Floods, shrinkage-swelling of clays which crack houses, urban riots… Between natural disasters and nights of violence, mayors are not spared from external attacks. Gathered in congress in Paris since November 21 and until the 23, the councilors are counting heavily on insurers to cover the damage caused by these hazards. From October 25, Bercy took matters in hand by entrusting the mayor (Horizons) of Vesoul (Haute-Saône), Alain Chrétien, and the former president of the national federation Groupama, with a mission on the insurability of communities local. And for good reason: just for the insurrections of summer 2023, which affected 500 municipalities, the bill amounted to 197.1 million euros just for territorial property.
Mayors must negotiate ever more with insurers
First concerned, the missionary from Bercy, Alain Chrétien, had dealings with Groupama. The company had announced to him that as of January 1, 2024, it would no longer insure its vehicle fleet. Inconceivable and unjustified for the mayor (Horizons) of Vesoul (Haute-Saône) who obtained an extension of the contract until July 1, 2024.
A municipal insurability market shared 80% by Groupama and SMACL and with which local elected officials must negotiate increasingly to be covered as best as possible.
“Our company has already threatened to terminate our contract, without necessarily giving us a reason. We therefore hired a broker who acts as mediator. The dialogue is increasingly opaque and complex between communities and insurers,” testifies Olivier Bellec, mayor (Various left) of Trégunc (Finistère, 7,058 inhabitants).
Other insurers are starting to tighten the grip on their customers. After experiencing an increase in incivility in her town of Saint-Germain (Haute-Saône), 1,355 residents), the mayor (PS) of Maryline Caravati-Bresson testifies to a ” caution “. The company made him understand if claims started to rise again, the cost would follow.
Aggressive methods
An aggressive method that the councilors of small towns are already undergoing. The latter feel deeply neglected by their interlocutors.
A storm on the night of June 20 to 21, 2023 in Gers inflicted 350,000 euros in damage to the town of Miradoux. The insurance company has agreed to pay 250,000 euros, less 1,800 euros in deductibles for the town hall, but the check is slow to arrive on Jérémy Lagarde’s table. The mayor (Various right) of this village of 600 souls therefore asked the municipal council to be able to advance the costs in order to finance repair work which has just been completed.
“To understand the clauses of a contract, you have to read between the finest lines, but our town hall secretaries do not know how to do it correctly. It’s when there is a problem that we realize that this or that thing is not insurable. underlines Jérémy Lagarde from Miradoux (Gers).
Regarding the 100,000 euros that the company refuses to cover, these are construction sites linked to roads and retaining walls, vertical walls which make it possible to contain landslides. This is not the first time that the mayor has clashed with his insurer. Wanting to renovate an asbestos-containing public building, the expert simply refused to travel to his municipality.
“The absent subscribers are the insurers”
A special case but which echoes the situation of city councilors in Maine-et-Loire. The vice-president in charge of finance and insurance at the community of communes Anjou Bleu Communauté thus informs The Tribune that an intermunicipal municipality has lost its contract and that it intends to meet the said company during this Congress of Mayors.
“Whether it is the municipalities or the intermunicipalities, they realize that the missing subscribers are the insurers. Under the pretext of not entirely justified claims, they revise their prices and come back with exorbitant offers. Sometimes, there is not even a proposal and we find ourselves without insurance…,” says Geneviève Coquereau, mayor (Without label) of Segré-en-Anjou Bleu (18,000 citizens).
Calling a local professional… or a foreign company
On the contrary, some councilors still trust a local professional, whatever it costs them. The mayor (without label) of Dampierre-sur-Salon (1,234 inhabitants, Haute-Saône), Régis Villeneuve, declares “not having time to look at all the costs”. “What matters to me is the fact that my town is insured and that if there is a need to talk, my insurer Luc Daumont knows where to find me.”
In the absence of all these possibilities, local elected officials even turn to foreign insurance companies. On statutory insurance, that is to say on the financing of social protection for agents of the territorial public service, the mayor (ex-LR) of La Ferté-Saint-Aubin (Loiret, 7,500 people) went look for a Gibraltar company to cover these work accidents, sick leave and other maternity leave…
« Technically, it met the specifications well and was much cheaper than the others without the price being abnormal. », justifies Constance de Pélichy.
In government, the office of the Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion indicates that there is already follow-up by telephone to establish the link between local elected officials and insurers bilaterally. Christophe Béchu’s team even ensures that it obtains postponements of termination as well as new commercial proposals.
2023-11-21 17:22:41
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