School insurance, although not mandatory for compulsory school activities, has become essential. It allows you to insure your child for optional or extracurricular activities and even, depending on the contracts, for sports activities. Here is everything you need to know in 5 points, to choose the insurer and the risks covered wisely.
School insurance is mandatory for all optional activities organized by the school (walks, field trips, museum visits). This type of insurance may also be required for extracurricular activities.
However, this insurance is not mandatory and cannot be required for all compulsory activities set by the school curriculum in public institutions.
As for private educational institutions, each institution sets its own insurance rules. Therefore, parents must inquire at the time of enrollment of the child.
Thanks to school insurance, your child is covered when they are a victim or responsible for an accident.
This insurance includes two types of guarantees:
- Civil liability, which covers all damages caused by the child, provided they are not intentionally caused.
- Individual guarantee, which covers damages suffered by the child (it provides a capital in case of death or disability and reimburses medical expenses and often transportation costs).
The insurance also takes care of the procedures and formalities in case of an accident.
Good to know:
It is often mistakenly believed that other insurances taken out by parents, such as liability insurance or home multi-risk insurance, automatically cover children for all types of damages and accidents. But this is not always true! Home multi-risk insurance, for example, covers damages that your child could cause to others, but not bodily injuries they could suffer.
In terms of school insurance, parents have the choice between different options, with varying levels of coverage for risks.
You can choose:
- A "school" insurance in the strict sense: in this case, the contract covers your child during activities at school and on the way to school.
- A "school and extracurricular" insurance that covers your child in all circumstances, including vacations and sports. Just make sure to check if the sport practiced by your child is covered in the insurance contract.
- Special options for a trip abroad or for winter sports, for example.
To subscribe to this type of insurance, you can contact either your insurer or the parents' associations.
However, before subscribing to a school insurance offered by a parents' association, start by contacting your insurer to verify the insurances you already have.
Indeed, your child's civil liability may be covered by your Home Insurance (in the case of multi-risk home insurance).
If you have already taken out individual accident insurance, your child is also covered for all optional activities organized by the school.
You can ask your insurer to provide you in writing with all the details about the risks covered by your different insurance contracts. If you feel that the guarantees provided by these contracts are insufficient, you can take out separate school insurance from your insurer, another insurer, or a parents' association.
There are contracts starting from €10 per year and per child.
If your child is injured during school hours:
- Gather as much information as possible about the circumstances of the accident.
- Have a doctor issue a detailed medical certificate regarding the nature of the injuries and their expected evolution.
- Report the accident to your insurer within 5 working days following the accident.
- Keep records of reimbursement from Social Security and, if applicable, your health insurance.
If your child is responsible for an accident at school:
- Report the accident to your insurer preferably by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt.
- If you have two liability insurances (school and family), make sure to inform each insurer. One of them will handle compensating the victim.
Author Audrey on 27 July 2023
Economy and Finance : Finance
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