What is an insurance certificate?
An insurance certificate is a document that proves the existence and validity of your insurance contract for a given period. It is delivered by your insurer after the subscription of the agreement, on the occasion of a deadline, or by a special dispatch. This official document allows you to justify your rights at any time and may be requested in certain situations. For example, your health insurance card will be requested when you do not have your vital card.
Since some insurance is compulsory, possession of an insurance certificate may also be required by insurance laws. This is particularly the case for car, motorcycle, and home insurance (when renting). The insurance certificate constitutes a presumption of insurance and not absolute proof of cover.
Who do you ask for your insurance certificate?
The procedure for obtaining a certificate of affiliation to the insurance is often quite simple. All you have to do is go to your customer area and apply online for most insurance. You can choose to receive it by email, post, or download it directly from the site. All you have to do is print it. Many insurance companies have also integrated this functionality into their mobile application: you can thus obtain your certificate directly on your phone from the customer area of the application.
The request for an insurance affiliation certificate can also be made by telephone or by sending a letter for a paper version.
A service has been set up to facilitate obtaining the health insurance certificate. In addition to downloading it from the ameli website or requesting it by phone, you can print it directly from a multi-service terminal in the branch. You will need your carte Vitale and the access code to your ameli account.
What is the certificate of insurance for?
The insurance certificate is used to justify your affiliation to insurance. The compulsory nature of insurance affects the certificate: in other words, you must have a certificate for each compulsory insurance you have taken out (home, car, motorcycle insurance, personal civil Liability, etc.).
For the optional insurances, you are not obliged to have it in your possession, but we advise you, all the same, to ask for it. Indeed, you will often be asked for it, for example, during a seasonal rental, a grant application, etc.
You may be asked for the insurance certificate during a roadside check, when registering at the university, when drawing up an internship agreement, when signing a rental lease, etc. A certificate of your joint health insurance is required, for example, if you pick up medicines prescribed by your doctor in a pharmacy that is not your usual pharmacy. Some drugs are not 100% covered by compulsory health insurance, so your joint health insurance will play.
Some professions require the subscription of professional insurance. Indeed, some insurances are imposed by law, such as, for example, the ten-year guarantee in the field of construction or the Professional Civil Liability for lawyers, doctors, etc. Therefore, the corresponding certificates must be in your possession, and you must be able to present them to your customers and partners.
If you cannot present the insurance certificate, you may see your procedures blocked or receive a good (car/motorcycle in particular).
What is the difference between a certificate of insurance and a certificate of insurance?
The insurance certificate and insurance certificate are official documents constituting insurance presumptions: they are therefore not absolute proof. For most insurances, the certificate is sufficient, a certificate being rarely issued.
In the case of car or motorcycle insurance, insurance certificate and certificate are mandatory: they are more commonly called green cards and green butterflies. The certificate must be presented during a roadside check, while the certificate must be visible and permanently on the vehicle. It must be affixed for 2 or 3 wheelers near the front fork. It must be stuck inside the windscreen at the bottom suitable for other cars. This allows law enforcement to verify vehicle insurance without a driver.
In the event of a lack of insurance, you risk a lot! Furthermore, the information contained in the certificate is more complete than that of the certificate.
In the case of borrower insurance, the insurance certificate is better known by the term “membership certificate.” Issued by the insurer, it then triggers the credit requested from the lending bank.
Standard letter requesting a certificate of affiliation to the insurance
It is often possible to download your insurance affiliation certificate from your customer area, but a registered letter becomes necessary when this is not the case. This letter can be sent to your insurer at any time of the year. It will also be used to request a duplicate in the event of loss or theft of the insurance certificate.
Its content is not subject to any obligation. All you have to do is fill in the primary information such as:
- the contact details of the insurer;
- your contact details;
- the contract number concerned by the insurance certificate request;
- the date and place of writing the letter.
Who can I request a civil liability certificate from?
The certificate of Civil Liability is a document justifying that you are well covered for the damage that you involuntarily cause to others. Civil liability coverage is very frequently included in your insurance:
- comprehensive home insurance (MRH);
- school;
- car and motorcycle.
You must contact the affiliated insurance companies via your customer area, by email, or post to obtain it. If you have not taken out one of these insurances or the RC does not appear in the guarantees, you must take out private civil liability insurance. You will also need to take out RC pro insurance to exercise certain professions. Civil Liability may not be enough to cover you entirely in some contracts. Remember to check the extent of the guarantees in your contract’s general and specific conditions.
