What is a professional civil liability insurance certificate?

Whether or not it is mandatory for your business/activity, you will always have an interest in covering yourself for the damage that your structure could cause to others. This is the role of Professional Civil Liability. Upon subscription, you will receive an RC pro insurance certificate. It remains to know what it will be used for and how to request it if you no longer have it. Overview of the theme of the professional RC insurance certificate.

By definition, an insurance certificate is intended to certify your rights, that is to say, to “prove” that you are indeed covered by certain guarantees. Here, a Pro Civil Liability insurance certificate will be used to confirm to a future partner, for example, that you are well insured for this risk and that you will be covered if your business causes damage to others.

The RC pro insurance certificate, therefore, mentions the guarantees enjoyed by the company during the period during which they will be active. It also informs third parties of the identity of the insurer.

As a reminder, each professional or company can be held liable by a third party (individual or not) if the latter suffers damage attributable to the structure. This damage can be:

  • bodily;
  • hardware;
  • intangible.

The damage may result, for example, from fault, negligence, or imprudence attributable to the company, whether via an employee, equipment, premises, etc.

By being covered by an RC pro contract, the company will not have to compensate the victim itself in the event of an incident. If necessary, it will be the insurer who will assume the financial consequences of the damage caused and the prejudice suffered by the victim. The latter may or may not be contractually bound to the company. It could for example be:

  • From a customer,
  • Of an “absolute” third party,
  • From a partner,
  • From a subcontractor,
  • From a supplier.

As a general rule, professional civil liability insurance is optional. It will only be compulsory for certain professions. Be that as it may, it remains strongly recommended because failing this, the company will have to compensate the victim alone, which could cost him very dearly. 

This type of coverage can be taken out with many insurers / mutual organizations (among others). The best practice in order to find the contract with the best level of coverage at the best price will be to go through an online RC pro insurance comparator. Reassure me offers you its own, free, anonymous, and without obligation.

The 3 ways to receive your Professional Civil Liability certificate

Your first certificate of professional civil liability insurance will be sent to you as soon as the subscription is finalized. It will be automatic.

Then, you will receive a version each year at maturity (on the “anniversary date” of the contract), always automatically. Ditto if an amendment is published, (in the case where you ask to modify a guarantee for example). If necessary, a new certificate will be sent to you.

You will be able to request an RC pro insurance certificate at any time, for example in the event of loss or theft of the original. A new copy will be made available to you free of charge.

In order to request your certificate, the easiest way will be to proceed online, directly on the internet (by going to your personal space on the insurer’s website). You can choose one of the following solutions:

  • Solution 1: Receive it by mail,
  • Solution 2: Receive it by email,
  • Solution 3: Download it directly from your space.

Some insurers or mutual organizations also allow you to download it to your smartphone, again via your personal space.

It is also possible to contact an advisor by telephone to request the paper. Ditto if the establishment has physical agencies, where you will be given a copy.

The procedure will be identical for construction companies wishing to obtain a certificate of their ten-year civil liability insurance.

Our sample letter requesting an RC pro insurance certificate

Reassure me, a 100% independent digital broker, provides you with its own model letter requesting a professional civil liability certificate.

As a reminder, you can quickly and free request your RC pro certificate directly from your personal space on the website of the establishment issuing your contract.

You will have no obligation as to the precise content of your request. Simply specify your identity, the references of your contract, and the subject of your request. Send the paper by post (simple letter or mail with acknowledgment of receipt).

In which case will the RC pro certificate be useful?

Any insurance contract is accompanied by a certificate, mentioning the guarantees from which you benefit and the period during which this will be the case. Like that of car or motorcycle insurance, the certificate of your Professional Civil Liability will be very useful to you, because it may be requested by various individuals / various entities.

In the majority of cases, the certificate may be requested by persons (natural or legal) contractually linked to your company. It could for example be:

  • of customers,
  • From suppliers,
  • of partners,
  • Of subcontractors.

In short, your RC pro insurance certificate is an essential document since it will reassure the stakeholders with whom you work. This paper will not only prove that you are well covered for this risk, but that you are covered when you perform, for example, a service.

A certificate can also prove, depending on the guarantees you have, that you are covered in Professional Civil Liability and/or Operating Civil Liability (for damage caused outside the performance of any service).

In the case of construction companies, which are subject to the obligation to cover themselves in ten-year civil liability (for defects that could appear up to 10 years after the delivery of the work), the certificate will be all the more important. , since the customer (the contracting authority) will have to subscribe to a work damage guarantee, conditional on the construction company’s own ten-year RC.

The construction or renovation company must attest to its ten-year civil liability coverage even before the start of the work.

What is the information of a certificate of Professional Civil Liability?

First of all, remember that the whole purpose of a professional civil liability insurance certificate is to specify the guarantees enjoyed by the company as well as the risks for which it is covered. The following will therefore be mentioned in particular in the contract:

  • RC pro,
  • Operating liability (if the entity is also covered for this risk), 
  • Any additional warranties.

The risks covered may for example be in this form: “for his activity as a lawyer, travel agent…”.

As a general rule, the level of coverage (the compensation ceiling) will also be specified, for example as follows: “RC pro up to 6 million euros”.

Beyond these essential data, the certificate makes it possible to identify the insurer (or the organization of mutual, or other…) which publishes the contract. Idem, the covered entity (the independent professional or the company) is of course specified (by its corporate name, its registered office, etc.). The references of the contract are also indicated.

As we have said, the RC pro certificate also mentions the duration of coverage, which runs until the next due date.

If the Civil Liability of the company is the subject of a guarantee included in a more global contract of “professional insurance”, the certificate may mention other guarantees.

Finally, the document must end with a signature/stamp from the insurer.

Is the RC pro insurance certificate compulsory?

The RC pro insurance certificate is not strictly speaking compulsory: it will however be very useful to you when it is requested, as we have seen, by a client or partner.

However, it remains important to know that Pro Civil Liability itself is sometimes mandatory. This will be the case for regulated professions, that is to say, subject to a specific legislative and regulatory framework, and responding to a professional association.

This will be the case for example for, among others:

  • Medical professions (general practitioners, specialized practitioners, etc.),
  • Legal professionals (lawyers, bailiffs, etc.),
  • Consulting professionals (real estate agents, etc.),
  • Tourism professionals.

RC pro is compulsory for these professions/activities because they are subject to specific risks. The professionals concerned must therefore be covered for the bodily, material, and immaterial damage that they could cause to others.

If you are subject to this professional liability obligation, it is in your best interest to always have a certificate of insurance with you.