Legal protection cover ensures that, in the event of a dispute, you will be represented and defended by the insurance company in legal proceedings. In other words, this company will pay the costs of (or provide) legal services in the event of a dispute between you and a third party, either in an out-of-court settlement or in court.

In addition, it offers you access to legal advice in order to defend your rights and to find an out-of-court resolution of a conflict.

As a private individual, or as the project owner on a construction site, you may face legal disputes between you and the architects, the suppliers of materials or the craftsmen; or you may discover a defect in the construction after delivery of the property. These are not covered either by 10-year Civil Liability cover or by Construction All Risks insurance. In such cases, legal protection cover may however assist you. In other words, it enables you:

• to cover the costs of legal proceedings and/or the costs of joining proceedings (miscellaneous costs and fees), but always within the contractual limits to such costs set out in the general conditions provided for under the project owner's legal protection;
• to obtain legal advice by telephone;
• to be informed about your rights and the protection of interests;
• to be advised on what to do in the event of a claim;
• to be assisted in the preparation of your complaint or defence;
• to be helped and assisted in the steps required to reach an out-of-court solution;
• to be assisted by a qualified mediator and independent mediation;
• to be represented by a lawyer in legal proceedings;
• to organise the defence in a way which respects the free choice of the defendant.

Project owner's legal protection cover does not cover everything which occurred before the policy was entered into, nor which is covered by another policy, such as ‘10-year Civil Liability’ or ‘Construction All Risks’ cover (Please refer to the special conditions of the legal protection policy for exclusions).

The project owner’s legal protection cover is provided for a fixed period of time. It starts on the date the policy enter into force, which is generally the same as the date when the construction site is declared open, and ends two years after acceptance of the works.

We often confuse or conflate legal protection cover and defence and recourse cover. However, these are two very different kinds of insurance.

Defence and recourse insurance is additional to Civil Liability cover. Its scope of application is quite narrow since the Civil Liability policy must first be invoked.

Project owner's legal protection cover is a policy in its own right. Its scope is much wider: it concerns areas not covered by the ‘10-year Civil Liability’ or ‘Construction All Risks’ cover. Also, its true added-value lies in offering legal assistance which mainly enables disputes to be settled out-of-court, or (failing this) in court if an out-of-court settlement has not been successful.

By subscribing with Bauheem, you benefit from project owner's legal protection cover provided by CFDP Assurances.