Agree a sensible process for urgent protective work and for obtaining your approval, and check any insurer requirements before non-urgent reinstatement. A brief practice run is revealing: if you were unreachable on a flight, who would receive the message and what could they actually do?
Bring the insurance questions into the purchase decision
Request quotations while assessing the property, using its actual address and intended use. Ask for the schedule, general conditions and any relevant endorsements, then mark the passages dealing with absence, winter precautions, security and holiday letting. A friendly summary from an agent is helpful; the written terms are what you need to compare. Resolve anything unclear with the insurer or broker before relying on the cover.
At the same time, price the practical arrangements you have chosen: keyholding, agreed inspections and an emergency response service where needed. These are property-specific running costs, so obtain quotations rather than borrowing a figure from another resort. A home that is easy to reach, understand and look after may fit an overseas owner better than one whose management depends on favours and uncertain access.
The distinction applies to both resale apartments and the homes in DOMOSNO’s new-build selection. Compare their arrangements on their own merits. Before completion or handover, confirm the appropriate policy start date with the professionals handling the purchase, and have the practical access plan ready. The first quiet month after buying is a good time to discover that everything works as agreed.
If you are comparing Alpine properties from abroad, contact DOMOSNO to discuss the homes and local arrangements that suit your pattern of use, then take the insurance details to your insurer or broker before committing.
